St. Cloud State Wrestling Signs Seven Athletes to Letters of Intent
May 14, 2008
St. Cloud, Minn. - St. Cloud State University
head wrestling coach Steve Costanzo today announced the addition of
seven standouts to the Huskies 2007-08 recruiting class. Signing
National Letters of Intent to the Husky program are Pat LeVasseur of Buffalo Lake, Minn., Jacob Cardenas of Omaha, Neb., Cameron Jurgenson of Boyd, Minn., Aaron Wilcox of Pittsgrove, NJ, Shamus O’Grady of Coon Rapids, Minn., Nick Olson of Maplewood, Minn. and Chad Schultz of Mauston, Wisc.
The addition of these seven wrestlers brings the 2007-08 recruiting
class to eight members. They join 2007 State Champion Mathew Benson of
Chokio, Minn., who signed with SCSU in November.
“I am very excited to begin working with these fine individuals,” said
Costanzo. “These guys bring solid academic and athletic credentials to
our program. Our coaching staff believes these individuals will help us
continue to elevate our program to another level.”
LeVasseur was crowned with the 2008 State Championship this past season
and is a four-time state placer (1st, 6th, 2nd, 3rd) from Hutchinson
High School. He is a past cadet All-American in Greco Roman and a
three-time All-American in Folkstyle. He amassed a career mark of
133-22 and is projected to wrestle at 125-pounds for the Huskies.
“Pat is an outstanding addition to our program,” Costanzo said. “He has
excellent strength, speed and power with tremendous scrambling ability
on the mat. I am confident in his abilities to wrestle at this level.”
Cardenas is a three-time state placer (6th, 3rd, 5th) and a four-time
district and conference champion for 11-time Nebraska State Champion
Omaha Skutt Catholic High School. Cardenas, who is expected to wrestle
at 149 pounds for the Huskies, posted a 131-25 career record with 102
falls. He was ranked as high as 11th in the country his junior year by
Intermat.
“Jacob is an excellent addition to our program,” Costanzo said. “He is
outstanding in the neutral position while having a wide arsenal of
attacks and finishes from his feet. I am very excited to work with him.”
Jurgenson is a two-time state placer (3rd, 4th) for Dawson-Boyd High
School. Jurgenson, who is expected to wrestle at 157 pounds for the
Huskies, posted a 110-14 record in his final three seasons of high
school.
“Cameron is another great addition to our program,” Costanzo said. “He
has an awesome attitude and a vast of knowledge in the sport of
wrestling. Also, he is an excellent student and will bring all the
qualities to our program that we are looking for from our
student-athletes.”
Wilcox is a transfer from NAIA Dana College, where he went 17-4 with 13
falls while placing fourth at the Herald Nichols Open and first at the
North Iowa C. C. Open this past season. Wilcox is a four-time state
qualifier at Schalick High School in Pittsgrove, NJ. He placed sixth in
the state in 2006 and is a three-time District Champion. He posted a
career high school mark of 127-15 with 80 falls. He is projected to
compete at 133 pounds.
“Aaron will add valuable experience to our lower weights,” Costanzo
said. “He is exceptional from the top position and has the ability to
put a lot of points on the board. We are very fortunate to have him on
our team.”
O’Grady is a two-time state finalist and a 2008 State Champion for Coon
Rapids High School. He posted a 42-3 record this past season. In his
final two years, he accumulated a record of 73-10. O’Grady, an
outstanding cross country runner, also plans to run cross country for
the Huskies and will compete at 165/174 pounds.
“Shamus is an outstanding athlete,” Costanzo said. “He is dominating
from the top position and is always on the attack. I am very excited to
have the opportunity to work with him.”
Olson is a two-time state qualifier and a 2008 state runner-up for
Tartan High School. He finished his senior campaign with a record of
42-3. In addition, Olson finished fifth at the 2008 ASICS Folkstyle
National Championships. He has a career mark of 86-26 in high school
and is projected to compete at 197 pounds.
“Nick has a lot of ability and potential to do well at this level,”
Costanzo said. “He has a very aggressive and physical style of
wrestling. I look forward in helping him reach his full potential.”
Schultz is a two-time state place winner (4th, 5th) for Mauston High
School. He finished fourth this past season with a record of 47-6.
Schultz amassed a career mark of 158-38 during his high school
campaign. He is slated to compete at 141 pounds for the Huskies.
“Chad is a go-getter with an outstanding work-ethic and attitude,”
Costanzo said. “He is very powerful and I am confident that he is going
to make a great collegiate wrestler. I look forward to working with
him.”
The St. Cloud State University wrestling team, which finished with an
impressive 13-2 record in 2007-08 and a 12th place finish at the 2008
NCAA Division II championships, expect to bring back eight starters
from their 2007-08 team next season. Included in this group are
returning All-Americans Brad Padgett (184-pounds) and John Sundgren
(157-pounds).