No. 13 Huskies Go 2-1 on Day One of NWCA National Duals

Friday, January 9

Cedar Falls, IA.

2:00 P.M.

St. Cloud State

RV Maryville

Photo by: Nathaly Delgado

1/9/2026 11:28:00 PM | Wrestling

SCSU beats RV Maryville and RV Minnesota State, Fall to No. 6 Lander

Cedar, Falls, IA – No. 13 St. Cloud State Wrestling (9-2, 4-0 NSIC) took to the mat in Cedar Falls, Iowa to defender their NWCA National Duals Title. The Huskies took down RV Maryville and RV Minnesota State, but fell to No. 6 Lander.

Opening up their day against Maryville, the Huskies cruised to a 33-6 win in round one of the tournament.

After dropping the first match by decision, true freshman Ethan Bast gave SCSU their first points of the tournament with a 15-0 tech fall in his dual debut at 133. Jayce Luna followed by pinning Caleb Carter as SCSU took an 11-3 lead.

The Huskies captured decision victories in the next two bouts as Alyeus Craig made his season debut and tallied a 7-0 shutout. No. 2 Joel Jesuroga produced an 8-3 win to extend the lead to 17-3.

St. Cloud State kept it rolling over the next three matches with three bonus point wins. Derek Johnson and Bryce Dagel each came away with major decisions while No. 4 Cole Glazier came away with a tech fall.

At 197, Tyson Meyer took on No. 9 Jeramiah Larson where the two wrestlers traded takedowns and escapes in the first two periods. Meyer produced a ride of 1:11 following his takedown in the second period which would be key later in the match. Starting on bottom in the third, Meyer came scored a reversal to negate Larson's opportunity to cut into his riding time. Larson would escape, but Meyer was stout defensively as he ultimately went on to win 7-5 for the ranked win.

Maryville took the last match by decision, but the Huskies advanced with a 33-6 victory.

No. 13 St. Cloud State 33, RV Maryville 6
125: Elijah Almarinez dec Ben Aranda, 4-2
133: Ethan Bast TF Yashua Amen, 15-0
141: Jayce Luna fall Caleb Carter, 5:28
149: Alyeus Craig dec Leo Buchheit, 7-0
157: No. 2 Joel Jesuroga dec Nicolas Zamora 8-3
165: Derek Johnson MD Javier Gutierrez, 12-2
174: No. 14 Bryce Dagel MD Mustafa Salimi, 12-2
184: No. 4 Cole Glazier TF Evan Morris, 16-1
197: Tyson Meyer dec No. 9 Jeramiah Larson, 7-5
285: Orest Nazarchuk dec Donnie Hidden, 4-1

Moving into the quarterfinals, the Huskies took on No. 6 Lander.

The sixth ranked Bearcats burst out of the gates with wins in five of the first six bouts to lead 16-2. Jayce Luna went into sudden victory against top ranked Elijah Lusk after a tough battle, but Lusk came out victorious with a takedown to seal it.

Joel Jesuroga gave the Huskies their first victory of the match with a 7-2 win. St. Cloud State would be docked a team point for unsportsmanlike conduct after No. 2 David Hunsberger beat Gabriel Smith 9-6.

While down, but not out, SCSU got a spark from Bryce Dagel and Cole Glazier as they strung together back-to-back wins. An early takedown and riding time would be enough for Dagel to win 5-3. Facing off against No. 8 Dylan Kohn, Glazier produced a 10-0 shutout with three takedowns along the way.

St. Cloud State worked the score to 16-9 but would need to win the final two matches. Tyson Meyer took on No. 14 Marvelous Rutledge. Meyer would tie up the match at 1-1 after scoring an escape to start period three. In a hard fought match, Rutledge came away with a takedown with 17 seconds remaining to ultimately seal the dual. Lander added on another three points from a decision victory at 285 to finalize the score at 22-9 and knock off the defending champion Huskies.

No. 13 St. Cloud State 9, No. 6 Lander 22
125: Kaden Kuenzi dec Ben Aranda, 5-2
133: No. 6 James Joplin MD Ethan Bast, 12-2
141: No. 1 Elijah Lusk dec Jayce Luna, 4-1 SV
149: Isham Peace dec Alyeus Craig, 5-0
157: No. 2 Joel Jesuroga dec Reid Noble, 7-2
165: No. 2 David Hunsberger dec Gabriel Smith, 9-6
174: No. 14 Bryce Dagel dec Maxwell Kiel, 5-3
184: No. 4 Cole Glazier MD No. 8 Dylan Kohn, 10-0
197: No. 14 Marvelous Rutledge dec Tyson Meyer, 4-2
285: No. 13 Isaac Sheeran dec Donnie Hidden, 4-0

In their final match of the day, the Huskies took on a familiar foe in the Minnesota State Mankato Mavericks.

