Wrestling
2025-26 SEASON PREVIEW
A blend of experienced upperclassmen and young talent. That’s the mix the Saint John’s wrestling team hopes leads to a successful season in 2025-26.
competition. He begins his junior season with a 34-27 career record with 10 falls.
Senior Marcus Hayes (Katy, Texas/Cypress Lakes) went 10-7 between 125 and 133 pounds, including five pins and an 8-3 record against Division III wrestlers.
The Johnnies return three wrestlers who reached the podium at the NCAA Regional meet a year ago on a roster that includes 24 freshmen and sophomores. Here is a full look at that group:
ONE WIN AWAY
A pair of Johnnies – junior Connor Krueger (Superior, Wis.) and sophomore Thomas Holmquist (Mendota Heights, Minn./St. Thomas Academy) – fell one win shy of qualifying for the NCAA Division III Championships with fourthplace finishes at the NCAA Regional. Krueger registered an impressive 2211 record as a freshman in 2023-24 but suffered an injury in the Johnnies’ 2024-25 season opener and missed two months. He finished with a 9-6 record at 133 pounds.
Holmquist, meanwhile, won six of his last eight matches for a 15-8 season record at 125 pounds. He tied for the team lead with three technical falls.
THE RIGHT WAYNE
Junior Aidan Wayne (Maple Grove, Minn./ Osseo) bumped up from his freshman weight at 197 pounds and led the Johnnies in both wins (23-7 record) – the most for a Johnnie since 2018-19 – and pins (12-0) last season at heavyweight. He claimed seventh place at the NCAA Regional and touts a 37-18 career record.
UPPERCLASSMEN LEADERSHIP
Three returning upperclassmen tallied nine wins or more in 2024-25.
Junior Kris Castro (Simi Valley, Calif./ Chaminade) accrued an 18-14 record at 157 pounds, the second-most wins on the team behind Wayne, with five pins and an 11-5 mark against non-Division III
Two other seniors, Zachariah Hunter (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area) and Andy Johnson (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech), just missed double-digit wins a year ago with nine. Hunter tied for second on the team with eight pins and finished 9-7 between 184 and 197 pounds. A late arrival to the wrestling room each season due to football, Hunter has a 27-22 career record with 21 pins. Johnson collected a 9-12 record at 174 pounds, the bulk of which came against Division III competition (8-8 record). He is 20-22 in his career.
SOPHOMORE BREAKOUTS
Two other SJU sophomores – Owen Carlson (Albany, Minn.) and Laiken Copeman (Zumbrota, Minn./ZumbrotaMazeppa) – joined Holmquist with doubledigit wins as freshmen last season.
Carlson went 10-9 at 157 pounds and tied for second on the team with eight pins. Copeman, meanwhile, posted an 11-15 record with six pins between 165 and 174 pounds.
THE 2025-26 SCHEDULE
SJU begins the 2025-26 campaign on the road Nov. 1 at Wisconsin-Stevens Point’s Pointer Open before hosting Nebraska Wesleyan Nov. 7 and the Haws/Elton Rumble the following day (Nov. 8) in Sexton Arena.
The Johnnies participate at WisconsinEau Claire’s 8-Man Battle Nov. 22 and welcome Minnesota North-Itasca to Sexton Arena on Nov. 30.
The next five events are on the road during December and the first two weeks of January: Dec. 6 at the Milwaukee School of Engineering (Wis.) Invitational, Dec. 20 at the Dubuque (Iowa) Duals, Jan. 2 at Simpson (Iowa), Jan. 3 at the
Central (Iowa) Invitational and Jan. 9 at the Lakeland (Wis.) Quad.
The Johnnies return home against Concordia-Moorhead Jan. 16 and host the North Country Invitational the next day (Jan. 17). SJU’s final road trips of the regular season take place Jan. 22 at Buena Vista (Iowa) and Feb. 7 at Concordia’s Cobber Last Shot Invitational.
