St. Cloud State Huskies

O’Grady Named NSIC W.O.W./Kahnke Ranked #1 in Nation!

www.stcloudstate.edu

SCSU Update

• #2 St. Cloud State University (7-0) will travel to the 2011 NWCA Division II Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa on Jan. 8-9. The tournament will be hosted by the University of Northern Iowa and it will feature the nation’s top DII wrestling programs, including: Augustana, Central Oklahoma, Central Missouri, Findlay, Grand Canyon Univ, Limestone, MSU- Mankato, MSU-Moorhead, Newberry, San Francisco St, St. Could State, UNC – Pembroke, Nebraska Omaha, UW – Parkside, Upper Iowa and Western State.

• The Huskies were ranked #2 in the latest DII Coaches’ Poll behind Nebraska Omaha. Here is a rundown of SCSU’s nationally ranked wrestlers in 2010-11: Gabe Suarez (#7 at 141-pounds), John Sundgren (#6 at 157-pounds), Tad Merritt (#2 at 165-pounds), Shamus O’Grady (#6 at 174-pounds), Mic Berg (#5 at 184-pounds) and Jake Kahnke (#1 at 285-pounds). The poll was released on Jan. 4.

• Shamus O’Grady became the 3rd SCSU wrestler to earn NSIC Wrestler of the Week notice in 2010-11. On Jan. 3, O’Grady was named the NSIC Wrestler of the Week for his 4-0 record at the Grand Canyon Duals. O’Grady had two falls, a technical fall and a forfeit win at the tournament. He now owns a 15-2 record and is ranked #5 in the latest DII poll at 174.

• #2 ranked Tad Merritt went 4-0 at the GC Duals. A highlight for Merritt was a 6-4 win over #4 ranked Joey Wilson of UN-Kearney. In the same dual match, #2 Jake Kahnke added a 6-1 win over #4 ranked Ben Hohnesee of UNK. Kahnke was 3-0 at the GC Duals this year. Kahnke is now 12-1 on the season, while Merritt owns a 19-2 record this winter.

• At 125-pounds, Zach Stewart was 4-0 in action at the GC Duals. Stewart is 11-2 this season for the Huskies. #6 John Sundgren was 2-0 at 157-pounds at the GC Duals, while Jacob D. Horn added a pair of wins at 157-pounds for SCSU in Phoenix. Of note, these were the first two matches of the season for Sundgren.

• At the GC Duals, the Huskies were impressive with a 34-9 win over Chadron State, a 37-6 win over Mesa State and a 52-0 win over Kutztown. SCSU also gained a 26-9 win over #8 Nebraska-Kearney. The 52 points scored vs. Kutztown is just two points off of the team record of 54 points in a dual, which was set in a 54-0 win over Southwest Minnesota State in 1976-77.

• The St. Cloud State University wrestling team (14-7, 5-2 NSIC/3rd) captured 7th place at the 2010 NCAA Division II wrestling championships on March 12-13, in Omaha, Neb. This marks the Huskies best NCAA finish since capturing 7th place in 1983. This also marked the best finish for the Huskies at the NCAA tournament since Steve Costanzo took over as head coach in 2006-07. This marked the 8th time since 1975 that SCSU has charted a top-10 place at the NCAA championships. The 7th place finish is the best ever for the Huskies at the NCAA DII level. SCSU placed eighth at the nationals in 2009, 1986 and 1976. SCSU also placed third at nationals during the 1963 and 1965 seasons as an NAIA affiliate.

• The Huskies qualified 8 wrestlers for the NCAA championships in 2010. SCSU wrestlers earning All-America status at the meet were Jacob Kahnke (4th place at 285), Tad Merritt (5th place at 165), Shamus O’Grady (6th place at 174) and Gabe Suarez (8th place at 141). This marked the first All-America finish for Kahnke, O’Grady and Suarez, while Merritt is now a two-time All-America award winner for the Huskies. The four All-Americans ties a team record for the Huskies, as SCSU also brought home four NCAA All-America honors in 1983 and 1975.

• The Huskies will have two major targets on the wrestling room wall this season. First up is the 2011 NCAA Regional championships on Feb. 27 in Sioux Falls, S.D. This tournament serves as a qualifier for the other big date – March 11-12, which is the 2011 NCAA DII championships in Kearney, Neb.

