The #2 St. Cloud State University wrestling team (9-0, 2-0 NSIC) punched its ticket to the semifinal round of the 2019 NWCA DII National Duals with a big 27-12 victory over NSIC rival Upper Iowa on Friday, Jan. 4 in Louisville, Kentucky.
SCSU earned their quarterfinal win against Upper Iowa on the strength of seven match wins. Key wins for the Huskies included a 7-3 win by #1 Brett Velasquez over UIU’s #10 Maleek Williams at 125-pounds, a 3-2 win by #3 James Pleski over UIU’s Ryan Steffen at 149, a 16-0 tech fall win by #3 Kolton Eischens at 174 and a 12-4 major decision win by Chance Helmick at 184.
The victory moved the Huskies ahead in the winners’ bracket and they now face Nebraska-Kearney in NWCA DII National Duals semifinals. The match is set for 9 a.m. ET on Saturday. Of note, UNK is currently ranked #1 in the nation among NCAA DII teams and the Huskies are ranked #2 in the latest DII team poll.
The Huskies opened with a 38-3 victory over Seton Hall in the first round.
The tournament will conclude on Jan. 5 with the championship dual match and the consolation title matches in Freedom Hall at Noon.
NWCA Multi-Divisional National Duals Brackets/Results on TrackWrestling.com
Champ. Round 1
St. Cloud State defeated Seton Hill 38-3
125 – Brett Velasquez (St. Cloud State) over Ryan Ressler (Seton Hill) TF 16-0
133 – Garrett Vos (St. Cloud State) over Alan Diltz (Seton Hill) Maj 18-7
141 – Travis Swanson (St. Cloud State) over Tyler Kenney (Seton Hill) Dec 4-3
149 – James Pleski (St. Cloud State) over Austin Shaw (Seton Hill) Dec 5-3
157 – Jake Barzowski (St. Cloud State) over Alec Shaw (Seton Hill) Maj 16-5
165 – Jake Willochell (Seton Hill) over Devin Donovan (St. Cloud State) Dec 1-0
174 – Kolton Eischens (St. Cloud State) over Damon Greenwald (Seton Hill) Maj 18-8
184 – Billy Pitzner (St. Cloud State) over Nathan Bowlen (Seton Hill) Maj 13-5
197 – Vince Dietz (St. Cloud State) over Jacob Shaffer (Seton Hill) TF 16-0
285 – Zach Muller (St. Cloud State) over Jacob Beistel (Seton Hill) Fall 0:54
Quarterfinal
St. Cloud State defeated Upper Iowa 27-12
125 – Brett Velasquez (St. Cloud State) over Maleek Williams (Upper Iowa) Dec 7-3
133 – Justin Folley (Upper Iowa) over Garrett Vos (St. Cloud State) Fall 1:49
141 – Garrett Aldrich (St. Cloud State) over Ryan Schmalen (Upper Iowa) Fall 3:48
149 – James Pleski (St. Cloud State) over Ryan Steffen (Upper Iowa) Dec 3-2
157 – Jake Barzowski (St. Cloud State) over Tucker Black (Upper Iowa) Dec 16-9
165 – Brock Benitz (Upper Iowa) over Devin Fitzpatrick (St. Cloud State) Dec 3-2
174 – Kolton Eischens (St. Cloud State) over Jordan Gundrum (Upper Iowa) TF 16-0
184 – Chance Helmick (St. Cloud State) over Connor Williams (Upper Iowa) Maj 12-4
197 – Vince Dietz (St. Cloud State) over Nick Baumler (Upper Iowa) Dec 3-1
285 – Triston Westerlund (Upper Iowa) over Noah Ryan (St. Cloud State) Dec 4-2
Check out Huskies Wrestling at scsuhuskies.com and on Twitter and Facebook.
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