Saturday, January 25
Kearney, NE
12:00 P.M.
St. Cloud State
at
#4 Nebraska Kearney
Photo by: Isaac Bentrott
No. 1 St. Cloud State Wrestling Gears up for Top-5 Matchup against No. 4 Nebraska-Kearney
1/23/2025 4:49:00 PM | Wrestling
Huskies eye fourth Top-10 win of the season
St. Cloud, Minn.- No. 1 St. Cloud State Wrestling (9-0, 5-0 NSIC) travel to Kearney, NE. for a Top-5 matchup against No. 4 Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday, January 25. The dual is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.
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Follow the Huskies
Saturday's dual will be streamed on the MIAA Network (subscription required). Live results will also be available on TrackWrestling. Links to both options can be found on the St. Cloud State Wrestling Schedule.
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Top Dog
For the fourth consecutive National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) poll, the Huskies were tabbed the No. 1 ranked team in Division II. St. Cloud State accumulated 88 points to rank first. They were followed by Glenville State (65.5), Wisconsin-Parkside (65.5), Nebraska-Kearney (65.0) and Central Oklahoma (64.5) to round out the top 5.
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St. Cloud State holds nine ranked wrestlers which is tied for the most in Division II.
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The individuals that are ranked for the Huskies are as follows:
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Last Time Out
St. Cloud State took to the mat this past week as they faced off against RV Minnesota State and No. 7 Augustana.
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Thursday's dual against Mankato kicked off at 125 where Dominic Ducato put the Huskies on the board with a 6-2 victory. The Mavericks would tie the match up at 3-3 after Chase Beckett came away with a 9-6 decision against Caleb Meekins. Moving to 141, No. 6 Alyeus Craig captured the first bonus point victory of the match as he shutout Colton Hush 8-0 for the major decision. No. 1 Colby Njos picked up an escape point against No. 13 Walker Bents and then shutdown Bents' offense to earn the 1-0 victory. With the Huskies leading 10-3, No. 5 Joel Jesuroga came up with a clutch takedown to defeat No. 12 Caleb Meunier with a 4-1 sudden victory win. No. 2 Nick Novak continued the gritty wins for SCSU as he defeated No. 14 Kole Marko 2-0. St. Cloud State started to pile on the points in the final four matchups as No. 5 Bryce Dagel and No. 10 Bryce FitzPatrick each picked up major decision wins to put the Huskies up 24-3. No. 4 Dominic Murphy pinned Jesus Gonzalez late in his match and then Jadon Mims capped off the night with a 21-6 tech fall. The Huskies would pick up their eighth win of the season as they defeated RV Minnesota State Mankato 35-3.
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No. 1 St. Cloud State 35, RV Minnesota State Mankato 3
125- Dominic Ducato dec Jacob Fitzpatrick, 6-2
133- Chase Beckett dec Caleb Meekins, 9-6
141- No. 6 Alyeus Craig MD Colton Hush, 8-0
149- No. 1 Colby Njos dec No. 13 Walker Bents, 1-0
157- No. 5 Joel Jesuroga dec No. 12 Caleb Meunier, 4-1 SV
165- No. 2 Nick Novak dec No. 14 Kole Marko, 2-0
174- No. 5 Bryce Dagel MD Kaleb Lochner, 20-6
184- No. 10 Bryce FitzPatrick MD Evan Farley, 11-1
197- No. 4 Dominic Murphy fall Jesus Gonzalez, 5:54
285- Jadon Mims TF Tanner Gaffey, 21-6
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Deploying all 10 of their ranked wrestlers against Augustana, the Huskies would come away with nine victories. Starting at 125, it was No. 15 Conor Knopick that put the first points on the board with a 6-2 decision. No. 7 Sam Spencer and No. 6 Alyeus Craig each followed that up with 8-0 major decisions as the Huskies burst out to an early 11-0 lead. Moving to 149, No. 1 Colby Njos took to the mat where he wrestled No. 2 Cael Larson. After no scoring in the first period, Njos would take a 1-0 lead after coming away with an escape. Halfway through the second period, Njos would hit a single leg on Larson and work his way to takedown to lead 4-0. Njos rode out Larson for the remainder of the second period. In the third, Larson came up with a late takedown but was unable to score any other points as No. 1 Colby Njos picked up a big win over No. 2 Cael Larson. At 157, No. 5 Joel Jesuroga added the third bonus point win for the Huskies as he defeated No. 15 Connor Simmonds 14-3. With St. Cloud State now leading 18-0, No. 2 Nick Novak and No. 5 Bryce Dagel extended the lead to 25-0 after a 5-0 decision for Novak and a 10-0 major for Dagel. At 184, No. 10 Bryce FitzPatrick would be defeated 3-0 against No. 3 Cade Mueller for the lone loss for St. Cloud State. At 197, No. 4 Dominic Murphy faced off against No. 5 Max Ramberg. With no scoring in the first period, Murphy picked up an escape point and then captured a single-leg takedown to take a 4-0 lead. With time ticking down in the second period, Ramberg scored a two-point reversal to set the score at 4-2 going into the third. Starting the third period on top, Murphy rode Ramberg for 12 seconds before he escaped. Now only leading by a single point, Murphy snapped down Ramberg's arms after being interlocked where he then wrapped around to score the clutch takedown. Ramberg picked up an escape point, but it would not matter as an added point for riding time gave No. 4 Dominic Murphy an 8-4 win against No. 5 Max Ramberg. At 285, No. 2 La'Ron Parks put the finishing touches on the match as he defeated Max Barlow 11-0 for the major decision. With nine wins on the afternoon, No. 1 St. Cloud State defeated No. 7 Augustana 32-3 for their ninth win.
