Girtz and Wilson lead Mavericks at UNI
Open
Senior Brandon Girtz (Forest Lake, Minn.) was Minnesota
State-Mankato's top-finisher. Girtz defeated the #1 seed in the
bracket, Moza Fay (UNI), in the championship match by a 5-4 decision to
take first-place at 157-pounds and go a perfect 5-0 in the tournament.
Fay is ranked 19th in Division I. Girtz ran his season record to 13-2
with his two losses coming from nationally ranked NCAA I wrestlers -
#11 C.P. Schlatter-Minnesota (1-4) and #15 Ryan Morningstar-Iowa (1-3).
Freshman Brady Wilson (Faribault, Minn.) finished in third-place in the
Heavyweight bracket. Wilson went 5-1 with his only loss coming from
Tyler Rhodes (UNI) by a one point decision (2-3). Wilson ran his record
season record 13-4 with three losses to NCAA I wrestlers - Tyler
Rhodes-Northern Iowa (2-4 SV1), Tyler Rhodes-Northern Iowa (2-3), #9
ranked Jon May-Nebraska (1-3) and #2 ranked (NCAA III) John
Miller-Luther (Fall 5:10). In addition, Wilson defeated the #3rd ranked
wrestler in NCAA II, Andrew Ubben (3-1) at the Nebraska-Omaha Open.
Senior Ben Janike (Waseca, Minn.) went 4-2 to finish in fifth-place
while senior Jeff Pfaffinger (Blue Earth, Minn.) and junior Jason
Rhoten (Kasson, Minn.) finished in sixth place.
A complete list of final brackets and match-by-match results can be
found at unipanthers.collegesports.com by clicking on the wrestling
page.
Next up - St. Cloud State University
Husky Open
The Mavericks will compete in the St. Cloud State University Open this
Saturday.
The Husky Open wrestling tournament on Saturday, Dec. 9, in the
University's Halenbeck Hall. The tournament kicks off at 9 a.m. that
day and it will feature many of the nation's top collegiate wrestling
programs.
Tickets for this event are $6 for adults and $3 for youth (ages 2 to
12th grade). As always, SCSU students with a validated student I.D.
card will be admitted free to this event.
Teams scheduled to compete in this "open" format tournament include St.
Cloud State, UW-LaCrosse, South Dakota State, Minnesota State-Moorhead,
UW-Parkside, Concordia College, Rochester Community College, Augsburg,
Minnesota, Minnesota State-Mankato, Itasca Community College and
Ridgewater Community College.
MSU-Mankato in the National Rankings
The Mavericks are currently ranked 3rd in the latest NCAA II Coaches
Poll behind Central Oklahoma and Nebraska-Kearney.
2nd ranked Nick Smith-125 pounds
5th ranked Jeff Pfaffinger-133 pounds
7th ranked Efrain Ayala-141 pounds
3rd ranked Jason Rhoten-149 pound
4th ranked Andy Pickar-165 pounds
3rd ranked Travis Krinkie-184 pounds
8th ranked Brady Wilson-285 pounds
Head Wrestling Coach Jim Makovsky
is in his 14th season at the helm of the Minnesota State wrestling
team. As the head coach of the Mavericks, Makovsky has a record of
156-62-2. He recorded his 150th win with over West Liberty State on
January 11, 2006 in Shippensburg, PA. His overall record in seventeen
seasons as a head coach stands 182-81-4. His MSU career win-loss
percentage (71%) ranks him third among active NCAA II wrestling
coaches.
In the 2005-2006 season, Makovsky guided the Mavericks to a fifth-place
finish at the NCAA II National Championships, second at the NWCA
National Dual Meet Championships and compiled a 14-2 dual meet record
with both losses coming from three-time NCAA II national champions
Nebraska-Omaha. Nine team members qualified for the prestigious event
and six wrestlers came home placing in the top eight, earning NCAA II
All-American status. The past two seasons, the Mavericks have compiled
a 30-5 dual meet record with four losses to three-time defending NCAA
II Champion Nebraska-Omaha.
Makovsky has coached fifty-three All-Americans and seven National
Champions. Makovsky recently served a two-year term as the President of
the National Wrestling Coaches Association for Division II and serves
as a board member on the National Wrestling Coaches Association.
Makovsky is assisted by Brandon Reichel (5th season), Ty Eustice (1st
season), Mathias Bitz (1st season), Cory Beckman (1st season), Zach
Stevens (1st season), Andy Schmalzriedt (1st season) and Mike Neimczyck
(2nd season).