Saint John’s wrestling competes at the Ridgewater Open at 9 a.m. this Saturday, Jan. 6, in Willmar.
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John’s (0-2 dual record) dropped a 43-3 dual match to St. Cloud State, the top-ranked program in NCAA Division II, back on Dec. 28 in Collegeville. The Huskies have eight wrestlers ranked in the top 10 in Division II, four of which wrestled against SJU.
SCSU’s Brett Velasquez, who is ranked second nationally, started the dual with a 12-4 win over sophomore Noah Becker (Browerville, Minn.) at 125 pounds, but sophomore Andrew Smith (Amery, Wis.) answered with a 5-4 decision at 133 to put SJU (0-2 dual record) on the scoreboard. Smith built a 4-0 lead but surrendered a takedown with 30 seconds remaining, escaped and gave up another takedown with five seconds left to hold on to the victory. Smith is now 9-5 on the season.
The Huskies rattled off three straight major decisions and SJU forfeited the match at 165 pounds. SCSU ended the dual with three pins in the final four weight classes. Junior Luke Dodd (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) dropped a 9-6 decision to Tyree Overton at 184. Dodd recorded a takedown with 50 seconds left in the match but was unable to get Overton to his back.
NEW NWCA RANKINGS: Dodd climbed three spots to No. 7 at 184 pounds in the latest National Wrestling Coaches’ Association (NWCA) rankings released Dec. 31. Dodd and Becker are still listed as “Contenders,” just outside of the top 10, in D3wrestle.com’s most recent rankings released Dec. 27. Smith was listed honorable mention.
WHO’S GOING: The Johnnies are scheduled to send eight wrestlers Saturday to Willmar:
125: Noah Becker (10-4)
133: Graham Evavold (2-6)
141: Anthony Hennen (2-8)
157: Jerod Novak (4-6)
174: Dan Gainer (2-8)
197: Dominic Skawiniak (2-7)
285: Quincy Spiering (1-1), Ben Ungar (2-4)
Ridgewater Open Brackets/Results on TrackWrestling.com
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