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St. Cloud State University
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Wrestling team looking for upset
By Ryan K. Dale
Published:
Thursday, January 23, 2003
The Husky grapplers hope to accomplish what the men's hoopsters did earlier this month, defeat a No. 2 nationally-ranked opponent at home Friday.
The Huskies (1-5 0-1) will host the University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks (3-1 0-0) at Halenbeck Hall at 7 p.m. The Mavs are fresh off a second place finish at the Division II National Duals at Ohio State University. The Huskies also were involved in the National Duals, but didn't face them during the competition.
The matchup with the Mavs will be important for two reasons. First, it will show how good the Huskies are this year and secondly, it will show how tough SCSU is when their battered lineup faces off against the Mavs.
"This match is going to be an important one for us as a team," head coach Steve Grimit said. "We are pretty beat up right now. Some of our guys have been injured all year and a couple more got injured at the duals last week."
The injured Huskies are as follows: Derek Miller, Tate Wheeler, Jon Duncombe and Luke Pohlmeier. Miller (133 pounds) suffered a concussion last weekend and is scheduled to wrestle against the Mavs. Wheeler (174 pounds) has a nagging knee injury and Duncombe (174 pounds) is still plagued by arm troubles.
If either Duncombe or Wheeler can't wrestle, the Huskies will be forced to forfeit that weight division and lose six crucial points.
Pohlmeier's injury at 197 pounds is less severe than his teammate's. He suffered a black eye in his first match and the eye closed up on him for the rest of the weekend. Pohlmeier won the match where he received the black eye, but wasn't able to win another match.
One wrestler who has survived the injury bug this season is Matt Neumueller (165 pounds). Neumueller has a 15-4 record, including 4-0 at the National Duals this season and is ranked No. 3 nationally. He was in All-American form in his sophomore season and looks to be doing just as well in his last season as a Husky.
He looks forward to wrestling at home against the Mavs and thinks the team is improving.
"Wrestling at home is great, but we don't receive the fan support that the other sports get," Neumueller said. "If they (the fans) realized what was going on and understood the concept behind the sport, I think they would like it."
The Husky lineup should have a chance against the healthier Mavs if the lower weights can win a couple of matches. The Mavs started the year ranked No. 2 in the preseason polls behind Central Oklahoma. That's where they still stand thanks to No. 1 ranked Bob Edmonds (174 pounds) and Chad Wallace (197 pounds). The Mavs have five wrestlers ranked in the top-five nationally.
The lineup for Friday will look something like this: 125 pounds: Stephen Clay (SCSU) vs. No. 5 Dan Hilario (UNO), 133 pounds: Miller (SCSU) vs. Mitch Waite (UNO), 141 pounds: Jon Dirksen (SCSU) vs. No. 2 Roderick Ratcliff (UNO), 149 pounds: Blake Christopherson (SCSU) vs. Christian Alt (UNO), 157 pounds: Dan Duch (SCSU) vs. Nick Blanchard (UNO), 165 pounds: No. 3 Neumueller (SCSU) vs. Blu Wahle (UNO), 174 pounds: No. 4 Duncombe (SCSU) vs. No. 1 Edmonds (UNO), 184 pounds: Gerard Evans (SCSU) vs. No. 5 Zach Stadler (UNO), 197 pounds: Pohlmeier (SCSU) vs. No. 1 Wallace (UNO) and Heavyweight: No. 2 Dustin Darveaux
