The #1 ranked St. Cloud State University wrestling team (10-0, 2-0 NSIC) will be bringing home its fourth consecutive title from the NWCA Division II National Duals tournament thanks to an exciting 17-16 win over #5 McKendree in the title match on Saturday, Jan. 11. The NWCA DII Duals were held this year in Louisville, Kentucky and this marks the sixth time that SCSU has won the title (2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2013 and 2012).
In a see-saw battle between two of the nation’s top NCAA DII squads, SCSU opened the match with a loss at 125 pounds as #2 Marcus Povlick posted an 8-2 win over SCSU’s Brandon Betancourt. The Huskies quickly replied at 133 pounds with a 5-4 victory by #2 Garrett Vos over Christian Mejia.
The Huskies’ winning ways continued at 141 pounds as #4 Garrett Aldrich added critical bonus points with a fall at 3:54 against McKendree’s Jet Tryon. At 149 pounds, #2 James Pleski battled through a close match to pick up a 6-4 overtime win against McKendree’s #12 Juwan Edmond that gave SCSU a solid 12-3 lead.
At 157 pounds, SCSU’s #1 Jake Barzowski turned in a strong performance to gain an 11-4 win over McKendree’s #10 Nate Smalling. McKendree then rallied by picking up an 11-6 win at 174 pounds by Josh Jones over SCSU’s Kolton Eischens before #3 Tyree Overton provided the winning edge with a 12-5 victory at 184 pounds with a 12-5 win over McKendree’s Dan Fillipek.
To complete the match, McKendree’s #2 Ryan Vasbinder scored a 12-1 win over SCSU’s #12 Noah Ryan at 197, and #10 Caleb Gossett defeated SCSU’s #9 Ezayah Oropeza at 285 to a 12-5 decision. Oropeza earned important points during the game to prevent the major decision that gave SCSU the one-point win in the dual.
NWCA Multi-Divisional National Duals Brackets/Results on TrackWrestling.com
Complete results for the match are listed below.
A perennial power at the NWCA Duals, St. Cloud State has finished among the top seven teams at the tournament every year since 2010, and the Huskies have finished among the top three teams at the tournament every year since 2011. The Huskies have won the NWCA DII Duals in 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
NWCA National Duals (NCAA)
2000 – 5th – NCAA DII
2010 – 7th – NCAA DII
2011 – 3rd – NCAA DII
2012 – 1st – NCAA DII
2013 – 1st – NCAA DII
2014 – 3rd – NCAA DII
2015 – 3rd – NCAA DII
2016 – 2nd – NCAA DII
2017 – 1st – NCAA DII
2018 – 1st – NCAA DII
2019 – 1st – NCAA DII
2020 – 1st – NCAA DII
St. Cloud State will return to action on Jan. 18 with a trip to the Ranger Duals in Kenosha, Wisc.
St. Cloud State 17 McKendree 16
125 – Marcus Povlick (McKendree) over Brandon Betancourt (St. Cloud State) Dec 8-2
133 – Garrett Vos (St. Cloud State) over Christian Mejia (McKendree) Dec 5-4
141 – Garrett Aldrich (St. Cloud State) over Jet Tryon (McKendree) Fall 3:54
149 – James Pleski (St. Cloud State) over Juwan Edmond (McKendree) SV-1 6-4
157 – Jake Barzowski (St. Cloud State) over Nate Smalling (McKendree) Dec 11-4
165 – Nick Foster (McKendree) over Devin Fitzpatrick (St. Cloud State) SV-1 7-1
174 – Josh Jones (McKendree) over Kolton Eischens (St. Cloud State) Dec 11-6
184 – Tyree Overton (St. Cloud State) over Dan Fillipek (McKendree) Dec 12-5
197 – Ryan Vasbinder (McKendree) over Noah Ryan (St. Cloud State) Maj 12-1
285 – Caleb Gossett (McKendree) over Ezayah Oropeza (St. Cloud State) Dec 12-5
St. Cloud State’s team score was adjusted by -1.0 for singlet
Check out Huskies Wrestling at scsuhuskies.com and on Twitter and Facebook.