St. Cloud State University sophomore Shamus O’Grady (Coon Rapids) was named as the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference wrestler of the week on Jan. 3.  O’Grady earned the award thanks to his 4-0 record at the Grand Canyon Duals on Jan. 1 in Phoenix, Ariz.

O’Grady helped guide the #2 ranked Huskies to a perfect 4-0 record at the Grand Canyon Duals, which included wins over Chadron State, Mesa State, #8 Nebraska-Kearney and Kutztown.

O’Grady was 4-0 on the day, which included two pins, one win by a technical fall and one win by a forfeit. O’Grady now owns a 15-2 record this winter. O’Grady pinned Trent Zempel of Chadron State at 4:55; he then won by tech fall over Zak Slotten of Mesa State 20-3; he followed that up with a pin over Drew Comito of #8 Nebraska-Kearney at 1:49 and then won by forfeit in the dual against Kutztown.

This marks the third time this season that a St. Cloud State University wrestler has gained NSIC Wrestler of the Week honors.

The Huskies (7-0) will return to action on Jan. 8-9 with a  trip to the NWCA Division II National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa.  This elite meet will pit the Huskies against the nation’s top NCAA Division II teams in a dual tournament format.  Teams slated to participate in the 2011 tournament are Augustana, Central Oklahoma, Central Missouri, Findlay, Grand Canyon Univ,  Limestone, MSU- Mankato, MSU-Moorhead, Newberry, San Fancisco St, St. Could State, UNC – Pembroke, Nebraska Omaha, UW – Parkside, Upper Iowa and Western State.

The #2 ranked St. Cloud State University wrestling team improved to 7-0 on the 2010-11 season with four victories at the Grand Canyon Duals on Jan. 1. The matches were hosted by Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Ariz.

SCSU opened the day with a 34-9 victory over Chadron State. At 125-pound Zach Stewart collected a forfeit win for the Huskies, before CSC stormed back with a pair of wins at 133-pounds and 141-pounds to tie the match at 6-6.

At 149-pounds, Jacob R. Horn racked up a pin at 1:20 to make it 12-6 and then Jake D. Horn charted an 8-1 decision win at 157-pounds. #2 Tad Merritt scored an injury forfeit win at 165-pounds and #5 Shamus O’Grady gained a fall at 174-pounds for the Huskies to make the tally 27-6. The Huskies iced the match with a win by #8 Lucas Munkelwitz at 197-pounds and a major decision by #2 Jake Kahnke at 285-pounds.

In the second match of the day, SCSU posted a 37-6 victory over Mesa State. The lone setback for the Huskies in the dual match was at 197-pounds. SCSU’s Stewart (125-pounds), Westy Hanson (133-pounds), #3 Gabe Suarez (141-pounds), Jacob D. Horn (149-pounds), O’Grady (174-pounds/wins by a tech fall), Mic Berg (184-pounds) and Chris Brassell (285-pounds) all earned decision victories in the match. #6 John Sundgren (157-pounds) and Merritt (165-pounds) each gained pins in the dual win for SCSU.

In the third match of the day for SCSU, the Huskies scored a big 26-9 victory over #8 ranked Nebraska Kearney. Stewart posted a decision win at 125-pounds, followed by a major decision victory by Eric Ellington at 133-pounds for the Huskies. At 157-pounds, Sundgren posted a 5-0 decision to give SCSU a 10-6 edge in the match.

At 165-pounds, Merritt posted a huge 6-4 decision over #4 ranked Joey Wilson of UNK. O’Grady helped the Huskies’ cause with a big pin fall at 174-pounds and Munkelwitz gained a major decision victory at 197-pounds. The match was completed by a 6-1 decision at 285-pounds by SCSU’s Kahnke over #4 ranked Ben Hohensee of UNK.

In the final match of the event, the Huskies scored a 52-0 shutout win over Kutztown State. SCSU took advantage of forfeits by Kutztown at 133-pounds, 174-pounds and 184-pounds to gain an 18-0 lead in the match. Suarez (141-pounds), Merritt (165-pounds), Munkelwitz (197-pounds) and Kahnke (285-pounds) all earned pins in the match, while Stewart (125), Jacob R. Horn (149) and Jacob D. Horn (157) all posted decision wins for SCSU.

Of note, the 52 points in a dual match for SCSU is just two points shy of the team record. The Huskies’ team record for most points in a dual match is 54, which was hit against Southwest Minnesota State in 1976-77.

