Merritt, Skala and Padgett Earn All-American Accolades
March 14, 2009
Houston, Texas – St. Cloud State
wrapped up its stay at the Division II Championships by having three
wrestlers earn All-America honors. Brad Padgett (Buckley, Wash.) and
Tad Merritt (Canby) led the way with third place finishes at 184 and
165, while Derek Skala (Owatonna) posted a seventh place finish at 174
Saturday afternoon.
Padgett, a senior, wrapped up his career as a two-time All-American,
improving upon his fourth place mark from last year. Brent Pankoke of
Nebraska-Omaha defeated Padgett in the semi-finals, but recovered to
win his last two matches, including a 16-3 drubbing of Bryant Blanton
in the third place match.
Merritt, a redshirt freshman, earned his first All-America honor by
winning four straight matches after Corey Van Groll dropped him 8-6 in
the second round. Merritt avenged that loss by beating Van Groll 9-2 in
the third place bout.
Skala, also earning his first All-America award, went 3-2 in the
tourney. Skala won the seventh place bout over Joseph Shreckhise by
fall at the 6:32 mark of the match.
At the time of this, the Huskies sat in eighth place as a team with
44.0 points. The Huskies finished 12th last year, also boasting three
All-Americans.
