The Saint John's wrestling team, ranked No. 11 nationally, returns to action with two meets this Saturday, Jan. 9. A portion of the team will compete at the Ridgewater College Open in Willmar, while the varsity will compete at the two-day NWCA/Cliff Keen Division III National Duals held on the University of Northern Iowa campus in Cedar Falls, Iowa. – Watch Live | Website
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's returns to competition for the first time since the Wis.-Whitewater Duals at the Dells held Dec. 12. The Johnnies defeated then-No. 19 Wis.-Whitewater (27-11) and then-No. 28 Heidelberg, Ohio (26-9), but fell to No. 1 Wis.-La Crosse (22-19). The highlight of the evening for SJU (7-3 dual record) was the heavyweight match of the Wis.-La Crosse dual. Junior Tony Willaert (North Mankato, Minn./Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial), a normal 197-pounder, surrendered 70+ pounds to defeat the Eagles' Dan Laurent, a two-time national champion and the nation's top-ranked heavyweight, by major decision, 15-4. Junior Matt Baarson (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Champlin Park) went 3-0 at 165 pounds, including two major decisions. Willaert, junior Dustin Baxter (Fairbanks, Alaska/West Valley), sophomore Cody Socher (Delano, Minn.) and freshman Jay Woiwor (Becker, Minn.) all went 2-0 on the night, with Woiwor posting a major decision and a pin.
LATEST RANKINGS: In addition to SJU's team-ranking of No. 11, two Johnnies were ranked individually: senior Mogi Baatar (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia/St. Benedict's Prep, N.J.), No. 2 at 133 pounds (10-3 record) and sophomore Matt Pfarr (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson), No. 5 at 174 pounds (8-2 record). Other teams ranked from the NCAA Great Lakes Region include Augsburg (No. 2), Elmhurst (Ill.; No. 8), Concordia-Moorhead (No. 9), North Central (Ill.; No. 10) and Chicago (Ill.; No. 27).
LAST YEAR'S NATIONAL DUALS: Then- No. 9 Saint John's went 1-2 at the 2009 NWCA/Cliff Keen Division III National Duals. SJU defeated No. 24 Heidelberg (Ohio) 22-10 in the opening round before falling to No. 3 Delaware Valley (41-4) in the quarterfinals and Concordia-Moorhead (22-14) in the consolation bracket. The Johnnies will face the Aggies of Delaware Valley, ranked No. 12 in the nation, in the first round of this year's tournament. The winner/loser of the dual will face the winner/loser of No. 1 Wis.-La Crosse and Dubuque (Iowa). No. 5 Wartburg (Iowa), No. 7 Wis.-Stevens Point, No. 17 Luther (Iowa) and No. 20 Johnson and Wales (R.I.) are also on SJU's side of the bracket.
WHO WILL BE THERE: In addition to the schools mentioned in the above paragraph, Augsburg, Concordia-Moorhead, North Central (Ill), No. 3 Coe (Iowa), No. 16 Cornell (Iowa), No. 21 Heidelberg, No. 22 Wis.-Whitewater and No. 14 Williams (Mass.) comprise the other bracket.
