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SJU Wrestling Ranked No. 22 in NWCA Preseason Rankings

November 4, 2008

Brute/NWCA Division III Coaches Poll and Brute/Adidas Division III Individual Rankings
D3wrestle.com Preseason Rankings

Collegeville, Minn. - The Saint John’s University wrestling team was ranked No. 22 in the 2008-09 Brute-Adidas National Wrestling Coaches’ Association (NWCA) Division III preseason team rankings released Oct. 27. Other teams ranked from the NCAA Great Lakes Region included Augsburg (No. 2), North Central (Ill.; No. 7), Concordia-Moorhead (No. 21) and Elmhurst (Ill.; No. 26).

In addition to the team rankings, three Johnnies were ranked individually: junior Mogi Baatar (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia/St. Benedict’s Prep, N.J., fifth at 125 pounds; sophomore Minga Batsukh (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia/St. Benedict's Prep, N.J.), seventh at 141 pounds; and sophomore Dustin Baxter (Fairbanks, Alaska/West Valley), sixth at 184 pounds.

A two-time national qualifier, Baatar earned All-America honors with a seventh-place finish at the 2008 Division III Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  Baatar finished his sophomore season with a 31-9 record at 125 pounds and became the 16th Johnnie in school history to earn All-America honors (24th All-America performance overall).

Batsukh, who finished 27-11 during the 2006-07 season, is set to return this year and compete at 141 pounds after a 1-2 mark at the 2007 NCAA Division III Championships, while Baxter returns following a 28-8 finish and a trip to the national championships last season.

Four individuals were also ranked in the 2008-09 D3wrestle.com preseason rankings released Oct. 17. Baatar was ranked sixth at 125 pounds, but will be wrestling at 133 pounds this season. Batsukh was ranked fifth at 141 pounds, while Baxter was ranked sixth at 184 pounds. Senior Matt Schrupp (165 pounds; Watertown, Minn./Watertown-Mayer) was ranked eighth at 165 pounds. Schrupp competed at the NCAA Division III Championships and finished with a 26-9 record last season.

D3wrestle.com also noted three SJU freshmen as “Newcomers” to watch in 2008-09: Matt Pfarr (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson) at 165 pounds, Kyle Schumm (Buffalo, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville) at 184 pounds, and Cody Socher (Delano, Minn.) at heavyweight. Pfarr won the Minnesota state Class A title at 160 pounds last season, while Schumm claimed second place his junior year and finished fourth at the Minnesota state tournament his senior year. Socher earned third place at the Minnesota state tournament and posted a 42-5 record last year.

The Johnnies host the Red/White Alumni Dual this Friday, Nov. 7, and formally open the 2008-09 season with a split-squad at the North Dakota State Bison Open and the Lakeland College (Wis.) Duals on Saturday, Nov. 15. SJU will face two ranked teams, No. 6 Luther (Iowa) and No. 7 North Central (Ill.), at the duals in Plymouth, Wis.