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SCSU wrestlers pinned by rival-Mavericks
The SCSU wrestling squad renewed their heated rivalry with Minnesota State University, Mankato over the weekend as they traveled south for a Friday night showdown with the Mavericks. When it was all said and done, it was the Mavericks who came out on top, 26-16.
After SCSU's Paul Breth dropped the opening match at 197 lbs., Dustin Darveaux, the Huskies� fifth ranked heavyweight, came up with a 15-6 major decision victory over MSU's Paul Svien.
A minor shoving match ensued between Darveaux and Svien after the match, resulting in warnings for both wrestlers. However, no penalties were assessed and no points were taken away from either squad.
Another major decision followed for the Huskies at 125 lbs. as first year grappler Derek Miller knocked off the Mavericks� Tait Thompson, 10-2.
After a pin by the Mavericks� Tony Fratzke, it appeared as if SCSU's 141-pounder Joe Sathre was going to earn a pin of his own against MSU's Dustin Kulseth. However, just the opposite happened as Kulseth managed to pin Sathre after Sathre scored a takedown.
"We were so close to a pin ourselves," said SCSU head coach Steve Grimit about Sathre's loss. "It was a real heartbreaker."
"Joe has to continue to be aggressive," said Darveaux of his teammate's tough loss. "Losing like that can be demoralizing but you just have to hang in there."
The Huskies then dropped the next two matches before Matt Neumueller got SCSU back on track with a 13-5 major decision over MSU's Chris Murphy. Eighth ranked, 174-pound Jon Duncombe then lost another heartbreaker for the Huskies as he fell in a 3-2 thriller to MSU's Jake Emerick. Nate Whiting ended the evening with a 10-0 thrashing of MSU's Joel Schrimpf.
"We wrestled pretty well but lost some close matches," Grimit said. "I'd have to say that Neumueller and Whiting wrestled the best for us. Whiting is really picking it up and working hard towards the end of the season."
Next up for the Huskies is a cross town match-up with St. John's University at Halenbeck Hall. The dual meet is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. start on Wednesday.
"They're a very good Division III team," Grimit noted. "They're somewhat of a rival because of their location, however, I'd have to say that Mankato is definitely our biggest rival. That makes this loss even tougher to handle."
"We need to take that extra step," Darveaux said. "We need to concentrate on what we did wrong Friday night all this week in practice and try to correct our mistakes."
The season is winding down for the Huskies and the NCC and National Tournaments are mere weeks away. Grimit notes that these tournaments are what the guys wrestle for all year.
"The Conference and National Tournaments are the key to our season. We need to continue to be aggressive so we will be ready for those tourneys."
The NCC tournament will take place in Sioux Falls, S.D. on Feb. 24 while the NCAA Division II Tourney is set for March 8-9 in Kenosha, Wis.
Adam Czech can be reached at: [email protected]
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