No. 1 St. Cloud State Wrestling to Open Dual Season at Home

St. Cloud, Minn.- No. 1 St. Cloud State Wrestling will compete in their first dual match of the season as they take on receiving votes Sioux Falls on Sunday, December 8 at Halenbeck Hall. The dual is set to begin at 2:00 p.m.

Follow the Huskies
Sunday's dual will be streamed live for free on the NSIC Network. Live results will also be available on TrackWrestling. Links to both options can be found on the St. Cloud State Wrestling Schedule.

Promotional Events
Sunday's dual will serve as Youth Day where all fans under the age of 13 will receive free admission with a paid adult.

Strong Start
The Huskies have gotten off to a strong start this season having competed in three open events. St. Cloud State has accumulated 18 titles across the Yellowjacket Open, Luther College Open, and Wisconsin Open while having 66 wrestlers place in the three respective events. SCSU will travel to Moorhead, Minn. on Saturday, December 7 to compete in the Dragon Open before their dual opener against the Cougars.

Top Dog
St. Cloud State comes into this dual currently ranked as the number one team in the nation via the National Wrestling Coaches Association. In the latest standings, the Huskies accumulated 106 points thanks to their 10 ranked wrestlers which is tied for the most in the country. Central Oklahoma tallied 87 points to rank second and were followed by Wisconsin Parkside (76.5), McKendree (59.5), and Nebraska Kearney (52).

The individuals that are ranked for SCSU are as follows:

125 Pounds- No. 6 Conor Knopick (2-3 record, one bonus point victory, 6^th place finish at Wisconsin Open)
133 Pounds- No. 6 Sam Spencer (12-1 record, six bonus point victories, 1^st place finish at the Yellowjacket and Luther College Open, 3^rd place finish at the Wisconsin Open)
141 Pounds- No. 8 Alyeus Craig (9-2 record, seven bonus point victories, 3^rd place finish at the Luther College Open, 4^th place finish at the Wisconsin Open)
149 Pounds- No. 2 Colby Njos (Has yet to wrestle this season)
157 Pounds- No. 7 Joel Jesuroga (5-0 record, two bonus point victories, 1^st place finish at the Luther College Open)
165 Pounds- No. 6 Nick Novak (8-1 record, five bonus point victories, 1^st place finish at the Wisconsin Open, 2^nd place finish at the Luther College Open)
174 Pounds- No. 4 Cole Glazier (6-3 record, three bonus point victories, 2^nd place finish at the Luther College Open, 5^th place finish at the Wisconsin Open)
184 Pounds- No. 6 Bryce FitzPatrick (7-3 record, three bonus point victories, 1^st place finish at the Luther College Open, 6^th place finish at the Wisconsin Open)
197 Pounds- No. 4 Dominic Murphy (7-0 record, five bonus point victories, 1^st place finish at the Luther College Open and Wisconsin Open)
285 Pounds- No. 2 La'Ron Parks (11-0 record, three bonus point victories, 1^st place finish at the Yellowjacket Open, Luther College Open, and Wisconsin Open)

Series History
Sunday's dual against Sioux Falls will be the second meeting between the two programs with St. Cloud State taking the lone matchup. In last year's dual meet, the Huskies cruised to a 49-0 victory over the Cougars after tallying eight bonus point victories. Caleb Meekins, Colby Njos, Bryce Dagel, and Elijah Novak all picked up falls during the route.

No. 6 St. Cloud State 49, Sioux Falls 0
Jan. 13, 2024 | Stewart Center | Sioux Falls, S.D.
125: Conor Knopick (SCSU) dec. Paul Garcia (USF), 2-0
133: Caleb Meekins (SCSU) Fall Beau Klingensmith (USF), 2:18
141: No. 12 Alyeus Craig (SCSU) MD Beau Beavers (USF), 18-6
149: No. 8 Colby Njos (SCSU) Fall Cooper Sanders (USF), 3:34
157: No. 1 Nick Novak (SCSU) TF John Tyler (USF), 16-1 (7:00)
165: No. 7 Anthony Herrera (SCSU) TF Lincoln Fink (USF), 17-1 (5:42)
174: Bryce Dagel (SCSU) Fall Ashtin Johnson (USF), 1:49
184: Tyson Meyer (SCSU) dec. Daevon Vereen (USF), 5-1
197: No. 3 Dominic Murphy (SCSU) TF Isaiah Laguna (USF), 16-0 (4:17)
HWT: Elijah Novak (SCSU) Fall Rocky Wiedman (USF), 2:33

Scouting Sioux Falls
The Sioux Falls Cougars come into this dual receiving votes in the latest NWCA rankings as they hold a 1-1 record in dual competition. The Cougars took down Newman University 31-20 in their dual opener, but then fell 12-32 against Upper Iowa. USF came into this season projected to finish tied for ninth in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll following the inaugural season of Sioux Falls Wrestling where they posted a 2-12 record with an 0-9 record in conference duals.

The Cougars hold one ranked wrestler on their roster as junior Beau Klingensmith is the No. 7 ranked wrestler at the 133-pound class. Last season, Klingensmith tallied an 18-8 record with a 5-4 record in conference duals. He also qualified for the NCAA Tournament after placing second at the Super Region V Tournament. So far this season, Klingensmith has totaled a record of 3-0.

Head Coach Matt Meuleners enters his second season with Sioux Falls. In the inaugural season of the program, Meuleners and the Cougars tallied a 2-12 record with an 0-9 record in conference play to finish 10th in the standings. Prior to Sioux Falls, Meuleners was the head assistant wrestling coach at California State University.

Sioux Falls is set to take on No. 3 Wisconsin-Parkside on Friday, December 6 in Kenosha, Wis. prior to the matchup against the Huskies.

For all the latest on St. Cloud State Wrestling, stay tuned to scsuhuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.