No. 1 SCSU earns 25-9 win over Augustana
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The St. Cloud State University wrestling team is back. After a two week hiatus, the Huskies returned to competition Sunday and made quite the statement in their Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) dual against Augustana University. St. Cloud State marched into Sioux Falls, South Dakota and took down the Vikings 25-9, improving to 2-0 on the season and 2-0 in NSIC play.
There was little to no rust visible in the Huskies first three matches of the dual, as Paxton Creese (Shakopee, Minn. / Shakopee), Garrett Vos (Bonifacius, Minn. / Waconia) and Joseph Bianchini (Elk Grove Village, Minn. / Immaculate Conception) all earned key victories to give St. Cloud State an early lead. Creese continued his strong start to the season at 125, defeating Augustana’s John Babineau by major decision 16-5, before No. 1 Vos beat Brandon Carroll 11-6 at 133.
No. 4 Bianchini extended the Huskies lead to 10-0 thanks to a 3-1 win over Jack Huffman at 141 pounds. The Vikings would win the next two matches, as No. 9 Hunter Burnett won by decision over Jake Barzowski (Niles, Ill. / Notre Dame) at 149 before Tyler Wagener beat Jared Head (Washington, Ill. / Washington) at 157 to cut St. Cloud State’s lead to 10-6 midway through the dual.
Devin FitzPatrick (Mahtomedi, Minn. / Mahtomedi) got the Huskies back on track with a 7-4 win at 165, but Augustana gave St. Cloud State some trouble in the next match, winning on a last second escape at 174 to cut the lead to 13-9.
That was the closest the Vikings would come to catching the Huskies, as St. Cloud State won the next three matches to clinch the 25-9 victory. No. 11 Billy Pitzner (Jefferson, Wis. / Milton) earned six key points for the Huskies at 184, pinning Kolby Kost to win by a fall at 2:24. No. 4 Noah Ryan (Mantorville, Minn. / Kasson-Mantorville) won by a 7-4 decision at 197, and No. 1 Kameron Teacher (Grove City, Ohio / Central Crossing) proved why he’s the top ranked heavyweight in Division II, beating No. 10 Steven Hajas by decision 6-5.
Thanks to these performances, No. 1 St. Cloud State defeated Augustana 25-9 Sunday afternoon. The Huskies have a quick turnaround before their next dual, as they are set to host Minnesota State at 7 p.m. on Thursday, January 28.
The Vikings are back in action next Thursday at 7 p.m. in Marshall, Minnesota against Southwest Minnesota State.
St. Cloud State 25 Augustana 9
125: Paxton Creese (SCSU) over John Babineau (AUG) (MD 16-5)
133: No. 1 Garrett Vos (SCSU) over Brandon Carroll (AUG) (Dec 11-6)
141: No. 4 Joey Bianchini (SCSU) over Jack Huffman (AUG) (Dec 3-1)
149: No. 9 Hunter Burnett (AUG) over No. 1 (at 157) Jake Barzowski (SCSU) (Dec 4-2)
157: Tyler Wagener (AUG) over Jared Head (SCSU) (Dec 6-4)
165: No. 1 Devin Fitzpatrick (SCSU) over Dylan Schuck (AUG) (Dec 7-4)
174: Cade Mueller (AUG) over Dominic Murphy (SCSU) (Dec 4-3)
184: No. 11 William Pitzner (SCSU) over Kolby Kost (AUG) (Fall 2:24)
197: No. 4 Noah Ryan (SCSU) over Daniel Bishop (AUG) (Dec 7-4)
285: No. 1 Kameron Teacher (SCSU) over No. 10 Steven Hajas (AUG) (Dec 6-5)
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