Wrestlers earn split

Derek Miller

SCSU wrestling coach Steve Grimit knew this past weekend was going to be a difficult one.

First up was a showdown with the number 12 ranked SDSU Jackrabbits on Friday night. Then came a matinee match on Saturday with Augustana, who is currently seventh in the nation.

He was not let down as the Huskies went on to knock off SDSU, 30-18 and lose a close one to Augustana, 25-16.

The Huskies got off to a bit of rocky start on Friday night against SDSU as seniors Nate Whiting (184 lbs.) and Paul Breth (197 lbs.) dropped the first two matches of the evening.

Fifth ranked heavyweight Dustin Darvaeux quickly got SCSU back on track, however, as he easily disposed of Lucas Teigen via pin early in the second period.

125-lb. freshman Derek Miller was up next and was firmly in control of his bout against SDSU’s Jordan Zens when Zen’s was unable to continue due to a knee injury. Miller was up 5-2 at the time of the injury.

“It would’ve been a lot better if it wasn’t an injury default,” Miller said of his victory. “I really wanted to wrestle a full match.”

SCSU’s John Dirksen and Joe Sathre each dropped hard fought matches at 133 and 141 lbs.

A loss by SCSU’s Dan Duch and a forfeit victory for Matt Neumueller left the score at 24-18 in favor of the Huskies with only one match remaining. That one match was over in only 57 seconds as SCSU’s 174-pounder Jon Duncombe, who is currently ranked eighth in the nation, wasted no time in pinning Scott King of SDSU. The dominating victory from the first year Duncombe gave the Huskies a 30-18 victory.

“Jon Duncombe is wrestling well right now,” proclaimed Grimit. “It really comes as no surprise to us. He is an extremely talented wrestler.”

Grimit was also satisfied with his teams aggressiveness and intensity throughout the evening. “Pretty much everybody worked their offense really well,” he noted. “We really didn’t expect a forfeit in the 165 lb. slot so that was kind of strange. Once it happened though we knew all we had to do was win the last match and we’d get a victory.”

The following afternoon the Huskies put up a valiant effort but fell to seventh ranked Augustana, 25-16.

Earning victories in the contest for SCSU were Breth, Duch, Neumueller, and Whiting.

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Adam Czech can be reached at: [email protected]

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