No. 1 St. Cloud State Wrestling Wins NWCA National Duals Behind Unbelievable Championship Comeback

Saturday, January 11

Ceder Falls, IA.

11:00 A.M.

St. Cloud State

#6 McKendree

No. 1 St. Cloud State Wrestling Wins NWCA National Duals Behind Unbelievable Championship Comeback

1/11/2025 7:54:00 PM | Wrestling

Huskies beat No. 6 McKendree, No. 4 Central Oklahoma en route to eighth title

Cedar Falls, IA.- No. 1 St. Cloud State Wrestling (7-0, 3-0 NSIC) returned to the Northern Iowa Dome Saturday morning for day two of the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) National Duals. The Huskies got the day started by taking on No. 6 McKendree in the semifinals. The dual kicked off at 125 where No. 15 Conor Knopick got the party started with an 11-1 major decision against No. 14 Jason Strope. No. 7 Sam Spencer gave the Huskies a 7-0 lead after defeating Anthony Bernardo 9-2. The dual then tightened up as McKendree won the next two bouts as No. 3 Ronan Schuelke beat No. 6 Alyeus Craig 8-1 and then No. 12 Joey Semerad came up with a takedown in overtime to beat No. 1 Colby Njos 4-1 in sudden victory. With the score now being set a 7-6, No. 5 Joel Jesuroga got the St. Cloud State back on track with a 14-3 major decision James Hoskinson. At 165, No. 2 Nick Novak came away with two escape points to defeat No. 6 Corey Peterson 2-0. At 174, No. 5 Bryce Dagel faced off against No. 2 Matt Ortiz. Dagel struck first as he started to grab a leg of Ortiz. The two then went to the mat where Dagel positioned himself well to complete the takedown and take a 3-0 lead. Dagel rode Ortiz the remainder of the opening period and then came away with a quick escape in period two to lead 4-0. Dagel's had stellar defense in the match as he blocked and avoided every attack by Ortiz. The No. 2 ranked wrestler could only come away with an escape point to start the third period as Bryce Dagel came up with a 4-1 upset to give the Huskies a 17-6 lead. No. 11 Zeke Waltz beat No. 10 Bryce FitzPatrick 3-1 as McKendree got back within striking distance. Moving to 197, No. 4 Dominic Murphy faced off against No. 2 Logan Kvien. Late in the first period, Kvien wrapped up a leg of Murphy and then swept his standing leg to take a 3-0 lead. Murphy would not be able to escape before the end of the first period, but escaped instantly to start the second period. No more scoring occurred in period two as Murphy racked up another escape point to start period three. With 1:18 left in the match, Murphy countered a single leg attack by Kvien and maneuvered around to score a takedown. Kvien would escape but would be unable to score a takedown for the victory as No. 4 Dominic Murphy upset the No. 2 ranked wrestler at 197. McKendree would win the final match as No. 15 Tyler Haynes beat No. 2 La'Ron Parks 10-7 in sudden victory, but SCSU ultimately advanced to the finals with a 20-12 win.

In the finals, the Huskies matched up with No. 4 Central Oklahoma who beat the Huskies in the semifinals of last year's NWCA National Duals. The Bronchos got off to a fast start as No. 5 Studd Morris beat No. 15 Conor Knopick 4-1 and then No. 10 Peter Rolle pinned No. 7 Sam Spencer to take a 9-0 lead. UCO continued to build their lead as Josh Taylor upset No. 6 Alyeus Craig with a 12-2 major decision and then No. 7 Dylan Brown came away with a takedown with mere seconds remaining against No. 1 Colby Njos to beat him 4-1. Now leading 16-0, the match moved to 157 where No. 5 Joel Jesuroga faced off against No. 1 Gabe Johnson. In what was an excellent display of wrestling from both men, the bout headed to overtime tied 1-1 after both wrestlers were stout defensively. Jesuroga looked to initially have the upper hand as he grabbed Johnson's leg and went to sweep it for a takedown. Johnson positioned himself well to avoid being taken down and then attacked Jesuroga with a single leg of his own. While it looked like Johnson would score and win the match, Jesuroga overpowered Johnson and put him on his back before turning him over and scoring the takedown. Jesuroga came away with a 4-1 sudden victory against the No. 1 ranked wrestler at 157 and reigning National Champion. That win sparked the Huskies as No. 2 Nick Novak shutout No. 7 Hunter Jump with an 8-0 major decision as St. Cloud State now trailed 7-16. At 174, Bryce Dagel kept it rolling for St. Cloud State as he came away with a 12-2 major decision of his own against Zane Coleman. No. 10 Bryce FitzPatrick then took to the mat at 184 as he wrestled No. 5 Garrett Wells. Wells put the first points on the board as he scored a takedown early, but FitzPatrick was able to escape. FitzPatrick then countered a single leg attack by Wells as he worked around to securing a takedown. He would ride Wells the remainder of the period to lead 4-3. Wells escaped to start period two as the wrestlers would now be neutral. The No. 10 ranked wrestler scored another takedown, which Wells would again escape to now lead 7-5. Starting period three, Wells allowed FitzPatrick to initially escape but would ultimately lead to FitzPatrick scoring another takedown. Adding in another point from riding time, the No. 10 ranked Bryce FitzPatrick upset the No. 5 Garrett Wells 12-6 as St. Cloud State now trailed 14-16. Moving to 197, No, 4 Dominic Murphy came up big for the Huskies as a 20-11 major decision gave SCSU an 18-16 lead going into 285 which would decide the match and the champion. No. 2 La'Ron Parks took to the mat where he wrestled Judson Rowland. Late into period three, the match would be tied 1-1 after both wrestlers scored an escape point. With 15 seconds remaining, Rowland grabbed the left leg Parks, putting himself in prime position to score a takedown. Parks freed his leg and hopped over to have Rowland in a takedown opportunity. With five seconds left, Parks wrapped around Rowland and controlled Rowland to complete the takedown With ice in his veins, Parks came up with a clutch 4-1 decision to complete the comeback for St. Cloud State and give them their eighth NWCA National Duals Championship.