St. Cloud State would fall into another early hole after dropping three of the first four matches. Jayce Luna put up a clean 12-0 shutout to give the Huskies their first points of the dual.

Trailing 11-4, Joel Jesuroga provided a major spark against No. 13 Caleb Meunier. With each wrestler scoring an escape point, the match headed into sudden victory tied 1-1. Early into overtime, Meuiner landed a single leg swipe on Jesuroga, but he was unable to score the takedown as Jesuroga scrapped and fought his way out of the disadvantageous situation. The Pleasant Hill, Iowa native evaded more shots from Meuiner before he countered on a single leg attack of his own. Jesuroga brought Meunier down and crossed over his legs onto his. Jesuroga held firm before the takedown was ultimately called for the 4-1 victory.

Following him was Derek Johnson who took on No. 15 Paolo Salminen. Johnson scored an early takedown before he came away with four near fall points at the end of the first period. Leading 7-0, Johnson added an escape point in the third period and partnered it with a riding time point leading to a 9-0 shutout over the 15th ranked wrestler.

With the match tied at 11, Bryce Dagel faced No. 13 Drake Hayward in what was a rematch of last years third place match at the NCAA Championships. Dagel came out hot with an early takedown and would lead 4-2 headed into the third period. Hayward scored an escape to start the period to bring him within one point. Dagel sealed the deal with a counter off a Hayward attack where he held an over hook. Hayward mistakenly tried to roll out, but Dagel jumped on the opportunity and snatched his legs to get the takedown. Dagel avenged himself from last year with the 7-2 win to give the Huskies their first lead of the dual.

St. Cloud State sealed their victory in the dual with back-to-back tech falls from Cole Glazier and Tyson Meyer as they ultimately went on to win 24-14.

No. 13 St. Cloud State 24, RV Minnesota State 14
125: Jacob Fitzpatrick MD Ben Aranda, 12-2
133: Chase Beckett dec Ethan Bast, 11-5
141: Jayce Luna MD Colton Hush, 12-0
149: No. 12 Walker Bentz MD Vance Barz, 11-0
157: No. 2 Joel Jesuroga dec No. 13 Caleb Meunier, 4-1 SV
165: Derek Johnson MD No. 15 Paolo Salminen, 9-0
174: No. 14 Bryce Dagel dec No. 13 Drake Hayward, 7-2
184: No. 4 Cole Glazier TF Jaquan East, 17-2
197: Tyson Meyer TF Grant Cook, 15-0
285: Jesus Gonzalez dec Donnie Hidden, 3-2

Notables

This the first time in 14 years that St. Cloud State will not place top three at the NWCA National Duals.
St. Cloud State moved to 2-1 all-time against Maryville, 2-1 against Lander, and 25-26-2 against Minnesota State. The Huskies have won 17 straight against the Mavericks.
Ethan Bast went 1-2 on the day in his first collegiate dual action. He moves to 14-3 with eight bonus point wins and three tech falls.
Jayce Luna went 2-1 on the day and improves to 7-4. He tallied his fourth and fifth bonus point wins with his second major decision and first fall.
Alyeus Craig made his season debut and went 1-1.
No. 2 Joel Jesuroga stayed undefeated after a 3-0 day and sits at 10-0.
Derek Johnson went 2-0 on the day and is now 6-1. He recorded his third and fourth major decisions and bonus point wins.
No. 14 Bryce Dagel tallied a 3-0 day and is now 7-2. Dagel notched his fifth bonus point win and second major decision.
No. 4 Cole Glazier also went 3-0 and remains unbeaten at 11-0. Glazier recorded three bonus point wins and is up to eight on the year. This was his second major decision and fourth tech fall.
Jayce Luna now sits at 5-3 on the season.
Tyson Meyer went 2-1 on the day and is now 7-3. Meyer recorded his sixth bonus point win and tech fall.

Up Next
St. Cloud State will be back in action tomorrow as they wrestle No. 13 Augustana on day two of the NWCA National Duals at 9:00 a.m. SCSU will wrestle the winner or loser between No. 6 Tiffin and No. 19 UMary in the fifth place or seventh place match.

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