SJU Tops Southwest St., Hosts Two Upcoming Duals
Saint John’s used a majority of its second team to defeat Southwest
Minnesota State 38-6 Wednesday, Jan. 16. The Johnnies host St. Olaf on
Friday, Jan. 18 and No. 3 Augsburg on Tuesday, Jan. 22. SJU is ranked
No. 29 in the latest Brute/Adidas NCAA Division III poll (Jan. 15).
Johnnies Finish Holiday Break Strong
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – The Saint John’s wrestling squad recorded a 3-2
record at the Budd Whitehill Duals hosted by Lycoming College Jan.
11-12 in Williamsport, Pa. The Johnnies upset No. 9 College of New
Jersey, 34-8 in the opening round and then defeated Norwich, Vt. (35-6)
and Baldwin-Wallace, Ohio (30-11). SJU fell to No. 14 York, Pa., 21-21
(criteria, most victories) and No. 29 Lycoming, Pa. (18-15). Sophomore
Mogi Baatar (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia/St. Benedict’s, N.J.) ended the
tournament with a 3-1 record at 125 lbs., while freshman Drew Larson
(left; Willmar, Minn.) finished 4-0 at 149 lbs., including two pins.
Baatar defeated Kyle Flickinger of York College (Pa.), ranked No. 5
nationally, 8-4. At 184 lbs., freshman Dustin Baxter (right; Fairbanks,
Alaska/West Valley) pinned junior Greg Osgoodby (ranked No. 6 at 174)
and tallied a 4-1 record. Senior Jason Finley (Lake City, Minn.) earned
a 3-1 record at 197 lbs. Other strong finishers for the Johnnies were
sophomore Noel Meyer (4-1; Melrose, Minn.) and junior Matt Schrupp
(3-2; Watertown, Minn./Watertown-Mayer). Schrupp defeated Justin
Bonitatis of the College of New Jersey, ranked No. 9 nationally, by
major decision 11-3.
Head Coach Brandon Novak
Brandon Novak begins his fourth season as head coach of the SJU
wrestling program in 2007-08. Last year, Novak led the Johnnies to a
23rd place finish (63 teams) at the NCAA Championships. Keeping the
academic standards high in 2005-06, Novak's SJU wrestling team had the
fifth-highest team grade point average in NCAA Division III at 3.334.
Prior to becoming the head coach in 2004-05, Novak assisted 2007 NCAA
Division III Wrestling Coaches’ Hall of Fame inductee John Elton, who
was head wrestling coach from 1981-2004. Novak, a 2001 graduate of SJU,
won the NCAA Wrestling Championship at 197 pounds in 2001 and was a
three-time All-American. Novak currently owns a 24-30 career dual
record as head coach of the Johnnies.
For all the latest news on Johnnie Wrestling visit the Saint John’s athletic Web site at gojohnnies.com