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No. 1 St. Cloud State 32, No. 7 Augustana 3
125- No. 15 Conor Knopick dec Chris Olsen, 6-2
133- No. 7 Sam Spencer MD Braiden Kort, 8-0
141- No. No. 6 Alyeus Craig MD Alex Mentzer, 8-0
149- No. 1 Colby Njos dec No. 2 Cael Larson, 4-3
157- No. 5 Joel Jesuroga MD No. 15 Connor Simmonds, 14-3
165- No. 2 Nick Novak dec Payton Handevidt, 5-0
174- No. 5 Bryce Dagel MD Coy Gunderson, 10-0
184- No. 3 Cade Mueller dec No. 10Â Bryce FitzPatrick, 3-0
197- No. 4 Dominic Murphy dec No. 5 Max Ramberg, 8-4
285- No. 2 La'Ron Parks MD Max Balow, 11-0
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NSIC Wrestler of the Week
Following the Huskies undefeated week, Colby Njos was named NSIC Wrestler of the Week. Njos came away with two ranked wins during the week as he defeated No. 13 and No. 2 at 149 pounds. Njos is 6-2 on the year and 5-0 in NSIC duals.
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Series History
Saturday's dual against Nebraska-Kearney will be the sixth meeting between the programs with the Huskies holding a perfect 5-0 record. The teams last faced off during the 2021-2022 season where the Huskies beat the Lopers 19-14 in the NWCA National Duals Semifinals. The last three meetings between the teams have all taken place in the NWCA National Dual Semifinals.
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Scouting Nebraska-Kearney
The Nebraska-Kearney Lopers come into this dual as the No. 4 ranked team in Division II. They hold a 7-5 record with notables wins against No. 8 Augustana (x2), No. 23 Indianapolis, and No. 7 McKendree. The Lopers placed third at the NWCA National Duals after losing to No. 5 Central Oklahoma in the semifinals and then beating McKendree to take third.
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In the latest NWCA rankings, UNK accumulated six ranked wrestlers in Zach Ourada (No. 2 at 125), Joseph Airola (No. 9 at 141), Trenton Munoz (No. 6 at 165), Jacari Deal (No. 8 at 184), Jackson Kinsella (No. 5 at 197) and Crew Howard (No. 1 at 285).
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Head Coach Dalton Jensen enters his ninth season with Nebraska-Kearney in the 2024-25 season. Jensen has totaled a 112-35 record and guided the Lopers to five top-five NCAA Tournament finishes with a National Championship coming in the 2021-2022 season.
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For all the latest on St. Cloud State Wrestling, stay tuned to scsuhuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
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Follow the Huskies
Saturday's dual will be streamed on the MIAA Network (subscription required). Live results will also be available on TrackWrestling. Links to both options can be found on the St. Cloud State Wrestling Schedule.
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Top Dog
For the fourth consecutive National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) poll, the Huskies were tabbed the No. 1 ranked team in Division II. St. Cloud State accumulated 88 points to rank first. They were followed by Glenville State (65.5), Wisconsin-Parkside (65.5), Nebraska-Kearney (65.0) and Central Oklahoma (64.5) to round out the top 5.
