For Immediate Release
Monday, February 13, 2012
NSIC Media Relations
Full PDF Release
NSIC Wrestler of the Week
Jesse Westphal
149 lbs, Jr.,
Janesville, Minn.
JWP HS
Minnesota State
Jesse Westphal went 2-0 this weekend highlighted by a 7-4 win over the No. 2 ranked wrestler in the nation at 141 pounds, Trevor Johnson of the University of Mary. Trailing 2-0 after the first period, Westphal used a key escape and a three point near fall en route to the decision win. Westphal also defeated Gavin Larsen of Northern State 7-2 on Thursday night. Following his perfect weekend, Westphal now sits at 21-8 on the year, including a 4-1 record in conference duals.
NSIC Wrestling Notes
Out of the ten weight classes, the NSIC has five wrestlers ranked No.1 in the nation at their respective weights. The NSIC also has a wrestler ranked in the top four in each of the other five weight classes. (see page 4 of PDF release for full individual national rankings.
AUGUSTANA COLLEGE - Nate Herda (149, Jr., Rock Rapids, Iowa/Rock Rapids HS) scored a 9-3 win over Upper Iowa’s Jordan Rinken on Friday in conference action. Herda is ranked No. 1 in Division II and owns a 17-2 record this season. He and the Vikings will finish up the NSIC dual season Wednesday at MSU Moorhead.
UNIVERSITY OF MARY - Brady Anderson (184, Jr., Hamilton, MT) and John Devito (174-197, Fr., Glendale, AZ) both captured two matches for the Marauders last week as U-Mary split two duals, defeating Minot State University 36-6 before dropping a 21-9 decision to Minnesota State University, Mankato. Anderson opened with a 7-3 win at 184 over Minot State’s Cody George, leading 5-0 after the first period on a takedown and near fall. Anderson finished with a 5-2 win over Minnesota State’s Brandon Pederson. The junior from Hamilton, MT, never trailed after jumping out to a 3-0 advantage. Wrestling at 197 for the first time all season after competing at 174, Devito defeated MiSU’s Luke Michaelson 8-6. Devito trailed 4-1 but rallied for the win on a takedown in the final 30 seconds. Devito won again at 197 on Friday, defeating Derek Hahn of Minnesota State 5-3. Down 2-0, Devito scored the next five points and held on for the victory.
MINNESOTA STATE - Jesse Westphal (149lbs, Jr., Janesville, Minn.) went 2-0 this weekend highlighted by a 7-4 win over No. 2 ranked wrestler at 141 pounds, Trevor Johnson of the University of Mary. Trailing 2-0 after the first period, Westphal used a key escape and a three point near fall en route to the decision win. Westphal also defeated Gavin Larsen of Northern State 7-2 on Thursday night. Following his perfect weekend, Westphal now sits at 21-8 on the year, including 4-1 record in conference duals.
Minnesota State fell to Northern State 18-17 on Thursday night...After losing four consecutive matches, MSU won the last two matches, but the comeback was not enough...Senior Tel Todd (Bozeman, Mont.) and freshman Cody Quinn (Covington, Wash.) both recorded major decision wins on the night...MSU bounced back Friday night to defeat U-Mary 21-9...In the marquee match of the night, junior Jesse Westphal (Janesville, Minn.) defeated No. 2 Trevor Johnson 7-4...MSU would not lose a match until the 184-lb bout...MSU now sits at 4-8 and will host No. 1 St. Cloud State on Thursday, February 16 at 7 p.m.
MSU MOORHEAD - Late decision wins aren’t enough as the MSU Moorhead wrestlers fell 28-12 to Northern State. The Dragons earned wins in four classes Friday night in Wachs Arena. With the loss the Dragons fall to 2-8 overall and 1-5 in the Northern Sun. Picking up decision wins on the night was Eric Lehmann, No. 1 Corey Ulmer, Connor MacGregor and Tyler Steinwand. The Wolves grabbed the first three wins of the night followed by the Dragons taking four of the next seven matches.
NORTHERN STATE - Donnie Bowden (174 lbs, Sr., Gettysburg, S.D./Gettysburg HS) picked up wins in his last two career home matches to lead the Wolves to back-to-back NSIC dual meet victories over Minnesota State and MSU Moorhead. Bowden earned a 4-1 decision over Brendan Eichmann of MSU on Thursday to spark a four-match win streak for the Wolves. That streak helped secure NSU’s first victory over the Mavericks since moving to Division II. Bowden then capped his NSU home career with a 3-2 win over MSUM’s Trent Sovde on Friday. Bowden earned the victory without securing a single takedown, using two escapes and a riding time point to get the win.
SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE - Jacob Begin (165, So., Anoka, Minn.) won his 11th consecutive match picking up a 15-2 major decision over Josten Coleman of Concordia-Moorhead to improve to 20-4 on the season. Begin has not lost a match since an 8-6 decision against Dillon Reid of South Dakota State on Dec. 9. During the stretch, Begin has picked up three major decision and two pins.
