Quartet of Mavericks named to
All-Academic wrestling team
March 14, 2007
Mankato, Minn. -- Minnesota
State junior 149-pounder Jason
Rhoten (Kasson, Minn.) and junior 125-pounder Nick Smith (Yankton, S.D.) were
named to the Division II All-Academic Wrestling First-Team. The
All-Academic squad was voted on by the NCAA Division II Wrestling
Coaches Association.
Rhoten finished the season with a 34-9 record en route to a third-place
All-American finish at the NCAA National Championships. Rhoten owns a
3.29 grade point average in management.
Smith wrestled to a 16-10 record this past year, and qualified for the
NCAA National Championships. Smith maintains a 3.23 grade point average
in finance.
Freshman Brady Wilson
(Faribault, Minn.) was named to the Division II All-Academic Second
Team. Wilson, who finished an All-American with a fifth-place finish at
heavyweight at last week's national championships, wrestled to a 42-10
on the season and owns a 3.09 grade point average in management.
Sophomore John Putman (Oak
Lawn, Ill.) was named to the Honorable Mention All-Academic Team.
Putman finished the year with a 13-7 record at a 141 pounds, and owns a
3.38 grade point average in Aviation.
Minnesota State head coach Jim Makovsky was also named the North
Central Conference Coach of the Year the league announced Wednesday.
Makovsky, who is in his 14th year with the Mavericks, led the squad to
both the NCAA North Central Region and North Central Conference
championships as well as a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Division II
Wrestling Championships last week. The fourth-place finish marked the
third consecutive top-five finish for the Mavericks at the meet. The
Mavericks qualified 10 wrestlers for the championships with five
collecting All-American honors. Makovsky owns a 197-84-4 career dual
record including a 171-65-2 record at Minnesota State. Over his past
three seaons, the Mavericks are 46-8.