The NCAA Regional is scheduled for Feb. 27-28 at Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
N T H E F I E L D
CHAMPIONS
I N L O G I S T I C S
2025-26 ROSTER
Name Yr Event
Hometown / High School
JACK BAINBRIDGE FR. 149 HASTINGS, MINN. / HASTINGS
OWEN CARLSON SO. 149 ALBANY, MINN. / ALBANY
KRIS CASTRO JR. 149 SIMI VALLEY, CALIF. / CHAMINADE
BRYCE COMMERFORD JR. 174 MINNETONKA, MINN. / BENILDE-ST. MARGARET’S
ZEKE CONNER SO. 285 TYLER, TEXAS / BISHOP GORMAN
LAIKEN COPEMAN SO. 165 ZUMBROTA, MINN. / ZUMBROTA-MAZEPPA
JOSE DE LOS SANTOS SO. 141 MELROSE, MINN. / MELROSE AREA
JOHN FARRELL FR. 285 ELKHORN, NEB. / MOUNT MICHAEL BENEDICTINE
CARSON GELLERMAN FR. 184 BECKER, MINN. / BIG LAKE
JON GETTEL JR. 165 MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. / BENILDE-ST. MARGARET’S
BEN HAGEN FR. 285 NEW RICHLAND, MINN. / WASECA
JACK HAMILTON FR. 149 SAN DIEGO, CALIF. / SCRIPPS RANCH
MARCUS HAYES SR. 125 KATY, TEXAS / CYPRESS LAKES
GUY’TON HENDERSON FR. 157 GREENVILLE, S.C. / MOUNTAIN VIEW PREP
OWEN HERBST JR. 184 BUFFALO, MINN. / BUFFALO
ALFREDO HERNANDEZ FR. 133 SAN DIMAS, CALIF. / BISHOP AMAT
THOMAS HOLMQUIST SO. 125 MENDOTA HEIGHTS, MINN. / ST. THOMAS ACADEMY
ISAAC HUNTER FR. 165 STILLWATER, MINN. / STILLWATER AREA
ZACHARIAH HUNTER SR. 197 STILLWATER, MINN. / STILLWATER AREA
ANDY JOHNSON SR. 174 ST. CLOUD, MINN. / TECH
LUKE JOLLY FR. 133 BURNSVILLE, MINN. / BURNSVILLE
XAVIER JONES JR. 125 ANNANDALE, MINN. / ANNANDALE
LEO KALLOP FR. 174 CARVER, MINN. / CHASKA
CONNOR KRUEGER JR. 133 SUPERIOR, WIS. / SUPERIOR
DREW LANGE SO. 174 ALBANY, MINN. / HOLDINGFORD
JAXSON LUCAS FR. 174 ANDOVER, MINN. / ANDOVER
JOSH MITCHELL SO. 197 HARKER HEIGHTS, TEXAS / HARKER HEIGHTS
MICKEY PIAZZA FR. 149 ST. PAUL, MINN. / CRETIN-DERHAM HALL
ALEX SCHUH SO. 149 TRACY, MINN. / TRACY-MILROY-BALATON
GABE SHATSKIKH JR. 184 FARIBAULT, MINN. / FARIBAULT
DALLAS SIBBET FR. 149 BIG LAKE, MINN. / BIG LAKE
JORDAN SILVERA SO. 184 FOREST LAKE, MINN. / FOREST LAKE
DOMINIC SMITH JR. 141 MAPLE GROVE, MINN. / ST. MICHAEL’S (N.M.)
JOSIAH SOLLIDAY FR. 174 INVER GROVE HEIGHTS, MINN. / ST. THOMAS ACADEMY
KENNETH TORRES JR. 197 FONTANA, CALIF. / MARSHALL FUNDAMENTAL
AIDAN WAYNE JR. 197 MAPLE GROVE, MINN. / OSSEO
BO ZWIENER FR. 141 BLOOMING PRAIRIE, MINN. / BLOOMING PRAIRIE
COACHING STAFF
KEVIN SCHILTZ
Kevin Schiltz begins his ninth season as the head coach of the Johnnie wrestling team in 2025-26.
He served as an assistant coach for 16 years before being named to the top job in July 2017, becoming the first non-SJU graduate in that job since Jim Lind, who coached the Johnnies for two seasons from 1979 to ʼ81.
Under Schiltz's watch, two wrestlers have advanced to the NCAA Division III national meet – Luke Dodd at 197 pounds in 2018-19 and Noah Becker at 133 pounds in 2019-20 (though Becker was unable to compete as the national meet was canceled as a result of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic).
