SJU to compete in Husky Open Saint John’s
will take a short trip cross town to St. Cloud to compete in the Husky
Open at 9 a.m. this Saturday, Dec. 9 at St. Cloud State University’s
Halenbeck Hall. The Johnnies finished third out of 12 teams last year,
however, this year’s Husky Open will not include team scores. SJU had
five wrestlers finish within the top three places at the Husky Open in
2005-06. Wrestlers from SJU, St. Cloud State, Wis.-La Crosse, South
Dakota State, Minnesota State-Moorhead, Wis.- Parkside, Concordia,
Rochester Community College, Augsburg, Minnesota, Minnesota
State-Mankato, Itasca Community College and Ridgewater Community
College will be competing at this year’s Husky Open.
Johnnies finish fourth at Simpson
INDIANOLA, Iowa - Saint John’s placed fourth overall out of 16 teams at
the Simpson Invitational last Saturday. The competition included tough
teams such as Wartburg, Dana and Coe Colleges, who finished in the top
three positions, respectively. Individually, SJU had six wrestlers
place within the top five of their respective weight classes: 125-Mogi
Baatar, fifth, (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia/St. Benedict's); 133- Tim
Thompson, fourth, (Lake City, Minn./Lake City); 141-Minga Batsukh,
second, (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia/St. Benedict's); 157-Jacob Malone,
second, (New York Mills, Minn./New York Mills); 174-Grant Eustice,
fifth, (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View); and 197-Jason Finley, third,
(Lake City, Minn./Lake City).
Malone, Batsukh Wrestlers of the Week
Jacob Malone (left) and Minga Batsukh (right) both finished second in
their respective weight classes at the Simpson Invitational last week.
Malone fell in the 157-pound championship match, 5-4 to Aaron Wernimont
(Wartburg, Iowa), while Batsukh lost in a 10-6 decision to Terrence
Almond (Dana, Neb.) in the 141- pound weight class. Malone will look to
improve upon last year’s second place finish at the Husky Open this
weekend.
SJU Head Coach Brandon Novak
Head Coach Brandon Novak is in his third season as the head wrestling
coach in Collegeville. A 2001 graduate of SJU, Novak won the NCAA
Division III Championship at 197 pounds in 2001 and was a three-time
All-American. As a football player at SJU, Novak was named MIAC Most
Valuable Player as a linebacker in 1999 and a first-team All- America
selection. Last year, Novak led the Johnnie grapplers to a 16th place
finish at the NCAA Championships. In 2005-06, Novak's SJU wrestling
team had the fifth-highest team grade point average in NCAA Division
III at 3.334.
For all the latest news on Johnnie Wrestling and other SJU sports,
visit the Saint John’s athletic Web site at www.gojohnnies.com