Saint John’s Johnnies

SJU Travels to Illinois for Saturday’s Elmhurst Invite

The Johnnie wrestling team hits the road for another out-of-state tournament, Elmhurst’s Al Hanke Invitational, at 9 a.m. this Saturday, Jan. 15.

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Three Saint John’s wrestlers finished sixth at Central’s Under Armour Invitational last Saturday (Jan. 8) in Pella, Iowa. All three wrestlers won their first match of the day, fell in the quarterfinal, bounced back with a victory in the first consolation bout, and lost the fifth-place match.

Sophomore Ben Gilbertson (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice) wrestled to decisions in all four matches to take sixth at 174 pounds. He now touts a team-leading 16-9 record on the year.

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NWCA Division III Poll – January 14, 2022

Manheim, PA – The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) released their fourth set of regular-season rankings following last week’s NWCA/USMC National Multi-Division Dual Championships in Louisville, KY. Wartburg remains at the top of the Top 25 Tournament poll while UW-La Crosse moves to the top of the Top 30 Dual poll following their National Duals Championship. North Central (#4/#2) and Wabash (#5/#3) are the only two schools that find themselves ranked in the top five of both polls.

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SJU Wrestling Competes Saturday in Iowa

The Johnnie wrestling team travels to Pella, Iowa, for Central’s Under Armour Invitational at 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 8.

NO MATCHES FRIDAY: The Johnnies were originally scheduled to wrestle Schreiner (Texas) and Central in a pair of duals Friday. Depleted rosters due to illness, however, forced the Dutch to reschedule the triangular with Albion (Mich.) and NAIA Waldorf (Iowa).

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John’s freshman Logan Thorsten (Foley, Minn.) finished third and two other Johnnies won the “warrior” brackets at the two-day Citrus Invitational last week (Dec. 29-30) in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

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Benton County Connection Clicking on the Mat at SJU

By Frank Rajkowski, SJU Writer/Video Producer

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Ben Gilbertson and Logan Thorsten have more in common than just their shared roots in Central Minnesota.

The duo – let’s call them the Saint John’s University wrestling team’s Benton County Connection – are also each driven by a deep motivation to demonstrate what they are capable of at the college level.

“Coming out of high school, I had a couple of offers from schools here and there, but not really a lot of them,” said Thorsten, a 157-pound freshman from Foley High School who qualified for the Class 2A state meet four times during his prep career, including a fourth-place finish as a senior last season.

“So I do want to show people they missed out. But I’m naturally competitive anyway. I think everybody on this team has that drive to be the best they possibly can.”

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Thorsten Takes Third, Two Johnnies Win Warrior Brackets at Citrus Invite

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Saint John’s freshman Logan Thorsten (Foley, Minn.) finished third and two other Johnnies won the “warrior” brackets at the two-day Citrus Invitational on Thursday, Dec. 30, in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Wrestlers who suffered two losses Wednesday and were eliminated, as well as those that recorded their second loss Thursday morning, were added to separate “warrior” (single-elimination, consolation) brackets in adjacent to the main tournament.

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