During his tenure as an assistant coach, the program produced 18 All-Americans, including national champions Brandon Novak ’01, John Newman ʼ99 and Minga
Batsukh ʼ11 (three-time). There were also 53 national qualifiers in those 16 seasons.
The Albert Lea native was a 1988 Minnesota state champion at 185 pounds and a three-time high school All-American in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. He went on to Augsburg where he was a member of Division III national-championship teams in 1991 and ’93. He compiled a 15028 career record and was a rare four-time Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion. He also earned All-America honors three times, placing third nationally at 190 pounds in 1989, fifth at 190 in 1990 and sixth at heavyweight in 1993.
In addition, he was a two-year starter on both the offensive and
defensive lines for the Auggies’ football team. Schiltz was inducted into the Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame in September 2016.
Following graduation, Schiltz competed as an amateur on the national stage, finishing seventh at the 1997 U.S. Men’s Open (freestyle).
He then started his coaching career as an assistant for two seasons (1996-98) at Division I Virginia, before returning to Minnesota to serve as an assistant for one season at Division II St. Cloud State (1999).
He and his wife, Susan, have two sons, Aidan and Zack, and reside in St. Joseph.
SCHOLAR ALL-AMERICANS
1982-83
1985-86
1989-90
1991-92
1994-95
1995-96
BRIAN BAKER (134)
MARK TRISTANI (158)
JOE BAKER (126)
BRETT BOGART (134)
DAN EDWARDS (177)
CHRIS FAIRCHILD (150)
CHRIS BOYS (134)
MATT RYAN (150)
JASON SCHERBER (167)
ANDY LIEN (177)
MATT RYAN (158)
MATT STROBL (142)
DAN TSCHUDI (150)
MATT WENTLAND (190)
1996-97
1997-98
1998-99
1999-00
2000-01
2001-02
2003-04
MATT RYAN (158)
DAN TSCHUDI (150)
LANCE BODEEN (158)
ANDY LIEN (177)
MATT STROBL (150)
MIKE TIMM (126)
RAYMOND LUNA (149)
RYAN TIETZ (184)
ADAM MERGEN (125)
RYAN TIETZ (184)
CHRIS DYKHOFF (187)
CHRIS SUEDBECK (HWT.)
MATT VOS (125)
MATT VOS (125)
CHARLIE SADDER (141)
MATT VOS (125)
DAN WILLAERT (184)
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
2015-16
2016-17
CHARLIE SADDER (149)
DAN WILLAERT (184)
CHARLIE SADDER (141)
NATE SCHRAAN (125)
DAN WILLAERT (184)
GRANT EUSTICE (174)
GRANT EUSTICE (174)
MATT PFARR (174)
JOHN VAITH (157)
MATT PFARR (174)
CHRIS SANDY (141)
MITCH HAGEN (184)
CHAD HENLE (133)
MATT PFARR (174)
MITCH HAGEN (184)
RYAN MICHAELIS (197)
JOE HESSING (149)
RYAN MICHAELIS (197)
EVAN GUFFEY (133)
RYAN MICHAELIS (197)
BEN HENLE (141)
ROBERT TAIT (174)
LUKE DODD (184)
TEDDY ERICKSON (165)
JEROD NOVAK (157)
ROBERT TAIT (197)
2017-18
2018-19
NOAH BECKER (125)
NOAH BECKER (133)
LUKE DODD (197)
JEROD NOVAK (157)
2019-20
2020-21
2023-24
NOAH BECKER (133)
JEROD NOVAK (157)
LOGAN EDWARDS (165)
CARTER ENTINGER (149)
JACOB SCHERBER (184)
OWEN HERBST (174)
2024-25 THOMAS HOLMQUIST (125)
CONNOR KRUEGER (133)
D.J. MYLES (197)
LOGAN THORSTEN (165)
AIDAN WAYNE (HWT.)
RYAN
HERBST
IS NO LONGER A RECONIZED MIAC SPORT)
ALL-AMERICANS
1957-58 (NAIA) - LARRY BETZLER (4TH, 147 LBS.)
GARY SAUER (3RD, 123 LBS.)
1961-62 (NAIA) - BEN PULKRABEK (2ND, 190 LBS.)
1970-71 (NAIA) - GARY SVENDSEN (5TH, 134 LBS.)
