The St. Cloud State wrestling team
produced strong numbers at the 2008 NCAA Division II North Regional,
which was held in Mankato, Minn. On Sunday, March 2. The Huskies
captured fourth place, and they will send seven wrestlers to the
upcoming NCAA Division II national championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
on March 14-15.
The Huskies were led at the tournament by Brad Padgett, who captured
first place honors at 184-pounds. He will be headed to nationals along
with Josh Williams (133), Gabe Suarez (141), John Sundgren (157), Tom
Anderson (165), Derek Skala (174) and Nick Wilkes (197).
Minnesota State Mankato won the meet with 104.5 points, while
Nebraska-Omaha was second at 92.5. Upper Iowa placed third at 72.5 and
SCSU was fourth at 67.5. Augustana (38), Northern State (28), Minnesota
State, Moorhead (20.5), Mary (13) and Southwest Minnesota State (6.5)
completed the field.
At 125-pounds, Westy Hanson lost in his first round match to #2 seed
Tyler Mumbolo of Upper Iowa by a 12-3 score. Hanson bowed out of
tournament action in the wrestlebacks with a 9-5 loss to Northern
State’s Chas Welch.
At 133-pounds, Josh Williams gained a bid to the upcoming NCAA Division
II nationals with a second place finish. He lost a 17-4 decision to
John Putman of Mankato in the championship match. In his first round
match, Williams gained a 6-4 win over Jacob Petersen of Upper Iowa. In
the second round, #4 seed Williams gained an upset 8-1 decision against
#1 seed Kelly Janke of Minnesota State, Moorhead. The victory set up
his trip to the championship bout at the regional.
At 141-pounds, #1 seed Gabe Suarez also gained a bid to the NCAA finals
with his second place finish. In the championship match Suarez lost a
14-5 major decision to Mankato’s Travis Elg. In the first round at
141-pounds, Suarez charted a 10-4 win over Steve Baker of Upper Iowa.
In the second round, Suarez rolled to a 10-4 win over Nebraska-Omaha’s
Yasiim Bribieseca.
In action at 149-pounds, Chad Kubasch posted an 8-5 win over Southwest
Minnesota State’s Lucas Giese in first round play. In the second round,
Kubasch lost to Monterios Adams of Upper Iowa in a pin at 2:24. In the
wrestlebacks, Kubasch gained a 6-3 win over Ryan Larsen of Northern
State before losing to Mike Long of Augustana by a 9-5 tally.
John Sundgren was another SCSU national qualifier with his third place
finish at 157-pounds. Sundgren started his day in Mankato with an 11-2
win over Tallen Wald of Minnesota State, Moorhead. In the second round,
Sundgren lost a 12-10 battle to Travis Eggers of Upper Iowa. Sundgren
battled back in the wrestlebacks with a pinfall win over Devin Nagel of
Mary at :43. He clinched third place with a 4:33 pinfall win over Henry
Wahle of UNO
In play at 165-pounds, Tom Anderson placed fourth and also gained a bid
to the NCAA finals. He started the regional with an 11-4 win over Phil
Downs of Northern State. In second round action, Anderson beat Rockie
Stavin of Moorhead by a 4-2 tally. In the semi’s, Anderson dropped a
tough 4-1 decision against Andy Pickar of Minnesota State, Mankato. In
the wrestlebacks, Anderson matched up again with Downs and gained an
8-6 win. In the bout for third place, Anderson suffered a 6-1 loss to
Mitch Norton of Upper Iowa.
Derek Skala also placed fourth at 174-pounds, and added his name to the
list of SCSU’s national qualifiers. He opened the tournament with a
16-6 win over Southwest Minnesota State’s Greg Frank. In the second
round, Skala notched a 5-4 win over Upper Iowa’s Brady Hakeman. In the
semi-final match, Skala lost a 7-3 decision to number one seed Ross
Taplin of UNO. In the wrestlebacks, Skala charted a 4:55 pin against
Andy Sorenson of Augustana. To complete his day, Skala lost a tough 5-4
decision against Mankato’s Tim Matheson.
Padgett started his championship run in the first round with a 16-6 win
over Mary’s Kurt Wiedrich. He backed that up in the second round with a
5-2 win over Augustana’s Beau Severtson. To complete the day, Padgett
brought home the crown at 184-pounds with an 11-4 victory over Cale
Corneman of Northern State.
Nick Wilkes will be making his second consecutive trip to the NCAA
finals, as he posted a third place finish in regional action at
197-pounds. Wilkes started the bracket with a 3-1 win over Moorhead’s
Matt Nelson. In the second round, Wilkes lost a 9-5 decision to
Augustana’s Ty Copsey. In the wrestlebacks, Wilkes added a 10-5 win
over #1 seed Jacob Marrs of UNO. In the third place match, Wilkes
brought home the victory with a 5:46 pinfall over Todd Nasz of Northern
State.
At heavyweight, Chris Schiewe lost a 4-2 decision against Mary’s Jesse
Laber. He returned in the wrestlebacks with a 6-3 victory over
Moorhead’s Jon Swart. Schiewe dropped out of tournament action with a
tough 8-3 loss to UNO’s Tony Lewis.
The SCSU wrestlers who qualified at the regional, will now advance to
the 2008 NCAA Division II championships on March 14-15 at Cedar Rapids,
Iowa.
133-Pounds - Title Match Play-by-Play
#3 John Putman (MSU) vs. #4 Josh Williams (St. Cloud State)
First Period:
Stalemate :30
Putman takedown (2) - :51; 2-0
Williams escape (1) - 1:34; 2-1
Stalemate 2:09
Putman takedown (2) - 2:20; 4-1
Putman nearfall (2) - 2:38; 6-1
Second Period:
Williams defers
Putman chose down
Putman escape at (1) - 3:05; 7-1
Putman takedown (2) - 4:17; 10-1
Williams escape (1) - 4:44; 10-2
Third Period:
Williams chose down
Williams escape (1) - 5:13; 12-3
Putman takedown (2) - 5:22; 12-3
Putman nearfall (2) - 5:45; 14-3
Williams escape (1) - 6:08; 14-4
Putman takedown (2) - 6:36; 16-4
Putman riding time (1)- 7:00; 17-4
Final Score: Putman wins by major decision; 17-4
141 Pounds - Title Match Play-by-Play
#1 Gabe Suarez (St. Cloud State) vs. #2 Travis Elg (MSU)
First Period:
Elg takedown (2) - :29; 2-0
Suarez reversal (2) - :53; 2-2
Elg reversal (2) - 1:07; 4-2
Suarez reversal (2) - 2:21; 4-4
Elg escape (1) - 2:27; 5-4
Second Period:
Padgett chose down
Padgett reversal (2) - 3:03; 4-1
Cornemann escape (1) - 3:11; 4-2
Padgett takedown (2) - 4:29; 6-2
Third Period:
Cornemann chose down
Cornemann escape (1) -5:10; 6-3
Padgett takedown (2) - 5:37; 8-3
Cornemann escape (1) - 5:50; 8-4
Padgett takedown (2) - 6:52; 10-4
Padgett awarded riding time (1); 11-4
Final Score: Padgett wins by decision, 11-4
National Qualifiers for SCSU:
133 - Josh Williams
141 - Gabe Suarez
157 - John Sundgren
165 - Tom Anderson
174 - Derek Skala
184 - Brad Padgett
197 - Nick Wilkes