On Jan. 8-9, the Huskies will return to action with a trip to the prestigious NWCA Division II National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa. SCSU will square off against the nation’s top DII programs in an exciting dual match tournament format.

Grand Canyon Duals – Complete Results – gculopes.com

St. Cloud State dual match results from the GCU Duals on Jan. 1:

St. Cloud State 34, Chadron State 9
125- Zach Stewart (SCSU) wins by forfeit
133- Dustin Stodola (CSC) def. Westy Hanson (SCSU) 3-2
141 – #5 Jimmy Savala (CSC) def. #3 Gabe Suarez (SCSU) 7-1
149 – Jacob R. Horn (SCSU) def. Jake Lords (CSC) fall 1:20
157 – Jacob D. Horn (SCSU) def. Mikah Kadera (CSC) 8-1
165 – #2 Tad Merritt (SCSU) def. Briston Benton (CSC) forfeit injury
174 – #5 Shamus O’Grady (SCSU) fall Trent Zempel (CSC) fall 4:55
184 – Jordan DeBus (CSC) def. Mic Berg (SCSU) 11-5
197- #8 Lucas Munkelwitz (SCSU) def. Chris Leak (CSC) 3-1
285 – #2 Jake Kahnke (SCSU) def. RJ Boylan (CSC) major dec.8-0

St. Cloud State 37, Mesa State 6
125- Zach Stewart (SCSU) def. Clay Foyt (MSC) major dec. 9-0
133- Westy Hanson (SCSU) def. Tyler Nelson (MSC) 4-2
141 – #3 Gabe Suarez (SCSU) def. Rhett Breed (MSC) 13-9
149 – Jacob R. Horn (SCSU) def. Pat Lehnan (MSC) maj. dec.11-3
157 – #6 John Sundgren (SCSU) fall John Gappmaier (MSC) 3:29
165 – #2 Tad Merritt (SCSU) fall Dylan Grananrd (MSC) :45
174 – #5 Shamus O’Grady (SCSU) tech fall Zak Slotten (MSC) tech fall 20-3
184 – Mic Berg (SCSU) def. Kyle Brightman (MSC) 6-5
197- Shane Miller (MSC) fall #8 Lucas Munkelwitz (SCSU) 1:57
285 – Chris Brassell (SCSU) def. Trevor Stapp (MSC) 8-7

St. Cloud State 26, Nebraska Kearney 9
125- Zach Stewart (SCSU) def. Jordan White (UNK) 8-1
133- Eric Ellingston (SCSU) def. Alec Chanthapatheth (UNK) maj dec. 15-5
141 – Dalton Jensen (UNK) def. #3 Gabe Suarez (SCSU) 7-3
149 – TJ Hepburn (UNK) def. Jacob R. Horn (SCSU) 7-2
157 – #6 John Sundgren def. Islam Abitov (UNK) 5-0
165 – #2 Tad Merritt (SCSU) def. #4 Joey Wilson (UNK) 6-4
174 – #5 Shamus O’Grady (SCSU) fall Drew Comito (UNK) 1:49
184 – Ross Brunkhardt (UNK) def. Mic Berg (SCSU) 7-3
197- #8 Lucas Munkelwitz (SCSU) def. Mike Swanson (UNK) maj dec. 12-2
285 – #2 Jake Kahnke (SCSU) def. #4 Ben Hohnesee (UNK) 6-1

St. Cloud State 52, Kutztown 0
125- Zach Stewart (SCSU) def. Desmond Moore (KU) 7-1
133- Eric Ellingston (SCSU) wins by forfeit
141 – #3 Gabe Suarez (SCSU) fall Oliver Thayer (KU) 4:26
149 – Jacob R. Horn (SCSU) def. Tony Frost (KU) 4-2
157 – Jacob D. Horn (SCSU) def. Jay Sandt (KU) maj. dec. 19-6
165 – #2 Tad Merritt (SCSU) fall Eric Sergent (KU) 2:42
174 – #5 Shamus O’Grady (SCSU) wins by forfeit
184 – Mic Berg (SCSU) wins by forfeit
197- #8 Lucas Munkelwitz (SCSU) fall Victor Montanez (KU) 2:31
285 – #2 Jake Kahnke (SCSU) fall Greg Tate (KU) 2:20