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St. Cloud State 40 Mary 3

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – The No. 3 St. Cloud State wrestling team earned their school record 17th win of the season and nearly recorded a shutout weekend with a 40-3 win over the University of Mary Saturday afternoon in Halenbeck Hall.

The Huskies (17-2) lost only one match in their last two duals and have outscored opponents 117-6 on their home mat in Halenbeck this season after posting three pins and four major decisions Saturday.

Freshman Dylan Wright (6-5) won the first match of the day at 125-lbs with a 11-3 major decision and was followed by senior Weston Hanson (7-6) who pinned his opponent 2:04 into the 133-pound match.

Junior Jacob D. Horn recorded his 19th win of the season with a 17-8 major decision in the 149-pound contest before No. 2 ranked Tad Merritt (29-3) pinned his 165-pound opponent 33 seconds into the second period of his match.

Sophomore Shamus O’Grady (23-7) earned a major decision in the 174-pound match with a 16-7 win and junior Lucas Munkelwitz (16-5) recorded a takedown in the final seconds of his 197-pound match to earn the final major decision of the day in a 9-0 victory.

The No. 1 ranked heavyweight in the nation, sophomore Jake Kahnke, then pinned his opponent 4:32 into the final match of the day to improve to a stellar 21-1 on the season.

The Huskies will now go back on the road for their final regular season road-dual as they take on Upper Iowa at 2 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 13 in Fayette, Iowa.

St. Cloud State 40 Mary 3
125 Dylan Wright (St. Cloud State ) MD Matt Garcia (Mary) 11 – 3
133 Weston Hanson (St. Cloud State ) FALL Ryan Swelland (Mary) (2:04)
141 Gabriel Suarez (St. Cloud State ) DEC Tanner Beaman (Mary) 3 – 2
149 Jacob D. Horn (St. Cloud State ) MD Landon DellaSilva (Mary) 17 – 8
157 Josh Joriman (St. Cloud State ) DEC Brandon DeLao (Mary) 6 – 3
165 Tad Merritt (St. Cloud State ) FALL Shane Primeau (Mary) (3:33)
174 Shamus O’Grady (St. Cloud State ) MD Ross Edison (Mary) 16 – 7
184 Brady Anderson (Mary) DEC Michael Berg (St. Cloud State ) 9 – 5
197 Lucas Munkelwitz (St. Cloud State ) MD Kriss McCleary (Mary) 9 – 0
285 Jake Kahnke (St. Cloud State ) FALL Austin Woo (Mary) (4:32)

Wartburg 28, Augsburg 5

MINNEAPOLIS — Orlando Ponce (JR, Hialeah, Fla./Hialeah-Miami Lakes HS) and Zach Molitor (SR, Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti HS) claimed wins for Augsburg College, but top-ranked Wartburg College scored a 28-5 win in a battle of NCAA Division III wrestling powers on Friday night at Si Melby Hall.

Wartburg (19-1 overall), the top-ranked team in the latest NCAA Division III national poll, claimed victories in eight of the 10 bouts over Augsburg (7-5 overall), the defending national champions and current No. 3-ranked team nationally. The Knights’ triumph broke a four-match winning streak for the Auggies in the all-time series between the schools, which Augsburg leads 15-10.

Ponce, ranked No. 5 at 165 pounds, used four takedowns and 1:16 of riding time to score a 9-3 win over Wartburg’s Adam Weber (SR, Waterloo, Iowa/Don Bosco HS), improving to 20-5 on the season.

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Minnesota 21 Wisconsin 15

 

Gophers Take Down No. 3 Badgers 21-15

MINNEAPOLIS — In front of a sold-out crowd of 5,225 at the Sports Pavilion, the No. 4 Minnesota wrestling team scored a 21-15 win over No. 3 Wisconsin capped off with a 3-2 decision victory by a returning Ben Berhow in the heavyweight match to lock up the win. The Gophers also picked up wins from Zach Sanders, Mike Thorn, Danny Zilverberg and Cody Yohn.

Wisconsin at Minnesota Photos

“I think the fans got their money’s worth today. We’re trying to get better and better each week going into the Big Ten tournament. We made some good progress today, and that’s what we’re looking for,” Minnesota head wrestling coach J Robinson said.

Berhow, a redshirt senior this year for the Gophers, was a late addition to the lineup – replacing an ill Tony Nelson at heavyweight – for the final matchup of the night against No. 11 Eric Bugenhagen with the score sitting at 18-15 in the Gophers’ favor. The pair of heavyweights dueled through a scoreless first period before Bugenhagen opened the second period with an escape to take a 1-0 lead. But Berhow, who hadn’t wrestled since Dec. 11, would bide his time until the third period, scoring an escape of his own and following up with a takedown in the match’s final seconds to jump ahead. Bugenhagen would score a late escape as time expired, giving Berhow a 3-2 decision in the match and the Gophers a 21-15 win in the dual.

“That was really special. I’ll remember that the rest of my life,” Berhow said. “And with the great crowd…it’s fun wrestling for them.”

Minnesota (13-3 overall, 4-0 Big Ten) once again opened the dual with a strong showing in the earlier matches. No. 5 Zach Sanders kicked off the afternoon with his 13th-straight dual win, this time taking down Tom Kelliher with an 11-8 decision. The Badgers (9-2-1, 0-0-1) would answer with a decision win in the 133 lbs. match as No. 3 Tyler Graff put together a 9-4 win over David Thorn.

