Johnnies gear up for Cobbers dual
After a solid performance in their own Terry Haws Duals, the Johnnies
are ready to take on Concordia-Moorhead Tuesday, Jan. 23 at Wadena-Deer
Creek High School in Wadena. The dual is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.
SJU has strong showing in Collegeville
Collegeville, MN – The Saint John’s wrestling team went 2-2 last
Saturday at their own Terry Haws Duals. The meet, held in Sexton Arena,
attracted formidable competition for the Johnnies including nationally
ranked Wis.-La Crosse (#3, NCAA Division III) and Ridgewater College
(#5, NJCAA Division III). The Johnnies came out strong with a decisive
57-0 victory over The University of Regina, Canada in the opening dual
and had an impressive second round victory over #4 Ridgewater College
(17-16). The Johnnies then fell in the third and fourth rounds to #3
Wis.-La Crosse (32-9) and Wis.-Eau Claire (26-18). Individual standouts
from the meet include: senior Jacob Malone (4-0 record at 1457; New
York Mills, Minn./New York Mills), freshman Mogi Baatar (4-0 record at
125, #3 nationally ranked, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia/St. Benedict’s),
freshman Minga Batsukh (3-0 record at 141 Ulaanbaatar, Monglolia/St.
Benedict’s) and sophomore Zach Anderson (3-1 record; Theif River Falls,
Minn./Lincoln).
Baatar narrows in on record
After his performance in last weekend’s Terry Haws Duals, freshman Mogi
Baatar’s (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia/St. Benedict's) record of 24-8 at 125
pounds puts him nine wins shy of the freshman record for victories held
by current teammate Jacob Malone (New York Mills, Minn./New York Mills).
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 two-time 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