Saint John's wrestling opens its 2021-22 season at Wisconsin-Stevens Point's Pointer Open at 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 6, in Stevens Point, Wis. - Live Results

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: The Saint John's University wrestling team is excited to hit the mat following a brief, competitive schedule in 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Johnnies only had two "duals," both in Collegeville, though the meets consisted of multiple matches for each wrestler without team scores.

A Look Back
SJU battled Augsburg in the season's first competition on Jan. 30. Captain Jacob Scherber '21 dropped a pair of decisions, but nearly picked up the season's first win in the opener. Down 10-2 following the second period, Scherber escaped to start the third, scored a takedown and a four-point near fall to cut the deficit to 10-9. The Auggies' Nick Rogge, however, escaped and recorded a takedown with five seconds remaining to seal the victory, 13-9. Sophomore Gabriel Ramirez (Immokalee, Fla.) went 1-1 on the day at 125 pounds. He led 4-3 after the first period of his first collegiate bout, but Augsburg's Justin Stauffacher rattled off eight unanswered points to claim the 11-4 victory. Ramirez bounced back with a 9-0 major decision against Trevor Pearson. 

Against Concordia Feb. 6, sophomore Ben Gilbertson (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice) earned redemption after being pinned in his first bout by posting a fall of his own over Concordia's Eli Lanigan in 2:33. The win was SJU's lone victory in the dual. 

Young and Hungry
The Johnnies added 15 freshmen to their 2021-22 roster, six of which are also members of the SJU football team. Among the 15 freshmen are four place-winners from the 2021 Minnesota State Wrestling tournament. Three of the four did their damage in Class AA. Quinn Christoffersen (St. Paul, Minn./South St. Paul) took second at 195 pounds, Logan Thorsten (Foley, Minn.) finished fourth at 152 and Nick McKenzie (New London, Minn./New London-Spicer) was fifth at heavyweight. Ethan Warren (Ogilvie, Minn.) placed sixth at 152 pounds in Class A due to injury. 

In addition to the freshman class, SJU also has 11 sophomores on the roster. Returners include Gilbertson at 165 pounds, Ramirez at 141, Cade Eversley (Dumfries, Va./Forest Park) at 197 pounds, Andrew Hamilton (Eagle River, Alaska) at 184, Hayden LeMonds (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville), at 165 and Aaron Voigt (St. Augusta, Minn./St. Cloud Tech) at heavyweight. 

No Scherber
Scherber would have joined the Johnnie ranks as a senior this year, but he elected to graduate a year early with a degree in biology. He totaled a 49-41 career record.

A Quartet of Upperclassmen
The 2021-22 roster consists of a small group of underclassmen, one senior and three juniors. Senior Hayden Hedrington (Chippewa Falls, Minn.) made his collegiate debut at 197 pounds last season with two losses to Augsburg. Juniors Logan Edwards (Prior Lake, Minn.), Dylan Hanson (Rogers Minn./St. Michael-Albertville) and Julian Mares (La Puente, Calif./Bishop Amat) all return for their third season at or around the 157-pound weight class. The top career record among the trio belongs to Hanson at 8-14. 

The 2021-22 Schedule
SJU opens its 2021-22 season Nov. 6 at the Wisconsin-Stevens Point Open before returning home to host Buena Vista (Iowa) Nov. 13. The Johnnies are scheduled to host two other duals against Ridgewater (Dec. 3) and Concordia-Moorhead (Jan. 22). The annual North Country Open is set for Sunday, Jan. 23, in SJU's Sexton Arena. The NCAA Upper Midwest Regional will be held Feb. 25-26 in Eau Claire, Wis., and the 2022 NCAA Division III Championships are March 11-12 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  

WHO WILL BE THERE: In addition to the Johnnies and host Pointers, other schools scheduled to participate Saturday include Augustana (Ill.), Bryant & Stratton (Wis.), Carthage (Wis.), Central (Iowa), Fontbonne (Mo.), Lakeland (Wis.), North Central (Ill.), Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Division II Wisconsin-Parkside and Wisconsin-Whitewater.

TWO YEARS AGO: SJU started the 2019-20 campaign with three on the podium the last time the Pointer Open was held on Nov. 2, 2019.

Jacob Scherber '21, fresh off his team-leading 27 wins as a freshman in 2018-19, went 4-1 at 174 pounds to take third. He received an opening-round bye and dropped his first match of the tournament via fall, but bounced back with vengeance, three consecutive pins, and defeated Central's Chance Benadum 8-5 in the third-place match. Dominic Skawiniak '20 and Lincoln Shinn claimed fifth place at 197 and 184 pounds, respectively. Both wrestlers recorded three pins on the day.