The Gophers would add bonus points in three of the next four matches however as No. 2 Mike Thorn pinned Danny Arnel at 3:42 in the 141 lbs. match, Danny Zilverberg scored a 12-3 major decision over Shawn Perry at 149 lbs. and No. 11 Cody Yohn followed up a 9-3 loss in the 157 lbs. match with a 15-0 technical fall over Ben Cox in the 165 lbs. match.

The Badgers, who remain winless in Big Ten action, would make it interesting over the next three matches however, picking up a trio of decision in the 174-197 lbs. matches to head into the 285 lbs. match with Minnesota nursing an 18-15 lead. Bonus points by Wisconsin would have given the higher-ranked team a come from behind win while a decision would have given Wisconsin its second tie of the season. However, neither result would come as Berhow sent the packed house into a frenzy with the late takedown to seal the win in both the match and the dual.

Minnesota returns to action next Saturday at Ohio State. The dual can be watched live on the Big Ten Network.

No. 4 Minnesota vs. No. 3 Wisconsin
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Minneapolis, Minn. (Sports Pavilion)

Minnesota 21, Wisconsin 15
125: No. 5 Zach Sanders (MINN) dec. Tom Kelliher (WISC) 11-8
133: No. 3 Tyler Graff (WISC) dec. David Thorn (MINN)9-4
141: No. 2 Mike Thorn (MINN) fall Danny Arnel (WISC) 3:42
149: Danny Zilverberg (MINN) maj. Shawn Perry (WISC) 12-3
157: Kalvin York (WISC) dec. Joe Grygelko (MINN) 9-3
165: No. 11 Cody Yohn (MINN) tech. Ben Cox (WISC) 15-0; 3:27
174: No. 19 Ben Jordan dec. No. 8 Scott Glasser (MINN) 8-4
184: No. 3 Travis Rutt (WISC) dec. No. 9 Kevin Steinhaus (MINN) 3-2
197: No. 2 Trevor Brandvold (WISC) dec. Joe Nord (MINN) 8-1
285: Ben Berhow (MINN) dec. No. 11 Eric Bugenhagen (WISC) 3-2

Augustana 21 MSU-Mankato 10

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Augustana’s seven wins by decision lifted the No. 2-ranked Vikings past No. 7 Minnesota State 21-10 Friday night in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference dual in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Augustana improves to 11-1 (5-0 NSIC), while MSU drops its first conference dual of the season and falls to 8-3 (4-1 NSIC).

With the win, Augustana moved into sole possession of first place in the NSIC. The Vikings are the only team in the conference with a blemish-free mark.

Augustana put together a string of five consecutive victories within the dual and also finished with two wins.

MSU’s Andy Forstner topped Al Meger in the dual’s opening match at 125 pounds. Forstner’s takedown in the third period broke him away from a 1-1 tie and gave the Mavericks an early 3-0 lead.

Jason Jeremiason evened the contest at 3-3 with his 7-3 win over MSU’s Skyler Moore at 133 pounds.

Jay Sherer pushed Augustana’s lead to 6-3 with his 6-3 win over Robby Fisher at 141 pounds, and Nate Herda’s 8-2 win over Jesse Westfall at 149 pounds extended that advantage.

Marcus Edgington used a pair of takedowns—one in the first period and another in the second—to post a 4-2 win over MSU’s Tel Todd at 157 pounds, while Gavin Nelson had a 9-4 win by decision at 165 pounds to give the Vikings a 15-3 lead.

The Mavericks’ Ben Becker picked up MSU’s second win of the evening at 174 pounds, topping Carl Serck 5-3.

Aaron Norgren picked up the night’s only win not by decision, upending Augustana’s Tom Davies with a 13-3 major decision at 184 pounds.

But Ty Copsey had the answer and the win that would put Augustana ahead decisively. He charged MSU’s Pat Mahan and charted a 6-3 win at 197 pounds. The victory gave his team an 18-10 lead.

Lance Peters put the finishing touches on the Viking victory at 285 pounds. His takedown with 19 seconds left in the first overtime period gave him a 3-1 win over Nate Haynes.

The Vikings have now won five straight duals.

Augustana wrestles at Dakota Wesleyan and Southwest Minnesota State next week.

Augustana 21, Minnesota State 10
125: Andy Forstner (MSU) dec. Al Meger (Augie), 3-1
133: Jason Jeremiason (Augie) dec. Skyler Moore (MSU), 7-3
141: Jay Sherer (Augie) dec. Robby Fisher (MSU), 6-5
149: Nate Herda (Augie) dec. Jesse Westphal (MSU), 8-2
157: Marcus Edgington (Augie) dec. Tel Todd (MSU), 4-1
165: Gavin Nelson (Augie) dec. Brendon Eichmann (MSU), 9-4
174: Ben Becker (MSU) dec. Carl Serck (Augie), 5-3
184: Aaron Norgren (MSU) major dec. Tom Davies (Augie), 13-3
197: Ty Copsey (Augie) dec. Pat Mahan (MSU), 6-3
285: Lance Peters (Augie) dec. Nate Haynes (MSU), 3-1 (SV1)

Jason Reitmeier Postmatch Interview