1971-72 (NAIA) - TOM MILLER (3RD, 190 LBS.)
GARY SVENDSEN (NATIONAL CHAMPION, 134 LBS.)
1972-73 (NAIA) - TOM SVENDSEN (2ND, 134 LBS.; 6TH, 134 LBS. IN NCAA DIVISION II)
1973-74 (NAIA) - TOM SVENDSEN (3RD, 134 LBS.)
1978-79
1989-90
CHRIS MEYER (8TH, 134 LBS.)
SCOTT FERNHOLZ (8TH, 142 LBS.),
TIM OELKE (8TH, 158 LBS.)
1992-93 CHRIS GROTHE (5TH, 190 LBS.)
1993-94 RICH SCHNECKENBERGER (5TH, 167 LBS.)
1994-95 RICH SCHNECKENBERGER (3RD, 158 LBS.)
DAN TSCHUDI (7TH, 142 LBS.)
1995-96 ANDY LIEN (5TH, 177 LBS.)
1996-97
MATT RYAN (5TH, 150 LBS.)
JOHN NEWMAN (3RD, 167 LBS.)
BRANDON NOVAK (5TH, 190 LBS.)
MATT RYAN (8TH, 150 LBS.)
DAN TSCHUDI (7TH, 150 LBS.)
1997-98 ANDY LIEN (3RD, 177 LBS.)
1998-99
1999-00
2000-01
2001-02
2003-04
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
JOHN NEWMAN (NATIONAL CHAMPION, 174 LBS.)
RYAN TIETZ (5TH, 184 LBS.)
BRANDON NOVAK (3RD, 197 LBS.)
BRANDON NOVAK (NATIONAL CHAMPION, 197 LBS.)
MATT VOS (3RD, 125 LBS.)
DAN FIECKE (5TH, 197 LBS.)
JACOB MALONE (4TH, 157 LBS.)
DAN WILLAERT (7TH, 184 LBS.)
JACOB MALONE (5TH, 157 LBS.)
MOGI BAATAR (7TH, 125 LBS.)
MINGA BATSUKH (NATIONAL CHAMPION, 141 LBS.)
DUSTIN BAXTER (7TH, 184 LBS.)
MINGA BATSUKH (NATIONAL CHAMPION, 141 LBS.)
MATT BAARSON (4TH, 165 LBS.)
MINGA BATSUKH* (NATIONAL CHAMPION, 149 LBS.)
DUSTIN BAXTER (3RD, 184 LBS.)
CHAD HENLE (7TH, 133 LBS.)
MATT PFARR (7TH, 174 LBS.)
2011-12
DUSTIN BAXTER (2ND, 197 LBS.)
MATT PFARR (4TH, 174 LBS.)
2012-13 MITCH HAGEN (5TH, 184 LBS.)
2019-20 NOAH BECKER (NWCA, 133 LBS.)
*NCAA Championships’ Outstanding Wrestler
NEWMAN
NOVAK
VOS
MOST VICTORIES
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS
CAREER 143 MATT RYAN, 1993-97
SEASON 52 RICH SCHNECKENBERGE, 1994-95
FRESHMAN 33 MOGI BAATAR, 2006-07
33 JACOB MALONE, 2003-04
MOST CONSECUTIVE VICTORIES
RICH SCHNECKENBERGER 32 1993-94
FASTEST FALL
OWEN HERBST :08 2023-24
MATT STROBL :10 1995-96
FASTEST TECHNICAL FALL
DAN TSCHUDI :51 1996-97
MOST FALLS
CAREER 55 MATT RYAN, 1993-97
SEASON 22 MATT RYAN, 1994-95
MOST CONSECUTIVE FALLS
RICH SCHNECKENBERGER 5 1994-95
MOST NEAR-FALL POINTS
CAREER 475 DAN TSCHUDI, 1993-97
SEASON 282 RICH SCHNECKENBERGER, 1994-95
MATCH 19 PAT MANNING, 1983-84
MOST TAKEDOWNS
CAREER 336 JOHN NEWMAN, 1995-99
SEASON 126 RICH SCHNECKENBERGER, 1993-94
MATCH 17 MINGA BATSUKH, 2010-11
MOST REVERSALS
CAREER 105 CHUCK CHMIELEWSKI, 1984-88
SEASON 35 SHAWN GOVERN, 1985-86