Notables

St. Cloud State secured their eighth NWCA National Duals title. The previous title by the Huskies had been captured in the 2022-23 season where they beat Central Oklahoma 19-16. The Huskies have now accumulated 14 consecutive top-three finishes at the NWCA National Duals.
No. 15 Conor Knopick moved to 7-4 on the year after splitting his matches. His major decision against McKendree was his third and sixth overall bonus point win. Knopick is now 5-1 in duals.
No. 7 Sam Spencer is now 17-2 on the year and is 5-1 in duals.
No. 5 Joel Jesuroga remains unbeaten after a pair of wins on the day to sit at 12-0. His major decision against McKendree was his third of the year and seventh bonus point win. Jesuroga is 7-0 in duals.
No. 2 Nick Novak picked up two ranked wins on the day to move to 13-2 on the season. He racked up his ninth bonus point win against Central Oklahoma and third major decision. Novak is 5-1 in duals.
No. 5 Bryce Dagel went 2-0 on the day and tallied his seventh bonus point win and second major decision. Dagel is now 13-2 on the season and 6-0 in duals.
No. 10 Bryce FitzPatrick picked up his 10^th win of the season to sit at 10-4. His major decision against UCO was his second of the season and sixth bonus point win. FitzPatrick is 3-1 in duals.
No. 4 Dominic Murphy had a perfect day to remain unbeaten with a 14-0 record and 6-0 dual record. Murphy totaled his first major decision of the year and ninth bonus point win.
No. 2 La'Ron Parks moved to 15-1 on the year and 4-1 in duals after a split day.

No. 1 St. Cloud State 20, No. 6 McKendree 12
125- No. 15 Conor Knopick MD No. 14 Jason Strope, 11-1
133- No. 7 Sam Spencer dec Anthony Bernardo, 9-2
141- No. 3 Ronan Schuelke dec No. 6 Alyeus Craig, 8-1
149- No. 12 Joey Semerad dec No. 1 Colby Njos, 4-1 SV
157- No. 5 Joel Jesuroga MD James Hoskinson, 14-3
165- No. 2 Nick Novak dec No. 6 Corey Peterson, 2-0
174- No. 5 Bryce Dagel dec No. 2 Matt Ortiz, 4-1
184- No. 11 Zeke Waltz dec No. 10 Bryce FitzPatrick, 3-1
197- No. 4 Dominic Murphy dec No. 2 Logan Kvien, 5-4
285- No. 15 Tyler Haynes dec No. 2 La'Ron Parks, 10-7 SV

No. 1 St. Cloud State 21, No. 4 Central Oklahoma 16
125- No. 5 Studd Morris dec No. 15 Conor Knopick, 4-1
133- No. 10 Peter Rolle fall No.7 Sam Spencer, 2:56
141- Josh Taylor MD No. 6 Alyeus Craig, 12-2
149- No. 7 Dylan Brown dec No. 1 Colby Njos, 4-1
157- No. 5 Joel Jesuroga dec No. 1 Gabe Johnson, 4-1 SV
165- No. 2 Nick Novak MD No. 7 Hunter Jump, 8-0
174- No. 5 Bryce Dagel MD Zane Coleman, 12-2
184- No. 10 Bryce FitzPatrick dec No. 5 Garrett Wells, 12-6
197- No. 4 Dominic Murphy MD Emmanuel Skillings, 20-11
285- No. 2 La'Ron Parks dec Judson Rowland, 4-1

Up Next
St. Cloud State will be back in action on Thursday, January 16 as they face Minnesota State in Mankato, MN. For all the latest on St. Cloud State Wrestling, stay tuned to scsuhuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.