Saint John's wrestling hosts St. Olaf for a 7:30 p.m. dual tonight at Sexton Arena in Collegeville. – Live Blog/Stats
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (2-3 dual record) split its top two wrestlers at each weight into two teams and went 1-3 at the Wisconsin-La Crosse Duals Dec. 1. The then-No. 25 Johnnies started the day with losses to ninth-ranked Wisconsin-Stevens Point (25-15), Cornell of Iowa (23-19) and fifth-ranked Wisconsin-La Crosse (27-12) before posting seven bonus-point wins and two forfeits in a 42-9 victory over Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Junior Nick Schuler (Roseville, Minn./Totino-Grace) tallied three pins on the day, including one after bumping up to 174 pounds from 165 against the Blugolds. He finished last season with a 27-8 record, including 20 bonus-point wins. Schuler has four in four matches (major decision vs. Northwestern of Iowa Nov. 16) so far in 2012-13. Senior Mitch Hagen (Sunburg, Minn./Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg) bounced back from a 1-2 showing at the Augsburg Open Nov. 17 with a pair of wins Saturday, including a 3-2 win over the third-ranked (d3wrestle.com) wrestler at 184 pounds, La Crosse's Eric Twohey. Freshmen Josh Willaert (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson) and Matt Kadrlik (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley) tallied 2-0 record at 174 pound and heavyweight, respectively. Sophomore Ryan Michaelis (Monticello, Minn.) suffered a 3-1 overtime loss to the Pointers' Dustin Wozniak in the first dual of the day before earning a 6-2 win over La Crosse's Tony Piechowski. Piechowski is currently ranked ninth at 197 pounds by d3wrestle.com.
A LOOK AT THE OLES: St. Olaf is 0-2 in duals so far this season with losses to No. 15 Central of Iowa (27-11) and Dakota Wesleyan (22-18). The Oles recently finished fourth at the Milwaukee School of Engineering (Wis.) Invitational Dec. 1. Sophomore Wesley Azariah claimed third at 125 pounds, while James Roach and Zach Gibson took second at 174 pounds and heavyweight, respectively. Roach is currently ranked 11th by D3wrestle.com, just outside the top 10. STO entered the season ranked No. 19 in the NWCA preseason national rankings, four spots ahead of SJU (No. 23), on Oct. 25.
NATIONAL RANKINGS: The Johnnies fell two spots to No. 27 in the latest National Wrestling Coaches' Association (NWCA) team rankings released Dec. 5. Other members of the NCAA West Region include Augsburg (No. 2) and Concordia-Moorhead (No. 12). St. Olaf fell out of the rankings. Individually, Hagen re-entered the top 10 at No. 6 at 184 pounds. Hagen was also ranked sixth by D3wrestle.com (Dec. 5), while Stevermer was ranked No. 10 at 157 pounds. Schuler (165 lbs.) was listed as a “contender,” just outside the top 10, while Michaelis (197 lbs.) and freshman John Wells (125 lbs.; Janesville, Wis./Milton) were named honorable mention.
LAST YEAR: Saint John's defeated St. Olaf 35-12 at the Minnesota Duals last Jan. 28 on the campus of Augsburg in Minneapolis. Chad Henle '12 defeated the Oles' Ian Peppel with a 12-3 major decision. Senior Cody Goldschmidt (Waconia, Minn./BOLD) cut the Johnnies' early deficit to 9-7 with a 4-2 win at 149 pounds and junior Brandon Seppelt (Foley, Minn.) registered an early 2-0 lead at 157, but St. Olaf's Jacob Bohler responded with a reversal and three-point near fall en route to a 7-4 win. Nevertheless, SJU answered with five straight bonus-point victories, including four pins, to end the dual. Senior Mitch Hagen (Sunburg, Minn./Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg) and junior Nick Schuler (Roseville, Minn./Totino-Grace) collected pins, while Matt Pfarr '12 mastered a 12-3 major decision. Sophomore Ryan Michaelis (Monticello, Minn.) recorded his first collegiate pin at 184 pounds and junior John Scepaniak (Avon, Minn./Holdingford) ended the dual with a fall in 4:00.
SERIES HISTORY: Going back to the 1990-91 season, SJU is 20-0 against St. Olaf (5-0 in Collegeville) and has outscored the Oles 770-167 during that span.
