Huskies Check in at Second; Padgett and Suarez Take Home Regional Titles
March 2, 2009
Marshall, Minn. – Gabe Suarez (Las Vegas) and Brad Padgett’s (Buckley,
Wash.) regional titles highlighted a momentous day for Husky Wrestling,
as eight St. Cloud State University
grapplers qualified for the Division II Tournament at the North
Regional Sunday evening. SCSU took second place as a team, coming in
behind champion Minnesota State.
For the second ranked Padgett, it was his second straight regional
title at 184 lbs. as he defeated Augie’s Nick Henning 12-2 in the
championship bout. Suarez grabbed his first regional title with an 8-1
decision over Upper Iowa’s JR Baker.
Three other Huskies wrestled for regional titles along with Suarez and
Padgett as Josh Williams (Banks, Ore.), Jake Roberts (Jordan) and Derek
Skala (Owatonna) took second at 133 lbs., 149 lbs. and 174 lbs.
respectively.
The Husky pair of seventh ranked wrestlers in John Sundgren (Blaine)
and Tad Merritt (Canby) also qualified, taking third at 157 and 165
lbs. respectively. Last year Sundgren took eighth at the National
Tourney, and will look to earn his second All-America honor.
Luke Munkelwitz (Forest Lake) rounded out the SCSU qualifiers, as he
defeated Northern State’s Brent Fosheim in the true fourth place match
at 197 lbs. to earn his first berth to the national tournament.
Minnesota State took home the team title by qualifying all 10 of its
entrants for nationals. The Huskies came in at second, followed by
Upper Iowa.
The Division II National Tournament will be held March 13-14 in Houston, Texas.
