*TIME CHANGE* Saint John's wrestling hosts Minnesota West C.T.C. for a 4:45 p.m. dual (moved from 2 p.m.) on Saturday, Jan. 27, in Sexton Arena. – Live Video

NO NORTH COUNTRY: Last Saturday's (Jan. 20) annual North Country Open was canceled due to a lack of participants.

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Four Saint John's wrestlers took first place at Minnesota North-Itasca's Northwoods Scramble last Saturday (Jan. 13) in Grand Rapids.

Sophomore Zachariah Hunter (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area) led the way with a 3-0 record to win the championship at 197 pounds. He started his day with a quick pin in 34 seconds and scored a high-scoring, 18-16 win in the semifinal. Hunter took first with a 7-2 decision over teammate Aidan Wayne (Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo) and is now 10-3 this season.

Three other Johnnies earned titles with 2-0 records. Freshman Connor Krueger (Superior, Wis.) collected a pair of decisions of 141 pounds, 5-0 and 9-3, and is now 15-6 this season with a six-match win streak. 

Freshman Owen Herbst (Buffalo, Minn.) cruised to the crown at 174 pounds with a pair of bonus-point wins – a 16-1 technical fall and pin in 24 seconds - in his first matches since Dec. 9. He is now 7-1 on the mat this season. 

Freshman Cody Kwak (Ridgeland, Wis./Menomonie) collected a 36-second pin and a 5-2 decision against Itasca wrestlers to win the heavyweight bracket. He is now 14-8 with a team-leading 10 pins.

Junior Logan Thorsten (Foley, Minn.) finished second with a 3-1 record in the five-man round-robin at 165 pounds. He suffered a close 7-5 loss to Wisconsin-Eau Claire's Jon Harvey in his first match but responded with three-straight decisions (4-1, 7-2 and 4-0) to move his season record to 13-6.

RANKINGS: Three Johnnies – Herbst (sixth at 174), Krueger (seventh at 141 pounds) and Hunter (eighth at 197 pounds) – were ranked in the top eight of their respective weight classes in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Upper Midwest region rankings released today (Jan. 26). Herbst and Krueger were also listed as honorable mention (Nos. 29-36) by D3wrestle.com in its latest rankings posted Jan. 15.

SJU'S PROBABLE LINEUP
125: Sophomore Marcus Hayes (3-7)
133: Freshman Erick Solano (4-9)
141: Freshman Connor Krueger (15-6)
149: Freshman Chris Mathis (1-6)
157: Freshman Kris Castro (14-8)
165: Junior Logan Thorsten (13-6)
174: Freshman Owen Herbst (7-1)
184: Senior Ben Gilbertson (4-7) or junior Cage Linton (4-6)
197: Sophomore Zachariah Hunter (10-3) or junior D.J. Myles (5-5) or freshman Aidan Wayne (12-9)
285: Freshman Cody Kwak (14-8)