
St. Cloud State Headed to NCAA Division II Championships on
March
12-13March 8, 2010
www.stcloudstate.edu
Next Match:
March
12-13: at 2010 NCAA Division II Championships in Omaha, Neb.
HUSKIES
HEADLINERS:
- The
#5 St. Cloud State University wrestling team (14-7, 5-2 NSIC/3rd)
will
travel to the 2010 NCAA Division II championships in Omaha, Neb. on
March
12-13. The Huskies have qualified eight wrestlers for the national
meet, and they will be looking to improve upon their 8th place
finish at
the nationals in 2009.
- SCSU
coach Steve Costanzo won his 100th career match with a 32-7 dual
victory
at rival Minnesota State on Feb. 19, in Mankato. He is 100-51-2 in
his 11-year college coaching career. In four seasons with the
Huskies, Costanzo is 39-21.
- The
Huskies placed second at the 2010 regional in Aberdeen, S.D. with
108.5
points on Feb. 28. Augustana won the meet with 120.5 points, while
Upper Iowa (95), Minnesota State (84.5), MSU Moorhead (73), SW
Minnesota
(53.5), Northern State (46.5) and Mary (43) completed the field.
- SCSU
junior Derek Skala won first place honors in regional action at
184-pounds. Second placers at the regional for SCSU were John
Sundgren at 157, Tad Merritt at 165, Shamus O’Grady at 174, Lucas
Munkelwitz at 187 and Jacob Kahnke at 285. Shane McQuade (133) and
Gabe Suarez (141) both earned third place finishes at the regional.
All of these SCSU place winners qualified for the NCAA nationals.
- SCSU
now owns a 14-7 dual match record (5-2 NSIC) in 2009-10. This
marks
the second most wins in a season for the Huskies. The top win
total
was 15-2, which was set by the Huskies in 1964-65.
- SCSU
wrestlers returning to nationals for the third consecutive season
include
Suarez, Sundgren and Skala. SCSU wrestlers qualifying for the
second
consecutive season are Munkelwitz and Merritt, while O’Grady,
McQuade and
Kahnke are all make their first trip to nationals for SCSU.
- In
the latest NCAA Division II national rankings, SCSU was ranked #5
(best so
far in 2009-10). Derek Skala was ranked #2 at 184-pounds, while
Tad
Merritt was ranked #4 at 165-pounds. SCSU’s Lucas Munkelwitz (197)
and Jacob Kahnke (285) were also ranked fifth in the national polls
this
week. Shamus O’Grady also moved into the national polls with a 6th
place ranking at 174.
- Lucas
Munkelwitz is 29-7 this year for the Huskies at 197-pounds.
Munkelwitz leads SCSU in wins this season. Of note, the team
record of 38 wins in a season is held by 4 different SCSU wrestlers
(Tad
Merritt, Dustin Darveaux, Gene Hanneman and Andy Reigstad).
- Jacob
Kahnke owns a 27-5 record this season for SCSU at 285-pounds.
- SCSU
will be led on the mats this season by team captains junior Gabe
Suarez,
junior Derek Skala, junior John Sundgren and sophomore Tad Merritt.
- Derek
Skala is 25-8 this season at 184-pounds. Shane McQuade is 20-13 at
133-pounds this season.
- At
the 2009 NCAA championships, Derek Skala earned All-America honors
with a
7th place finish at 174-pounds, while Tad Merritt was 3rd at
165-pounds.
Of note, John Sundgren earned All-America honors at 157-pounds in
2008 with an 8th place ending.
- As
the Huskies look ahead to the upcoming NCAA nationals, which will
take
place on the campus of Nebraska-Omaha, SCSU’s best-ever finish at
the NCAA
DII level was a seventh place finish in 1983. SCSU placed eighth
at
the nationals in 2009, 1986 and 1976. SCSU also placed third at
nationals during the 1963 and 1965 seasons as an NAIA affiliate.