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St. Cloud State holds nine ranked wrestlers which is tied for the most in Division II.
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The individuals that are ranked for the Huskies are as follows:
- 133 Pounds- No. 8 Sam Spencer (18-2 record (5-1 dual), 10 bonus point victories, 1st place Yellowjacket and Luther College Open, 3rd place Wisconsin Open)
- 141 Pounds- No. 13 Alyeus Craig (14-5 record (5-3 dual), 11 bonus point victories, 3rd place Luther College Open, 4th place Wisconsin Open)
- 149 Pounds- No. 13 Colby Njos (6-2 record (6-2 dual), three bonus point victories)
- 157 Pounds- No. 1 Joel Jesuroga (14-0 record (9-0 dual), eight bonus point victories, 1st place Luther College Open)
- 165 Pounds- No. 3 Nick Novak (15-2 record (7-1 dual), eight bonus point victories, 1st place Wisconsin Open, 2nd place Luther College Open)
- 174 Pounds- No. 2 Bryce Dagel (15-2 record (8-0 dual) nine bonus point victories, 6th place Luther College Open, 1st place Wisconsin Open)
- 184 Pounds- No. 9 Bryce FitzPatrick (11-5 record (4-2 dual), six bonus point victories, 1st place Luther College Open, 6th place Wisconsin Open)
- 197 Pounds- No. 2 Dominic Murphy (16-0 record (9-0 dual), 10 bonus point victories, 1st place Luther College Open and Wisconsin Open)
- 285 Pounds- No. 5 La'Ron Parks (16-1 record (5-1 dual), six bonus point victories, 1st place Yellowjacket Open, Luther College Open, and Wisconsin Open)
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Last Time Out
St. Cloud State took to the mat this past week as they faced off against RV Minnesota State and No. 7 Augustana.
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Thursday's dual against Mankato kicked off at 125 where Dominic Ducato put the Huskies on the board with a 6-2 victory. The Mavericks would tie the match up at 3-3 after Chase Beckett came away with a 9-6 decision against Caleb Meekins. Moving to 141, No. 6 Alyeus Craig captured the first bonus point victory of the match as he shutout Colton Hush 8-0 for the major decision. No. 1 Colby Njos picked up an escape point against No. 13 Walker Bents and then shutdown Bents' offense to earn the 1-0 victory. With the Huskies leading 10-3, No. 5 Joel Jesuroga came up with a clutch takedown to defeat No. 12 Caleb Meunier with a 4-1 sudden victory win. No. 2 Nick Novak continued the gritty wins for SCSU as he defeated No. 14 Kole Marko 2-0. St. Cloud State started to pile on the points in the final four matchups as No. 5 Bryce Dagel and No. 10 Bryce FitzPatrick each picked up major decision wins to put the Huskies up 24-3. No. 4 Dominic Murphy pinned Jesus Gonzalez late in his match and then Jadon Mims capped off the night with a 21-6 tech fall. The Huskies would pick up their eighth win of the season as they defeated RV Minnesota State Mankato 35-3.
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No. 1 St. Cloud State 35, RV Minnesota State Mankato 3
125- Dominic Ducato dec Jacob Fitzpatrick, 6-2
133- Chase Beckett dec Caleb Meekins, 9-6
141- No. 6 Alyeus Craig MD Colton Hush, 8-0
149- No. 1 Colby Njos dec No. 13 Walker Bents, 1-0
157- No. 5 Joel Jesuroga dec No. 12 Caleb Meunier, 4-1 SV
165- No. 2 Nick Novak dec No. 14 Kole Marko, 2-0
174- No. 5 Bryce Dagel MD Kaleb Lochner, 20-6
184- No. 10 Bryce FitzPatrick MD Evan Farley, 11-1
197- No. 4 Dominic Murphy fall Jesus Gonzalez, 5:54
285- Jadon Mims TF Tanner Gaffey, 21-6
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Deploying all 10 of their ranked wrestlers against Augustana, the Huskies would come away with nine victories. Starting at 125, it was No. 15 Conor Knopick that put the first points on the board with a 6-2 decision. No. 7 Sam Spencer and No. 6 Alyeus Craig each followed that up with 8-0 major decisions as the Huskies burst out to an early 11-0 lead. Moving to 149, No. 1 Colby Njos took to the mat where he wrestled No. 2 Cael Larson. After no scoring in the first period, Njos would take a 1-0 lead after coming away with an escape. Halfway through the second period, Njos would hit a single leg on Larson and work his way to takedown to lead 4-0. Njos rode out Larson for the remainder of the second period. In the third, Larson came up with a late takedown but was unable to score any other points as No. 1 Colby Njos picked up a big win over No. 2 Cael Larson. At 157, No. 5 Joel Jesuroga