MAKE PLANS NOW TO ATTEND HUSKY OPEN: SCSU
will make its first appearance in Halenbeck Hall this Saturday, Dec. 8,
as they host annual Husky Open. This is the second year the tournament
has been conducted in the open format after 35-years of the team
scoring format. Last year Minnesota State Mankato led all schools with
four individual champions. UW-Lacrosse was not far behind with three
titles, Augsburg claimed two with Upper Iowa boasting the final
individual champion. Augsburg took home the most team championships in
the team scoring era with 11 while SCSU tallied 10. Teams slated
to participate in the Husky Open on Dec. 8, include many of the
nation’s top NCAA and NJCAA teams – including SCSU, Augsburg, Minnesota
State Mankato, Itasca C.C., Ridgewater C.C., Southwest Minnesota State,
University of Minnesota, UW-LaCrosse, Upper Iowa and
Concordia-Moorhead. Over 250 wrestlers are expected to compete in
the open tournament.
The action in the Halenbeck Hall South Fieldhouse will start at 9
a.m. Tickets for the event are $6 and $3 for youth and
students. For complete information on this exciting event, please
call 320-308-2141. Complete results will be available after the
tournament on the Husky Home Page (
http://www.stcloudstate.edu/athletics/sports/wrestling ).
DRAGON OPEN REPORT:
After a week off from action, the SCSU wrestlers showed little sign of
rust, as a multitude of placewinners paced the Husky efforts at the
Dragon Open this past Saturday. Leading the way was junior Brad
Padgett (Buckley, Wash.). Padgett improved to 6-1 on the season with a
title in the 184 lbs. division of the open’s red division. Padgett made
a statement with a 10-3 win over Augsburg’s Robbie Gotreau in their
semi-final bout. Gotreau came into the season as a returning
All-American, touting a no. 2 preseason ranking in the Division III
individual poll. Padgett was not the only Husky wrestler to make noise,
as John Sundgren (Coon Rapids) followed up his title at the Cobber Open
two weeks ago by winning the Most Falls award at the Dragon Open.
Sundgren stuck two of his opponents on Saturday on his way to a second
place, red division finish. Also finishing in the top three of the red
division in their respective weight classes were: Westy Hanson
(Crookston), 3rd at 125 lbs., Josh Williams (Banks, Ore.), 3rd at 133
lbs., Gabe Suarez (Las Vegas, Nev.), 2nd at 141 lbs., Matt Jackson
(Oakdale), 3rd at 141 lbs. and Nick Wilkes (Onamia), 2nd at 197 lbs.
COACH STEVE COSTANZO:
Steve Costanzo enters his second season as head wrestling coach at St.
Cloud State. He is the the 13th coach in the 58-year history of the
program. In Çostanzo’s first season, the Huskies finished with a
4-7 dual record, qualifying Nick Wilkes for the Division II National
Championships. SCSU ranked 14th nationally with a 3.029 GPA as Tom
Messerli, Tom Anderson, Adam Hill and Matt Jackson were named to the
Division II All Academic Team. Prior to coming to the Granite
City, Costanzo spent seven seasons at Dana College in Blair, Neb. where
he led the 2006 squad to NAIA tourney and dual national championships.
Costanzo’s teams imprvoed their dual record every year he was with the
program, as he accumulated a 61-30-2 record. Costanzo’s success earned
him NWCA and NAIA Coach of the Year honors in 2006 along with Region
Coach of the Year honors in 2005 and 2006. Costanzo’s recruiting squads
while at Dana College, recognized by Wrestling USA Magazine, finished
15th in 2001, 4th in 2004 and 1st in 2005 for non-NCAA Division I
programs. Costanzo’s 2006 SCSU class recorded the tenth spot in that
same publication for non-NCAA Division I programs. This past summer,
Costanzo’s coaching staff was recognized by Intermat as having one of
the top NCAA Division II recruiting classes for 2007. Costanzo
graduated from the University of Nebraska-Omaha in 1996, where he was a
three-time All-American. He finished his career fifth on the all-time
wins list at UNO after winning NCC Championships in 1994 and 1995. His
decorated career earned him a place in the Nebraska Wrestling Hall of
Fame, to which he was inducted in 2006.
2007-08 SCHEDULE:
Nov. 10 Black/Red Classic 7 p.m.
Nov. 17 Cobber Open No Team Scores
Dec. 1 Dragon Open No Team Scores Dec. 8 *HUSKY OPEN 9 a.m.
Dec. 15 at Terry Haws Duals 9 a.m.
Jan. 4 at Midwest Classic 10 a.m.
Jan. 5 at Midwest Classic 10 a.m.
Jan. 10 Northern State 7 p.m.
Jan. 11 UW-Eau Claire 7 p.m.
Jan. 18 Augustana 7 p.m.
Jan. 25 St. Olaf 7 p.m.
Jan. 26 %Nebraska-Omaha 2 p.m.
Feb. 1 MSU Moorhead 7 p.m.
Feb. 2 SW Minnesota State 7 p.m.
Feb. 8 ^Saint John’s 7 p.m.
Feb. 10 #Upper Iowa 2 p.m.
Feb. 16 U-Mary 2 p.m.
Feb. 22 Minnesota State 7 p.m.
March 2 North Regions - Mankato
March 14 NCAA Division II Championships
March 15 NCAA Division II Championships
Cedar Rapids, Iowa