Huskies fall to No. 2 MSU: In a match-up of two top-ten teams, Minnesota State stole seven of 10 matches to get past No. 10 St. Cloud State
23-9 Friday evening in Mankato. Gabe Suarez (Las Vegas, Nev.), Brad
Padgett (Buckley, Wash.) and Nick Wilkes won their matches for SCSU,
whose five-match win streak was ended. Suarez picked up a big win, as
he avenged an earlier loss to No. 4 Travis Elg by winning a 4-3
decision at 141 pounds. Wilkes defended his No. 8 national ranking by
defeating Tom Block 8-3 at 197 pounds while Padgett beat Ben Becker
10-6 at 184. In a match featuring two ranked wrestlers, No. 1 Jason
Rhoten topped No. 7 John Sundgren (Blaine) 15-6, in the 157-pound bout.
SCSU will begin postseason action this Sunday as they head back to
Mankato for the North Region Championships.
Huskies Wrap up Best regular season in over 25 Years: The 2007-08
season has been one of the most memorable in recent memory for SCSU.
The 13 dual wins is the most by a Husky wrestling team since the
1972-73 season, when SCSU went 14-5 under John Oxton. There have been
just four teams in the 58-year history of the program that have
produced more dual wins then this edition of Husky wrestling.
HUSKIES GAIN TOP 10 RANKING: Thanks to a win over then-fourth
ranked Travis Eggers of Upper Iowa, John Sundgren cracked the polls at
seventh in the latest 157 pound rankings. The redshirt freshman is now
19-6 on the ‘07-08 campaign. Nick Wilkes remained eighth at 197 pounds,
but the biggest move was by the SCSU team, who moved into the top-ten
for the first time this season, as St. Cloud State’s one-spot jump put
them at 10th.
ON TAP: NCAA North Regional at Mankato: SCSU will send its top
wrestlers to this weekend’s North Region Championships in Mankato on
Sunday for a shot at berths in this year’s Division II Championships.
The top four finishers in each weight class will earn a trip to Cedar
Rapids, Iowa for the championship, with the fifth and sixth place
wrestlers occupying alternate spots.
COACH COSTANZO: Steve Costanzo enters his second season as head
wrestling coach at St. Cloud State. He is the 13th coach in the 58-year
history of the program and begins his ninth season overall as a head
coach. He has an overall record of 65-37-2 while coaching 75 National
Qualifiers, 31 All-Americans and 2 National Champions at Dana College
in Blair Neb and here at SCSU. 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 improved 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 SCSU 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* No Team Scores
Dec. 15 @ Terry Haws Duals 4-0
vs. #12 Buena Vista W, 22-16
vs. U. of Dubuque W, 24-14
vs. #9 Ridgewater W, 35-6
vs. St. John’s W, 41-3
Jan. 4-5 @ Midwest Classic 9th of 21
Jan. 10 @ Northern State W, 33-6
Jan. 11 UW-EAU CLAIRE W, 42-0
Jan. 18 AUGUSTANA W, 30-12
Jan. 25 ST. OLAF W, 33-6
Jan. 26 #2 NEBRASKA-OMAHA% L 16-25
Feb. 1 @ #7 MSU Moorhead W, 17-15
Feb. 2 SW MINNESOTA STATE W, 50-0
Feb. 8 ST. JOHN’S^ W, 28-9
Feb. 10 #9 UPPER IOWA! W, 27-12
Feb. 16 @ U-Mary W, 39-6
Feb. 22 @ #2 Minnesota State L, 23-9
March 2 North regions - Mankato
March 14 NCAA Division II Championships
March 15 NCAA Division II Championships -Cedar Rapids, Iowa
*Parent’s Day
%Alumni Night
^Prep Night
!Senior Night