2009-10 College Results
Huskies 2nd at Regional, 8 Headed to Nationals
February 28, 2010
Aberdeen, S.D. - The St. Cloud State University wrestling
team captured second place at the 2010 NCAA Division II Super Region 3
on Feb. 28. The tournament was held at Northern State University in
Aberdeen, S.D., and a total of eight SCSU have now qualified for the
upcoming 2010 NCAA Division II championships that will be held on March
13-14 in Omaha, Neb.
The Huskies advanced to the championship bout in six of the weight
division at the regional, and junior Derek Skala (Owatonna) captured
first place honors at 184-pounds for the Huskies.
As a team, SCSU posted 108.5 points to place second. Augustana won the
regional with 120.5 points, while Upper Iowa placed third with 95
points and Minnesota State was fourth with 84.5 points. MSU Moorhead
(73.0), Southwest Minnesota State (53.5), Northern State (46.5) and
Mary (43.0) completed the field at the regional this season.
SCSU wrestlers headed to nationals include Shane McQuade (133), Gabe
Suarez (141), John Sundgren (157), Tad Merritt (165), Shamus O'Grady
(174), Skala (184), Lucas Munkelwitz (197) and Jacob Kahnke (285).
Suarez, Sundgren and Skala are all three-time national qualifier, while
Merritt and Munkelwitz both qualified in 2009.
Listed below is a wrap-up of the regional results for SCSU:
At 125-pounds, SCSU's Trent Herold suffered a tough 6-3 loss to
Minnesota State Moorhead's Corey Ulmer in first round action. In the
wrestlebacks, Herold received a first-round bye in the consolation
round. In second round action, Herold lost a 4-1 decision against Alex
Meger of Augustana.
At 133-pounds, SCSU's Shane McQuade opened up the day in Aberdeen with
an 11-4 victory over Jacob Butrous of Northern State. In second round
action, McQuade lost a tough 8-3 decision against #2 seed Kyle Pedretti
of Upper Iowa. In the wrestlebacks at 133-pounds, McQuade advanced to
the third place bout with a 14-3 decision over Evan Forde of Minnesota
State Moorhead. McQuade won third place honors with a exciting 13-12
win over Jacob Butrous of Northern State.
At 141-pounds, #2 seed Gabe Suarez was upset in first round action with
a 3-2 loss to Benton Crow of Northern State. In the wrestlebacks,
Suarez gained a 6-3 victory over #3 seed Robby Fisher of Minnesota
State. He then moved ahead to the third place bout with a 9-3 win over
Southwest Minnesota State's Brandan Schunk. The victory set up a
re-match against Crow in the battle for third place. Suarez got his
revenge in the third place match at 141-pounds, as he posted a 1:35 pin
fall against Crow.
At 149-pounds, Jacob Horn opened tournament action with a 6-1 loss to
SMSU's Demond Carter. Horn then bowed out of tournament action with a
forfeit loss to Travis Elg of Minnesota State in the wrestlebacks.
At 157-pounds, #2 seed John Sundgren of SCSU seemed to be on a mission
as he gained a first round pin against Collin Englehardt of Mary at
6:23. Sundgren rolled into the title bout with a pinfall at 3:15
against #3 seed Justin Turek of Minnesota State. In the championship
match at 157-pounds, Sundgren lost a close 9-6 match against top seed
Marcus Edington of Augustana.
At 165-pounds, #2 seed Tad Merritt also gained a first round pin with a
2:21 victory against Trent Molacek of SMSU. Merritt then earned his
trip the title bout with a 4-3 decision over Gavin Nelson of Augustana,
the tournament's #3 seed. Merritt added another second place finish for
the Huskies as he lost by a pin against top seed Travis Eggers of Upper
Iowa at 2:52.
At 174-pounds, the Huskies' made it to another championship match as #3
seed Shamus O'Grady won his first round match with a 10-4 victory over
William Fate of SMSU. In the second round match, O'Grady gained the
upset with a 6-3 victory over #2 seed Carl Serck of Augustana. In the
top bout at 174-pounds, O'Grady suffered a 4-0 loss to top seed Mitch
Norton of Upper Iowa.
At 184-pounds, top seed Derek Skala gained first round points for SCSU
with an 8-2 victory over Tayler Yliniemi of MSUM. He then advanced to
the title bout with a 12-6 victory over Cale Cornemann of NSU. Skala
earned a championship for the Huskies at 184-pounds by virtue of a
thrilling 3-2 victoy over Aaron Norgren of Minnesota State.
At 197-pounds, #2 seed Lucas Munkelwitz started his day with a 6-0
decision over Jon Swart of MSUM. Munkelwitz gained his trip to the
nationals by virtue of his second round 2-1 victory over #3 seed Dusty
Vliem of Mary. In the battle for first place at 197-pounds, Munkelwitz
lost a tight 2-1 match against top seed Tyler Copsey of Augustana.
At 285-pounds, SCSU's success continued with the work of Jacob Kahnke.
In first round action, Kahnke won a 6-1 decision over NSU's Jared
Little. Kahnke, who was seeded second at the tournament, then gained a
trip to the title match with a 9-1 win over #3 seed Tim Johnson of
MSUM. In the final bout of the day, Kahnke battled the nation's top
ranked wrestler Brady Wilson of Minnesota State in the title bout at
285-pounds. Wilson earned the upper hand in the match with a 4-1
victory over Kahnke.
The Huskies will now look forward to the upcoming NCAA DII finals on
March 12-13 in Omaha, Neb. Last year, SCSU placed eighth overall as
Derek Skala and Tad Merritt both earned All-America honors at nationals
in 2009.
NCAA Super Region 3 Tournament Results
