Grapplers improving

Steve Grimit

Matt Neumueller

Nate Whiting

With only five dual meets remaining until the North Central Conference Tournament, the time for the SCSU wrestling squad to reach their peak is now.

The Huskies are currently 4-5 overall and 1-2 in the ultra competitive NCC. Satisfaction often comes with perfection in the sports world and although 4-5 is definitely respectable, no one is fully satisfied with the mark.

“In some respects we are satisfied with the season so far,” said 184 lb. senior Nate Whiting. “There is always room for improvement. We want to work hard and continually improve.”

One grappler who has improved to the tune of a number eight ranking in the latest Division II national poll is freshman 174-pounder Jon Duncombe.

Duncombe is currently 15-10 and is coming off an impressive 57 second victory over South Dakota State University’s Scott King and a heartbreaking loss to Augustana’s second ranked Tom Meester.

“I’ve been working really hard in practice and have been keeping my focus,” Duncombe said about his recent string of success. “I just want to do my best and be there for the team.”

Matt Neumueller has also been wrestling consistently for the Huskies all season. The 165 lb. junior from Medford, Wis., is currently 20-9 and is hoping to have a repeat of last season when he was a qualifier for the NCAA Tournament.

Another NCAA qualifier from last year is Dustin Darveaux. Darveaux has been the emotional leader of the young Husky team all season as well as a stalwart on the mat. Darveaux is 25-6 on the year and is the fifth-ranked heavyweight in Division II wrestling.

Freshman Derek Miller at 125 lbs. is also showing a lot of promise with an 11-11 record along with Dan Duch (157 lb.) who is 10-13. Whiting, also an NCAA qualifier one year ago, currently is 11-11.

“We have a really good work ethic,” head coach Steve Grimit said about his team. “They’ve made a real commitment to the program by living well and not drinking during the season as well as excelling in the classroom, in their social life and on the mat. They’re really easy guys to coach.”

This weekend will be another challenging one for the Huskies as they make the trek to the University of Northern Colorado Friday to take on the 16th-ranked Bears. The next night will see SCSU in Nebraska for a dual versus the University of Nebraska-Omaha, currently third in the nation.

Grimit stated that aggression will be the key to having a successful weekend.

“We need to work our offense,” he said. “We really stress being aggressive in the neutral position and taking some chances. We need to be smart about it, but we definitely need to be aggressive.”

Whiting added: “Everyone needs to have a good week of practice and prepare well. We will have some tough matches this weekend.”

SCSU has only one home match remaining in their schedule. This match will be against St. John’s University Feb. 13 and is sandwiched in between road matches against Minnesota State University-Mankato Feb. 8 and Minnesota State University, Moorhead Feb. 15.

The NCC Tournament will be at Augustana College this year Feb. 24. University of Wisconsin-Parkside is the host of this year’s NCAA Division II Tournament on March 8 and 9.

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Adam Czech can be reached at: [email protected]

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