The #1 St. Cloud State University wrestling team (7-0, 2-0 NSIC) will travel to Louisville, Kentucky on Jan. 4-5 for the 2019 NWCA Division II National Duals championships. The Huskies are the two-time defending NWCA DII National Duals champions and they will be looking to win their fifth NWCA DII National Duals title in 2019.
This tournament will feature the nation’s top NCAA Division II teams and they will compete in a dual match tournament, which will begin at 9 a.m. (ET) on Jan. 4 at the Kentucky Expo Center Freedom Hall in Louisville. The tourney will wrap up with the final matches on Jan. 5.
Teams invited to participate in this year’s tournament include: #1 SCSU, Central Oklahoma, #16 Fort Hays State, #20 Gannon, #11 Indianapolis, Limestone, #10 Lindenwood, #4 McKendree, #2 Nebraska-Kearney, #3 Notre Dame (OH), #8 Pitt-Johnstown, #21 Seton Hill, #5 Upper Iowa, #15 UW-Parkside, West Liberty and #7 Wheeling Jesuit.
The tournament bracket will be released soon. Please visit the NWCA DII National Duals website for information on brackets, ticket prices, live stats and broadcast information.
NWCA DII NATIONAL DUALS INFORMATION CENTER:
LIVE STATS & VIDEO: Trackwrestling.com
LIVE AUDIO: KVSC Sports Stream with John O. Peterson on the call
INFORMATION: NWCA DII National Duals website
NATIONAL RANKINGS: Intermat Wrestling website
SCSU WRESTLING NOTES AND NEWS:
- The Huskies have won the NWCA DII National Duals title in 2018, 2017, 2013 and 2012. SCSU placed second in 2016 and third in 2015 and 2011. Since 2010, SCSU has placed no lower than seventh place at the NWCA DII National Duals tournament.
- In 2018, the NWCA DII National Duals was held in Fort Wayne, Ind. The Huskies won the title with a 4-0 record that included wins over Lake Erie (46-0), Indianapolis (32-6), Nebraska-Kearney (21-12) and Seton Hill (41-0 in the title match).
- SCSU is 7-0, 2-0 NSIC this season and are currently ranked #1 in the last NCAA DII national poll. Most recently, SCSU competed in the 2018 Holiday Inn/Huskies Open on Dec. 8 in St. Cloud, Minn. On Dec. 5, SCSU gained a 45-3 win over Minot State in a dual match at Halenbeck Hall.
- Individually, SCSU has nine nationally ranked wrestlers at the NCAA DII level. Here is a rundown of the Huskies, who are currently ranked nationally at the NCAA DII level: Brett Velasquez (#2 at 125), Garrett Vos (#11 at 133), James Pleski (#2 at 149), Jake Barzowski (#9 at 157), Devin FitzPatrick (#8 at 165), Kolton Eischens (#3 at 174), Tyree Overton (#10 at 184), Vince Dietz (#1 at 197) and Zach Muller (#11 at 285).
- #1 ranked Vince Dietz owns a 12-0 record at 197-pounds this winter with five falls to his credit.
- #8 ranked Devin FitzPatrick is 13-0 this season at 165-pounds with four falls. #2 Brett Velasquez is 7-0 at 125-pounds and #11 Garrett Vos is 10-0 at 133-pounds this season.
- Here are some impressive SCSU numbers…the Huskies have won 62 consecutive NSIC dual matches dating back to Jan. 27, 2011. SCSU has currently won 35 consecutive dual matches dating back to a loss to Indianapolis on Jan. 14, 2017. Of note, SCSU won 52 consecutive dual matches (a team record) from Jan. 27, 2011 to Jan. 12, 2014.
- Steve Costanzo is in his 13th season at SCSU in 2018-19. His record at SCSU is 195-28 and his collegiate coach record over 20 seasons is now 256-58-2. Since the 2010-11 season, SCSU has only lost a total of seven dual matches under the direction of Costanzo.
Check out Huskies Wrestling at scsuhuskies.com and on Twitter and Facebook.
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