PERHAM, Minn. – No. 6 Saint John's went 1-2 at the Minnesota Duals held Friday, Jan. 28, in Perham. The Johnnies opened the triangular with a 35-4 win over St. Olaf, but then dropped back-to-back duals to No. 7 Concordia-Moorhead (32-10) and No. 3 Augsburg (20-19).

Both the Oles and Johnnies forfeited the match at 125 pounds. In fact, SJU forfeited the weight-class in all three duals. SJU then started the dual with a 6-0 lead following St. Olaf's forfeit at 133 pounds, before the Oles' Ryan Timmerman earned an 11-2 major decision win. The rest was all Saint John's, however. Senior Minga Batsukh (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia/St. Benedict's Prep, N.J.) posted a technical fall at 149, followed by a major decision from senior Drew Larson (Willmar, Minn.) and a 4-0 win from senior Matt Baarson (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Champlin Park) at 165. Junior Matt Pfarr (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson) pinned his opponent at 174, while junior Dustin Baxter (Fairbanks, Alaska/West Valley) and senior Tony Willaert (North Mankato, Minn./Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial) tallied back-to-back major decisions. Junior John Linn (Foley, Minn.) ended the dual with a 6-0 win at heavyweight.

Head coach Brandon Novak decided to rest all of his starters but one, including all five nationally-ranked wrestlers, in the Concordia dual. Junior Chad Henle (Spicer, Minn./New London-Spicer) cut the Johnnies' deficit to 6-3 with an 8-5 upset win over No. 10 Daron Hohbein at 133 pounds. Following a last-second pin, freshman Ryan Arne (Orono, Minn.) recorded a 4-1 win at 149 pounds. Sophomore Chris Stevermer (Savage, Minn./Prior Lake) lost a heartbreaking 7-5 decision in overtime at 165. Freshman Nick Schuler (Roseville, Minn./Totino-Grace) won SJU's final match with an eye-opening 8-0 major decision of No. 5 Ross Dankers at 174.

The forfeit at 125 proved to be pivotal in the Johnnies' nightcap, a 20-19 loss to Augsburg. The Auggies jumped out to a 10-0 lead before SJU rolled to four consecutive victories and a 15-10 lead. Senior Chris Sandy (Spirit Lake, Iowa) pinned his opponent in 1:20 at 141, while Batsukh posted a 6-1 upset of No. 3 Tony Valek. Batsukh was ranked fourth nationally. Larson posted a 4-0 win at 157 and Baarson proved his No. 1 ranking with a 7-3 win over No. 5 Orlando Ponce at 165. Pfarr, ranked fourth nationally, dropped a 6-1 decision to No. 2 Zach Molitor. No. 6 Brad Baus gave the lead back to Augsburg, 16-15, with a close 3-1 win over No. 7 Baxter. Willaert gave the lead back to SJU, 19-16, with a major decision at 197. The Auggies' Zach Molitor, ranked second nationally, did not wrestle at 197. Chad Johnson, ranked 10th, gave Augsburg the one-point win with a 9-0 major decision at heavyweight.

The Johnnies host the annual North Country Open next Saturday, Feb. 5, in Collegeville.  

No. 6 Saint John's (SJU) 35, St. Olaf College (STO) 4
125 – Open
133 – Freshman Alex Peck (SJU) wins by forfeit [6-0]
141 – Ryan Timmerman (STO) major dec. sophomore Jay Woiwor (SJU), 11-2 [6-4]
149 – Senior Minga Batsukh (No. 4, SJU) tech. fall Tom Mork (STO), 28-13 [11-4]
157 – Senior Drew Larson (SJU) major dec. Michael Roth (STO), 13-4 [15-4]
165 – Senior Matt Baarson (No. 1, SJU) dec. Joey Waples (STO), 4-0 [18-4]
174 – Junior Matt Pfarr (No. 4, SJU) pinned Joseph Pesta (STO), 6:25 [24-4]
184 – Junior Dustin Baxter (No. 7, SJU) major dec. Andrew Rudd (STO), 12-2 [28-4]
197 – Senior Tony Willaert (No. 9, SJU) major dec. Joseph Schlueter (STO), 22-14 [32-4]
Hwt – Junior John Linn (SJU) dec. Justin Luthey (STO), 6-0 [35-4]

No. 7 Concordia College-Moorhead (CON) 32, No. 6 Saint John's (SJU) 10
125 – Ben Presler (No. 7, CON) wins by forfeit [0-6]
133 – Junior Chad Henle (SJU) dec. Daron Hohbein (No. 10, CON), 8-5 [3-6]
141 – David Baker (CON) pinned sophomore Alex Boosalis (SJU), 6:59 [3-12]
149 – Freshman Ryan Arne (SJU) dec. Jake Long (CON), 4-1 [6-12]
157 – Justin Berns (No. 5, CON) major dec. senior John Vaith (SJU), 13-2 [6-16]
165 – Jordan Bendson (CON) dec. sophomore Chris Stevermer (SJU), 7-5 OT [6-19]
174 – Freshman Nick Schuler (SJU) major dec. Ross Dankers (No. 5, CON), 8-0 [10-19]
184 – Phil Moenkedick (No. 1, CON) pinned senior Dustin Raygor (SJU), 0:48 [10-25]
197 – Nate Schmitz (CON) dec. sophomore Mitch Hagen (SJU), 8-2 [10-28]
Hwt – Tom Bouressa (CON) major dec. freshman John Scepaniak (SJU), 8-0 [10-32]

No. 3 Augsburg College (AUG) 20, No. 6 Saint John's (SJU) 19
125 – Josh Roberts (No. 5, AUG) wins by forfeit [0-6]
133 – Boyd Suparat (AUG) major dec. junior Chad Henle (SJU), 15-6 [0-10]
141 – Senior Chris Sandy (SJU) pinned Will Keeter (AUG), 1:20 [6-10]
149 – Senior Minga Batsukh (No. 4, SJU) dec. Tony Valek (No. 3, AUG), 6-1 [9-10]
157 – Senior Drew Larson (SJU) dec. Jon Priess (AUG), 4-0 [12-10]
165 – Senior Matt Baarson (No. 1, SJU) dec. Orlando Ponce (No. 5, AUG), 7-3 [15-10]
174 – Zach Molitor (No. 2, AUG) dec. junior Matt Pfarr (No. 4, SJU), 6-1 [15-13]
184 – Brad Baus (No. 6, AUG) dec. junior Dustin Baxter (No. 7, SJU), 3-1 [15-16]
197 – Senior Tony Willaert (No. 9, SJU) major dec. Jackson Mboma (AUG), 13-4 [19-16]
Hwt – Chad Johnson (No. 10, AUG) major dec. junior John Linn (SJU), 9-0 [19-20]