added the third bonus point win for the Huskies as he defeated No. 15 Connor Simmonds 14-3. With St. Cloud State now leading 18-0, No. 2 Nick Novak and No. 5 Bryce Dagel extended the lead to 25-0 after a 5-0 decision for Novak and a 10-0 major for Dagel. At 184, No. 10 Bryce FitzPatrick would be defeated 3-0 against No. 3 Cade Mueller for the lone loss for St. Cloud State. At 197, No. 4 Dominic Murphy faced off against No. 5 Max Ramberg. With no scoring in the first period, Murphy picked up an escape point and then captured a single-leg takedown to take a 4-0 lead. With time ticking down in the second period, Ramberg scored a two-point reversal to set the score at 4-2 going into the third. Starting the third period on top, Murphy rode Ramberg for 12 seconds before he escaped. Now only leading by a single point, Murphy snapped down Ramberg's arms after being interlocked where he then wrapped around to score the clutch takedown. Ramberg picked up an escape point, but it would not matter as an added point for riding time gave No. 4 Dominic Murphy an 8-4 win against No. 5 Max Ramberg. At 285, No. 2 La'Ron Parks put the finishing touches on the match as he defeated Max Barlow 11-0 for the major decision. With nine wins on the afternoon, No. 1 St. Cloud State defeated No. 7 Augustana 32-3 for their ninth win.
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No. 1 St. Cloud State 32, No. 7 Augustana 3
125- No. 15 Conor Knopick dec Chris Olsen, 6-2
133- No. 7 Sam Spencer MD Braiden Kort, 8-0
141- No. No. 6 Alyeus Craig MD Alex Mentzer, 8-0
149- No. 1 Colby Njos dec No. 2 Cael Larson, 4-3
157- No. 5 Joel Jesuroga MD No. 15 Connor Simmonds, 14-3
165- No. 2 Nick Novak dec Payton Handevidt, 5-0
174- No. 5 Bryce Dagel MD Coy Gunderson, 10-0
184- No. 3 Cade Mueller dec No. 10Â Bryce FitzPatrick, 3-0
197- No. 4 Dominic Murphy dec No. 5 Max Ramberg, 8-4
285- No. 2 La'Ron Parks MD Max Balow, 11-0
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NSIC Wrestler of the Week
Following the Huskies undefeated week, Colby Njos was named NSIC Wrestler of the Week. Njos came away with two ranked wins during the week as he defeated No. 13 and No. 2 at 149 pounds. Njos is 6-2 on the year and 5-0 in NSIC duals.
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Series History
Saturday's dual against Nebraska-Kearney will be the sixth meeting between the programs with the Huskies holding a perfect 5-0 record. The teams last faced off during the 2021-2022 season where the Huskies beat the Lopers 19-14 in the NWCA National Duals Semifinals. The last three meetings between the teams have all taken place in the NWCA National Dual Semifinals.
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Scouting Nebraska-Kearney
The Nebraska-Kearney Lopers come into this dual as the No. 4 ranked team in Division II. They hold a 7-5 record with notables wins against No. 8 Augustana (x2), No. 23 Indianapolis, and No. 7 McKendree. The Lopers placed third at the NWCA National Duals after losing to No. 5 Central Oklahoma in the semifinals and then beating McKendree to take third.
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In the latest NWCA rankings, UNK accumulated six ranked wrestlers in Zach Ourada (No. 2 at 125), Joseph Airola (No. 9 at 141), Trenton Munoz (No. 6 at 165), Jacari Deal (No. 8 at 184), Jackson Kinsella (No. 5 at 197) and Crew Howard (No. 1 at 285).
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Head Coach Dalton Jensen enters his ninth season with Nebraska-Kearney in the 2024-25 season. Jensen has totaled a 112-35 record and guided the Lopers to five top-five NCAA Tournament finishes with a National Championship coming in the 2021-2022 season.
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For all the latest on St. Cloud State Wrestling, stay tuned to scsuhuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
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Players Mentioned
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125
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184
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157
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125
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133/141
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197
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HWT
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