Saint John’s update
February 12, 2009
JOHNNIES, RANKED NO. 17, AT GREAT LAKES REGIONAL IN TWO WEEKS
The Johnnies return to action in two weeks at the NCAA Division III
Great Lakes Regional hosted by Concordia (Wis.) Saturday, Feb. 21.
Competition is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. at the R. John Buuck
Fieldhouse in Mequon, Wis. The Johnnies were ranked No. 17 in the
latest Brute-Adidas National Wrestling Coaches’ Association (NWCA)
Division III team rankings released Feb. 10. Other teams ranked from
the NCAA Great Lakes Region included Augsburg (No. 1), North Central
(Ill.; No. 6), Concordia-Moorhead (No. 8), Elmhurst (Ill.; No. 13) and
Lakeland (Wis.; No. 27). The Johnnies defeated both Augsburg (18-13,
Nov. 26) and North Central (19-18, Nov. 15), as well as No. 11
Heidelberg, Ohio (22-10, Jan. 10), No. 15 Cornell, Iowa (18-15, Dec. 6)
and No. 19 Luther, Iowa (19-18, Nov. 15) earlier this season.
Individually, sophomore Matt Baarson (22-7 record; Brooklyn Park,
Minn./Champlin Park) climbed from No. 8 to No. 6 at 157
pounds. Sophomore Dustin Baxter (20-6 record; Fairbanks,
Alaska/West Valley) is ranked No. 8 at 184 pounds, while junior Mogi
Baatar (21-7 record; Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia/St. Benedict's, N.J.) is
ranked No. 9 at 133 pounds.
SJU LEADS THE WAY AT NORTH COUNTRY
COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Eleven Johnnies finished in the top four of their
respective weight classes at the 2009 North Country Open hosted by
Saint John’s on Feb. 7 in Collegeville. Dickinson State (N.D.),
Augsburg and Augustana (S.D.) each followed with six wrestlers in the
top four. Junior Mogi Baatar and sophomore Matt Baarson claimed titles
at 133 and 157 pounds, respectively. Both are ranked No. 8 nationally.
Baatar posted a 3-1 win over Augustana’s (S.D.) Sid Bice in the
championship match, while Baarson edged Dickinson State’s (N.D.) Nick
Zumwalt 6-4. Senior Matt Schrupp (165; Watertown,
Minn./Watertown-Mayer), senior Grant Eustice (174; Shoreview,
Minn./Mounds View), sophomore Dustin Baxter, sophomore Tony Willaert
(197; North Mankato, Minn./Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial) and freshman
Cody Socher (Delano, Minn.) all claimed second place. Sophomore Drew
Larson (149; Willmar, Minn.) and freshman Matt Pfarr (174; Le Sueur,
Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson) finished third, while sophomore James Carlson
(197; Royalton, Minn.), and junior Jake Evenson (285; Burnsville,
Minn./Apple Valley) took fourth. Larson dropped his first match of the
day via pin before rattling off six consecutive victories to claimed
third place in the 21-man bracket.
For all the latest news on Johnnie Wrestling and other SJU sports, visit the Saint John’s athletic Web site at gojohnnies.com
