Saint John’s wrestling hosts Division II Mary (N.D.) for a 2 p.m. dual on Saturday, Jan. 31, in Sexton Arena.
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John’s (5-16 dual record) recorded a 31-9 win over Ridgewater on Wednesday night (Jan. 28) in Collegeville. Following a double forfeit at 125 pounds, SJU built a 15-0 lead thanks to a forfeit at 133, a 7-3 decision from freshman Chris Ortman (Pierz, Minn.) at 141 and a pin in 2:28 by sophomoreBranden Schorr (Mantorville, Minn./Kasson-Mantorville) at 149. Chris Schmidt erased a 5-0 deficit with 14 consecutive points before pinning senior Ochirbat Bayanjargal (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia/St. Benedict’s Prep) in 5:36 at 157 pounds for Ridgewater (1-7 dual record). The Johnnies responded with four straight wins to earn the dual victory. Sophomore Brian McCann (Deerfield, Ill.) collected a pin at 165 pounds, followed by decisions from sophomore Glenn Castro (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Westlake) and freshman Nick Hoff (Rushford, Minn./Rushford-Peterson) at 174 (11-6) and 184 (7-3) pounds, respectively. The decision was the first win not by pin for Hoff, who is now 8-5 on the season. Sophomore Robert Tait (Faribault, Minn./Bethlehem Academy) tallied a 16-3 major decision at 197 pounds before the Warriors’ John Wittman ended the dual with a 9-6 win over freshman Noah Voigt (St. Augusta, Minn./St. Cloud Tech) at heavyweight. The match was the first of Voigt’s collegiate career. Ortman won his second match of the night, in an exhibition bout, via major decision (17-7). He is now 5-2 on the season.
NATIONAL RANKINGS: Junior Ben Henle (Spicer, Minn./New London-Spicer) stayed at seventh nationally at 141 pounds according to D3wrestle.com and moved up one spot to eighth by the National Wrestling Coaches’ Association (NWCA). He is 22-5 on the year and has won 16 of his last 17 matches.
Senior Ryan Michaelis (Monticello, Minn.) is still ranked seventh at 197 pounds by D3wrestle.com, but is still not listed in the NWCA top 10 despite handling seventh-ranked Matt Hechsel of Augsburg, 7-2 on Jan. 25. A two-time national entrant, Michaelis has a 9-1 record this season.
A LOOK AT THE MARAUDERS: Mary (1-9, 0-3 NSIC) travels to central Minnesota riding a six-dual losing streak, including a 45-0 loss at No. 6 Upper Iowa Jan. 23. The Marauders take on St. Cloud State Friday night before visiting SJU the following afternoon. Two brothers, senior John (18-9 at 184) and junior Tom DeVito (8-7 at 197) enter tonight’s dual against SCSU with winning records.
Live Video – Sat., Jan. 31., 2 p.m.
PROBABLE LINEUPS: Here are the projected lineups for Saturday’s dual.
MARY
125: Open
133: Hunter Menendez (11-11)
141: Reed Cronin (0-0) or Miguel Rivera (1-7)
149: Dane Fischer (1-5)
157: Paul Michaelson (7-11)
165: Riley Nagel (8-10)
174: Jered Keller (0-5)
184: John DeVito (18-9)
197: Tom DeVito (8-7)
285: Travis Smith (12-13)
SJU
125: Ben Kollaja (1-14)
133: Evan Guffey (9-11)
141: Ben Henle (No. 7/8, 22-5)
149: Adam Sutlief (6-9)
157: Chase Monger (4-6)
165: Teddy Erickson (8-12)
174: Jackson Graham (3-1) or Nick Hoff (8-5)
184: Aaron Baker (2-5) or Robert Tait (5-6)
197: Ryan Michaelis (No. 7, 9-1)
285: Colin Fisher (6-4)
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