LA CROSSE, Wis. – No. 26 Saint John's wrestling lost all three bouts at the Wisconsin-La Crosse Duals on Saturday, Dec. 6.

The Johnnies fell to No. 10 Wartburg (39-6), No. 22 Cornell (38-7) and Wisconsin-Eau Claire (25-21).

SJU (0-4 dual record) surrendered six points with a forfeit at heavyweight in the first two duals and two nationally-ranked wrestlers, senior Ryan Michaelis (No. 10 at 197; Monticello, Minn.) and junior Josh Willaert (No. 7/10 at 174; Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson), did not wrestle.

Down 4-0 early, junior Ben Henle (Spicer, Minn./New London-Spicer) battled back with a pin in 2:01 to give SJU its only lead over Wartburg at 141 pounds. The Knights went on to win the last eight matches.

The combination of junior John Wells (Janesville, Wis./Milton) and Henle gave SJU a 7-6 lead over Cornell in the morning's second dual. Wells posted an 8-6 decision at 125 pounds and Henle recorded his second bonus-point win of the day with an 11-1 major decision. The Rams, however, won the last six matches, including two by technical fall, to claim the victory.

SJU started its final dual of the day with a 15-0 lead over the Blugolds, but lost five straight matches, including a forfeit at 165 pounds, before freshman Nick Pegelow (Eagan, Minn./Eastview) notched a pin in 14 seconds at 197. UWEC's Justin Karkula clinched the win with a 13-4 major decision over junior Matt Kadrlik (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley) at heavyweight. Henle, who is ranked 10th nationally by D3wrestle.com, earned a forfeit win to post a perfect 3-0 record on the day and moved to 10-4 on the season, with all four losses to Division I or Division II student-athletes.

The Johnnies travel to Nashville for the Gator Duals on Saturday, Dec. 20.

No. 10 Wartburg (WAR) 39, No. 26 Saint John's (SJU) 6
125: Jake Agnitsch (WAR) dec. John Wells, 7-4 [6-39]
133: Connor Campo (WAR) major dec. Mike Pleski, 11-2 [0-4]
141: Ben Henle (No. 10, SJU) pinned Kaz Onoo, 2:01 [6-4]
149: Mark Pinero (No. 3, WAR) major dec. Adam Sutlief, 13-5 [6-8]
157: Drew Wagenhoffer (No. 7, WAR) dec. Chase Monger, 4-0 [6-11]
165: Nick Michael (WAR) tech. fall Ochirbat Bayanjargal, 16-0/4:46 [6-16]
174: Nick Fuller (WAR) pinned Teddy Erickson, 2:36 [6-22]
184: Brit Bastow (WAR) dec. Robert Tait, 9-4 [6-25]
197: Bryan Levsen (WAR) tech. fall Nick Pegelow, 15-0/3:00 [6-30]
285: Ben Nagle (No. 6, WAR) won by forfeit [6-36]
*the dual started at 133 pounds

No. 22 Cornell (COR) 38, No. 26 Saint John's (SJU) 7
125: John Wells (SJU) dec. Scott Smith, 8-6 [3-0]
133: Phillip Opelt (No. 8/10, COR) pinned Mike Pleski, 6:51 [3-6]
141: Ben Henle (No. 10, SJU) major dec. Nathan Shank, 11-1 [7-6]
149: Trevor Engle (No. 4, COR) tech. fall Branden Schorr, 19-4/7:00 [7-11]
157: Aaron Engle (COR) dec. Chase Monger, 4-2 [7-14]
165: Michael Maksimovic (COR) tech. fall Ochirbat Bayanjargal, 20-3/6:44 [7-19]
174: Brent Hamm (No. 8, COR) major dec. Kyle Spengler, 9-0 [7-23]
184: James Garrett (COR) pinned Aaron Baker, 5:58 [7-29]
197: Aburough Abegesah (COR) dec. Robert Tait, 14-9 [7-32]
285: Eric Tucker (COR) won by forfeit [7-38]

Wisconsin-Eau Claire (UWEC) 25, No. 26 Saint John's (SJU) 21
125: John Wells (SJU) won by forfeit [6-0]
133: Austin Miley (SJU) dec. Scott Worlund, 5-2 [9-0]
141: Ben Henle (No. 10, SJU) won by forfeit [15-0]
149: Ty Griffin (UWEC) dec. Adam Sutlief, 10-8 [15-3]
157: Robert Rocole (UWEC) dec. Brian McCann, 8-2 [15-6]
165: Brandon Stradel (UWEC) won by forfeit [15-12]
174: Matthew Laugen (UWEC) pinned Teddy Erickson, 6:57 [15-18]
184: Matt Rieckhoff (UWEC) dec. Glenn Castro, 10-5 [15-21]
197: Nick Pegelow (SJU) pinned Josh Cormican, 0:14 [21-21]
285: Justin Karkula (UWEC) major dec. Matt Kadrlik, 13-4 [21-25]