ST. CLOUD STATE - Derek Skala (184 lbs, Sr., Owatonna, Minn.) clinched a victory for the Huskies over #3 ranked Upper Iowa with his 15-5 major decision win at 184-pounds on Sunday, Feb. 12 in St. Cloud. Skala, who is currently ranked number three in the nation among DII wrestlers at 184-pounds, scored the victory over the Peacocks’ Mitchell Schultz, who is ranked #4 in the latest national poll and is a returning DII All-American. The major decision helped lift the Huskies to a big 19-12 win over Upper Iowa. SCSU is now 20-0 on the season and 6-0 in NSIC dual action during the 2011-12 campaign. A resident of Owatonna and graduate of Owatonna High School, Skala is 22-2 for the Huskies this winter.
The victory over #3 Upper Iowa marked SCSU’s 20th win of the season. This total sets a new team record for dual match victories in an season, and it breaks the old record of 19 set in 2010-11. The Huskies have also clinched a share of first place in the NSIC regular season dual meet standings with the win over Upper Iowa. The Huskies will finish their NSIC dual season on Feb. 16 with a match at Minnesota State in Mankato…if the Huskies can collect a win at Minnesota State, it would mark the first time since 1980-81 that the Huskies have finished their conference dual meet schedule with an undefeated record. SCSU charted a 6-0 record in the NIC under the leadership of Coach John Oxton that season…a victory over Minnesota State would also mark the first regular season conference title for the Huskies since they won first place in the NSIC back in 1977-78 (then called the NIC)…the Huskies will host the 2012 NCAA Division II Super 3 Regional meet on Feb. 26 in Halenbeck Hall. The action will get underway at 10 a.m. that day, and the doors will open for spectators at 9 a.m. For complete ticket information, please call 1-877-SCSUTIX or 320-308-2137…SCSU wrestlers earning wins in the dual match victory over #3 Upper Iowa included Jake Kahnke (285), Jay Hildreth (141), Jacob D. Horn (149), Tad Merritt (165), Shamus O’Grady (174) and Derek Skala (184)…Tad Merritt owns a 29-2 record this season for the Huskies and is ranked #1 in the nation at 165…Jake Kahnke owns a 28-1 record at 285-pounds and is ranked #1 in the nation…Derek Skala is ranked #3 at 184-pounds, while teammates Jacob D. Horn is ranked #3 at 149 and Shamus O’Grady is ranked #3 at 174 pounds for the Huskies…sophomore Dylan Wright is currently ranked #7 at 125-pounds in the latest DII poll and Andy Pokorny is ranked #4 in the nation at 133-pounds in the latest DII poll…as a team, SCSU remained at number one in the latest NWCA DII national poll.
UPPER IOWA - Upper Iowa split their two NSIC duals this past weekend to finish their 2012 campaign 6-1 in the conference and 10-2 overall. Upper Iowa, ranked #3 in the latest NWCA Top 20 Poll, defeated the #5 Vikings of Augustana, 24-12, after pulling away from a 9-9 tie midway through the dual. UIU won four of the final five matches including one by fall to post the victory. On Sunday, the Peacocks held leads of 9-3 and 12-9 in today’s regular season finale at #1 St. Cloud State, but the #3 team in the country couldn’t hold on suffering three losses in a row as the Huskies earned a 19-12 victory. Kyle Pedretti (#2 NCAA), Trevor Franklin (#1 NCAA), Winston Robbins and Carl Broghammer (#4 NCAA) all won both of their matches over the weekend, while Blake Sorensen and Zach Rosol (#5 NCAA) added wins on Friday against the Vikings.
Upper Iowa can still share the Northern Sun Conference Championship with St. Cloud State if the Huskies stumble at Minnesota State next week, but SCSU is now in control of their own destiny and the NSIC title. If they defeat the Mavericks they will be the champions with a perfect 7-0 record in conference. The Peacocks will now get back into the wrestling room for a couple of weeks. Upper Iowa will send their ten wrestlers back up to St. Cloud, Minn. for the NCAA Super Regional on Sunday, Feb. 26.
Week 13 Results
2/8 Minot State 6 at U-Mary 36
2/9 *Minnesota State 17 at Northern State 18
2/10 *MSU Moorhead 12 at Northern State 28
2/10 Concordia-Moorhead 16 at SMSU 17
2/10 *Augustana 12 at Upper Iowa 24
2/10 *Minnesota State 21 at U-Mary 9
2/12 *Upper Iowa 12 at St. Cloud State 19
Week 14 Schedule
2/15 *Augustana at MSU Moorhead 7:00 PM
2/15 Northern State at Minot State 7:00 PM
2/16 *Northern State at U-Mary 7:00 PM
2/16 *St. Cloud State at Minnesota State 7:00 PM
2/17 *SMSU at MSU Moorhead 7:00 PM
2/18 Augustana Open at Augustana 9:00 AM
2/18 *Minnesota State at SMSU 7:00 PM
*= NSIC Match
Past NSIC Wrestlers of the Week
11/08/11 Jake Kahnke, SCSU
11/15/11 Zach Rosol, UIU
11/22/11 Trevor Johnson, U-Mary
12/05/11 Jayd Docken, Augie
12/12/11 Tad Merritt, SCSU
12/20/11 Matt Meuleners, NSU
01/03/12 Tad Merritt, SCSU (2)
01/09/12 Lucas Munkelwitz, SCSU
01/16/12 Jacob Begin, SMSU
01/23/12 Taylor Nagel, U-Mary
01/30/12 Andy Pokorny, SCSU
02/06/12 Corey Ulmer, MSUM
02/13/12 Jesse Westphal, MSU
#NSIC#