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Oct. 29, 2002

St. Cloud State ranked 10th

St. Cloud, MN (USA) -- The St. Cloud State University wrestling team has received a 10th place ranking in the 2002-03 Division II national pre-season poll, which was recently released by the NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Association. Central Oklahoma (70), the defending national champion gained the poll's top spot and North Central Conference rivals Nebraska-Omaha (40), North Dakota State (35) and South Dakota State (34) were ranked second through fourth place respectively.

The Huskies received 18 points in the national poll and were tied for 10th place along with Central Washington. SCSU was ranked ahead of NCC opponents #13 Northern Colorado, #15 Minnesota State, Mankato and #17 Augustana. SCSU finished the 2001-02 season with a 6-8 dual match record (1-5 NCC) and placed 15th at the 2002 NCAA Division II championships.

Individually, SCSU is led this winter by senior heavyweight Dustin Darveaux (Pipestone). A two-time All-American, Darveaux placed fourth in the nation last year at heavyweight and is on the verge of setting a new team record for most career wins this season. He enters the 2002-03 season with a 105-36 career record and needs only 22 wins this year to break the record. Last year, Darveaux tied the team record for most wins in a season with a 38-10 record. Darveaux has received a second place position in the NWCA pre-season poll at heavyweight for 2002-03.

SCSU's other nationally ranked wrestle in the pre-season poll is sophomore Jon Duncombe (St. Michael/Albertville). A fourth place finisher at 174-pounds at the 2001-02 NCAA Division II championships, Duncombe is ranked third in the poll's pre-season poll at 174-pounds. Duncombe ended his first year at SCSU with a 23-16 record at 174-pounds.

The Huskies will open the 2002-03 season on Nov. 23, with a trip to the Ryan Kaufman Open in Omaha, Neb. SCSU grappling fans will want to mark Dec. 14, on their calendars as that is the day for the annual St. Cloud State Invitational. This tournament features many of the top NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III programs in the country and it will start at 9 a.m. on Dec. 14.

2002-03 NCAA DII Pre-Season Poll

Rank	School	Points	Last Year
1.	Central Oklahoma	70	1st
2.	Nebraska-Omaha	40	5th
3.	North Dakota State	35	2nd
4.	South Dakota State	34	3rd
5.	Nebraska-Kearney	33	8th
6.	Findlay (Ohio)	26	T-6th
6.	San Francisco State (Calif.)	26	13th
8.	Western State (Colo.)	22	9th
9.	Ashland (Ohio)	21	4th
10.	St. Cloud State	18	T-15th
10.	Central Washington	18	12th
12.	Gannon (Pa.)	15	17th
13.	Northern Colorado	14	18th
13.	Adams State (Colo.)	14	11th
15.	Minnesota State-Mankato	12	T-15th
15.	Wisconsin-Parkside	12	14th
17.	Augustana (S.D.)	10	10th
18.	Mercyhurst (Pa.)	7	22nd
19.	Indianapolis (Ind.)	4	25th
20.	Pittsburgh-Johnstown	3	T-6th

125 Pounds

1. Mark Dodgen, Central Oklahoma

2, Brian Pitts, Adams State (Colo.)

3. Bryce Abbey, Nebraska-Kearney

4. Matt Strawser, North Dakota State

5. Aaron Graumann, Augustana (S.D.)

6. Jim Phillips, Ashland (Ohio)

7. Dante Lewis, Minnesota-Morris

8. Dan Hilario, Nebraska-Omaha

 

133 Pounds

1. Cole Province, Central Oklahoma

2. Jared Haberman, Western State (Colo.)

3. Tony Fratzke, Minnesota State-Mankato

4. Joey Simcoe, Findlay (Ohio)

5. Rob Jankowski, Wisconsin-Parkside

6. Eli Dominguez, Nebraska-Omaha

7. Adam Keiswetter, Nebraska-Kearney

8. Josh Soupir, Southwest State (Minn.)

 

141 Pounds

1. Matt Dodgen, Central Oklahoma

2. Ronnie Stafford, Northern Colorado

3. Roderick Ratcliff, Nebraska-Omaha

4. Brad Russell, Wisconsin-Parkside

5. Shane Barnes, Adams State (Colo.)

6. Lucas Christianson, North Dakota State

7. Jason Nester, Pittsburgh-Johnstown

8. Merrick Meyer, Truman State (Mo.)

 

149 Pounds

1. Waylon Lowe, Findlay (Ohio)

2. Adrian Jiron, Western State (Colo.)

3. Brandon Pfizenmaier, Nebraska-Kearney

4. Ricky Garcia, San Francisco State

5. Ryan Wirtzberger, Ashland (Ohio)

6. Mitchell Napier, Indianapolis (Ind.)

7. Brendan Bosko, Gannon (Pa.)

8. Hannon Hisek, Minnesota State-Mankato

 

157 Pounds

1. Paul Carlson, North Dakota State

2. Gary Skoch, Ashland (Ohio)

3. Jared Novak, Central Washington

4. Brody Olson, Northern Colorado

5. Cory Beckman, Minnesota State-Mankato

6. Travis Koppenhafer, Adams State (Colo.)

7. Luke Main, West Liberty State (W. Va.)

8. Nate Hanson, Minnesota State-Moorhead

 

165 Pounds

1. Shawn Silvis, Central Oklahoma

2. Tyler Bryant, South Dakota State

3. Michael Fielder, North Dakota State

4. Riley Ross, Nebraska-Kearney

5. Lucas Mackesy, Findlay (Ohio)

6. David LaMotte, West Liberty State (W. Va.)

7. Tony Morgan, Carson-Newman (Tenn.)

8. Jordan Johnson, Chadron State (Neb.)

 

174 Pounds

1. Bob Edmonds, Nebraska-Omaha

2. Tom Meester, Augustana (S.D.)

3. Jon Duncombe, St. Cloud State (Minn.)

4. Frank Kuchera, Nebraska-Kearney

5. Tom Bauer, Ashland (Ohio)

6. Randy Pyle, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)

7. Zach Stephens, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville

8. Sion King, Adams State (Colo.)

 

184 Pounds

1. Mauricio Wright, San Francisco State (Calif.)

2. Tyler Jones, South Dakota State

3. Jeff Henning, Central Oklahoma

4. Zach Stalder, Nebraska-Omaha

5. Franco Santiago, Central Washington

6. Rory Herring, Wisconsin-Parkside

7. Chris Canale, Ashland (Ohio)

8. Ryan Kopiasz, Minnesota State-Moorhead

 

197 Pounds

1. Chad Wallace, Nebraska-Omaha

2. Todd Paszek, South Dakota State

3. Justin Mautz, Mercyhurst (Pa.)

4. Brian Kraemer, North Dakota State

5. Drew Dunbar, San Francisco State

6. Jeff Rusher, Chadron State (Neb.)

7. Ben Kuntz, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)

8. Brian King, Fort Hays State (Kan.)

 

Heavyweight

1. Lyneil Mitchell, Gannon (Pa.)

2. Dustin Darveaux, St. Cloud State (Minn.)

3. Dupree Lacey, Central Washington

4. Willie McCowan, Central Missouri State

5. Barron Blanchard, Northern State (S.D.)

6. Brent Beckstein, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)

7. Ryan Deprey, Wisconsin-Parkside

8. Tom Poe, West Liberty State (W. Va.)