Saint John’s Johnnies

Johnnies’ Gilbertson named At-Large Academic All-District

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Five Saint John’s student-athletes, including junior wrestler Ben Gilbertson (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice), were named to the College Sports Communicators (formerly College Sports Information Directors of America, CoSIDA) Academic All-District at-large team on Tuesday, May 23.

Under a new format for the 2022-23 academic year, each institution may nominate up to five student-athletes for Academic All-District recognition in the at-large category, which includes men’s fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, volleyball, water polo and wrestling. Nominees must be a sophomore or older with a 3.5 cumulative GPA or higher and participate in 50 percent of their team’s competitions.

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SJU’s Batsukh ’11 Elected to NWCA Division III Hall of Fame

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn.— Former Saint John’s University national-champion wrestler Minga Batsukh ’11 will be among seven individuals inducted into the Division III National Wrestling Coaches’ Association (NWCA) Hall of Fame during the NWCA’s annual convention on Friday, July 28, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Batsukh is the fifth Johnnie elected to a wrestling hall of fame. John Elton ’80 and Brandon Novak ’01 were inducted into the Division III NWCA Hall of Fame in 2007 and 2017, respectively, while Terry Haws and Fr. Otto Weber ’57 received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Minnesota chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2008 and 2019.

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Johnnies End Wrestling Season at NCAA Regional

MEQUON, Wis. – Saint John’s wrestling ended its 2022-23 season at the NCAA Upper Midwest Regional on Friday, Feb. 24, on the campus of Concordia (Wis.).

Junior Ben Gilbertson (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice) won his first match of the day at 184 pounds with a 3-1 decision but fell to top-ranked Jarritt Shinhoster from Wisconsin-Whitewater via pin and exited the tourney with a narrow 7-5 decision. He finished the season with a team-best 16-11 record.

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SJU Travels to Wisconsin for NCAA Regional

Saint John’s wrestling competes at the NCAA Upper Midwest Regional this Friday (1 p.m.) and Saturday (11 a.m.), Feb. 24-25, at Concordia’s (Wis.) R. John Buuck Field House, in Mequon, Wis.

The start of competition was moved from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday. The day’s matches go through the championship quarterfinals and consolation quarterfinals. The regional resumes at 11 a.m. Saturday and will award first through sixth at each weight class.

The top-three finishers in each of the region’s ten weight classes advance to the 2023 NCAA Division III Championships, which will be held March 10-11 at the Berglund Center in Roanoke, Va.

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NWCA Division III Poll – February 15, 2023

Manheim, PA – On Wednesday, the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) released their sixth and final set of regular season Division III Men’s Coaches Tournament and Dual Polls, as well as national and regional individual rankings.

Wartburg continues to sit at the top of both the Tournament and Dual Top 25 polls. The tournament poll top five remains unchanged and is comprised of #1 Wartburg (69.5 pts), #2 Johnson & Wales (53 pts), #3 Augsburg (48 pts), #4 Baldwin Wallace (47 pts), and finally #5 Loras (34.5 pts).

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SJU Travels Tuesday to Concordia

Saint John’s wrestling visits Concordia for a number of exhibition matches at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 14, in Moorhead.

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John’s suffered a 25-19 loss at Ridgewater last Thursday (Feb. 9) in Willmar. The dual featured a scoring run from each team and was decided in the final match.

Following a double forfeit at 125 pounds, freshman Teagyn Ludwig (Richmond, Minn./Eden Valley-Watkins) gave SJU an early 4-0 lead with a 12-4 major decision at 133. Ridgewater, however, answered with four-straight wins to gain a 19-4 lead.

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Ridgewater 25, Saint John’s 19

Johnnies Drop Close Dual at Ridgewater

WILLMAR, Minn. – Saint John’s wrestling suffered a 25-19 loss at Ridgewater on Thursday, Feb. 9.

The dual featured a scoring run from each team and was decided in the final match.

Following a double forfeit at 125 pounds, freshman Teagyn Ludwig (Richmond, Minn./Eden Valley-Watkins) gave SJU an early 4-0 lead with a 12-4 major decision at 133. Ridgewater, however, answered with four-straight wins to gain a 19-4 lead.

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