The Johnnie wrestling team hosts two events this weekend in Sexton Arena, beginning with a 7 p.m. dual vs. Nebraska Wesleyan on Friday, Nov. 7. Northland C.T.C. and the University of Saskatchewan join the Johnnies and Prairie Wolves for the Haws/Elton Rumble at 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8. – Live Video (Friday) | Live Results (Saturday)

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's opened its 2025-26 season with six Johnnies on the podium, three each in the gold and silver brackets, last Saturday (Nov. 1) at Wisconsin-Stevens Point's Pointer Open.

Junior Connor Krueger (Superior, Wis.) led SJU with a third-place finish and a 4-1 record 133 pounds. He started his junior season with a pin of Wisconsin-Whitewater's Ethan Agnew in 1:52, but fell to Matthew Chi of Division II Wisconsin-Parkside, 14-7. Krueger responded to the loss with three-straight wins. He built a 6-1 lead in the first period in a 7-2 win over Concordia-Moorhead's Kie Anderson and topped Division II MSU-Mankato's Chase Beckett 10-7 with a thrilling finish. Down 7-6, Krueger was awarded a point for Beckett stalling with 13 seconds left and scored a takedown with seven ticks on the clock for the victory. He ended the tournament with an 8-5 win against another Maverick, Logan Schwanz, for third place.

Junior Aidan Wayne (Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo) placed fourth at heavyweight with a 4-2 record. He suffered a loss in his first match of the season to Division II MSU-Mankato's Joshua Gaye (10-3) but bounced back with three-straight bonus-point wins. He collected back-to-back pins of Quinton Ortegon (5:23) and the Pointers' Jack Callen (2:29), followed by an 11-0 major decision over Roman Martell of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Wayne then avenged his loss to Gaye with a 5-3 decision before falling to Preston Krueger in the third-place match, 6-1.

Sophomore Thomas Holmquist (Mendota Heights, Minn./St. Thomas Academy) was next in fifth place with a 3-2 record at 125 pounds. His first match was a high-scoring, 17-11 win thanks to four takedowns and a three-point near fall over Keegan Schlabach of Manchester (Ind.). Holmquist fell to Joey Sikorsky of North Central (Ill.) 11-7 in his next match but answered with a 12-3 major decision over Augustana's (Ill.) Jack Reina. He fell Manchester's Mason Jones via pin (5:22) and avenged his loss to Sikorsky with a 9-5 decision for fifth place. Down 5-4, Holmquist scored a takedown with 11 seconds left and a two-point near fall before the horn sounded.

Junior Kenneth Torres (Fontana, Calif./Marshall Fundamental) led SJU in the in the silver brackets by going 2-2 for a fifth-place finish at 197 pounds. Sophomore Laiken Copeman (Zumbrota, Minn./Zumbrota-Mazeppa) and sophomore Dominic Smith (Maple Grove, Minn./St. Michael's, N.M.) claimed sixth at 165 (3-3 record) and 149 pounds (2-3 record), respectively.

SJU'S PROBABLE LINEUP: SJU is scheduled to send these 10 wrestlers to the mat for Friday night's home opener.

125: Sophomore Thomas Holmquist (Mendota Heights, Minn./St. Thomas Academy)
133: Junior Connor Krueger (Superior, Wis.)
141: Freshman Alfredo Hernandez (San Dimas, Calif./Bishop Amat)
149: Sophomore Dominic Smith (Maple Grove, Minn./St. Michael's, N.M.)
157: Junior Kris Castro (Simi Valley, Calif./Chaminade)
165: Freshman Josiah Solliday (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./St. Thomas Academy)
174: Sophomore Laiken Copeman (Zumbrota, Minn./Zumbrota-Mazeppa)
184: Senior Andy Johnson (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech)
197: Freshman Carson Gellerman (Becker, Minn./Big Lake)
285: Junior Aidan Wayne (Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo)

LAST YEAR'S DUAL: SJU opened the 2024-25 season with a thrilling, 27-23 win over Nebraska Wesleyan last Nov. 9 (2024) in the Donald McNeely Spectrum. Down 23-12, SJU recorded a decision and two pins to close the dual and earn the victory.

Jacob Vaughan '25 started the rally with an 11-6 decision at 184 pounds and sophomore Jordan Silvera (Forest Lake, Minn.) followed with a first-period pin (2:29) at 197.

Wayne bumped up to heavyweight and clinched the win with a quick takedown and fall in 1:39.

Sophomore Jose De Los Santos (Melrose, Minn./Melrose Area) put SJU on the scoreboard with his first collegiate win, a second-period pin (3:56), at 141 pounds and classmate Owen Carlson (Albany, Minn.) did the same (4:11) at 157.

LAST YEAR'S TOURNEY: Twenty-one Johnnies competed in last year's Haws/Elton Rumble on Nov. 10 (2024) in Sexton Arena.

Wayne led the Johnnies with a 3-0 record and the title at heavyweight. He started the Sunday tournament with two falls and edged Minnesota North-Itasca's Andreas Barnett 7-4 in the title match.

Logan Thorsten '25 went 3-1 in a round-robin at 165 pounds to take second place. His lone loss was his first match of the day, 7-2, to Cooper Sanders of Division II Sioux Falls (S.D.). He rallied with a 5-2 decision in his next match and ended the day with a pair of technical falls.

Sophomore Drew Lange (Albany, Minn./Holdingford) posted a 2-1 record at 174 pounds to place second in his collegiate debut. He pinned his first two opponents before falling to Sioux Falls' Grant Moraski in the championship match.