MATCH 5 MARK DEVETTER, 1983-84
5 JOHN SVIHEL, 1983-84
MOST ESCAPES
CAREER 208 MIKE TIMM, 1996-00
SEASON 96 DAN WILLAERT, 2002-03
MATCH 11 JOHN HABERMAN, 1990-91
MOST TEAM POINTS
CAREER +521 RICH SCHNECKENBERGER, 1990-95
SEASON +194 RICH SCHNECKENBERGER, 1994-95
MOST MATCH POINTS
CAREER 1,385 RICH SCHNECKENBERGER, 1990-95
SEASON 560 RICH SCHNECKENBERGER, 1994-95
GREATEST POINT SPREAD
MIKE TESS 26 1983-84
32-6 OVER RICK AANERUD, GOLDEN VALLEY
RICH SCHNECKENBERGER
MOGI BAATAR
JOHN NEWMAN
NCAA PARTICIPANTS
1979
CHRIS MEYER 134 8TH
JOHN ELTON 150
DAN QUINN 177
1980 JOHN ELTON 150
1982 JIM GOODMAN 167
1983 BRIAN BAKER 134
1985 BRIAN BAKER 134
JOHN SCHLETTY 167
1986 DAVE BARTHEL 118
1987 DAVE BARTHEL 118
1989 PHIL WILDER HWT
1990 SCOTT FERNHOLZ 142 8TH
TIM OELKE 158 8TH
1991 SCOTT FERNHOLZ 142
TERRY FASCHING 158
MIKE HONKEN 177
1992 SCOTT FERNHOLZ 142
TERRY FASCHING 158
RICH SCHNECKENBERGER 167
1993 SCOTT FERNHOLZ 142
SCOT DOBOSZENSKI 150
RICH SCNECKENBERGER 158
JASON SCHERBER 167
CHRIS GROTHE 190 5TH
1994 DAN TSCHUDI 142
JASON SCHERBER 158
RICH SCHNECKENBERGER 167 5TH
CHRIS GROTHE 190
1995 DAN TSCHUDI 142 7TH
MATT RYAN 150
RICH SCHNECKENBERGER 158 3RD
JASON SCHERBER 167
CHRIS GROTHE 190
1996 DAN TSCHUDI 142
MATT RYAN 150 5TH
ANDY LIEN 177 5TH
CHRIS GROTHE HWT
1997 DAN TSCHUDI 150 7TH
MATT RYAN 150 8TH
JOHN NEWMAN 167 3RD
BRANDON NOVAK 190 5TH
MATT WENTLAND HWT
1998 MIKE TIMM 126
MATT STROBL 150
LANCE BODEEN 158
JOHN NEWMAN 174
ANDY LIEN 177 3RD
BRANDON NOVAK 190
1999 ERIC TSCHUDI 125
JEREMY ABFALTER 165
JOHN NEWMAN 174 1ST
RYAN TIETZ 184 5TH
2000 ADAM MERGEN 125
JEREMY ABFALTER 165
CHRIS GROSS 174
RYAN TIETZ 184
BRANDON NOVAK 197 3RD
2001 MATT VOS 125
BRIAN VETTER 141
BRIAN LAHR 165
BRANDON NOVAK 197 1ST
2002 MATT VOS 125 3RD
CHUCK GRIFFITH 133 TIM ANDERSON 149
2003 DAN FIECKE 197
2004 MATT VOS 125
NATE LEFEBVRE 133
DAN FIECKE 197 5TH
2005 DAN FIECKE 197
JACOB MALONE 157
2006 DAN FIECKE 197
JACOB MALONE 157 4TH
DAN WILLAERT 184 7TH 2007 JACOB MALONE 157 5TH
MINGA BATSUKH 141
MOGI BAATAR 125 2008 DUSTIN BAXTER 184 MATT SCHRUPP 165
SCOTT FERNHOLZ
CHRIS MEYER
Here, Your Sport Doesn’t Define You –It Amplifies You
Athletics at Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s isn’t just stats and PRs. It’s self-discipline and perseverance and time management and friendships for a lifetime. It’s another tool for student success. And results show it’s a powerful one.
Are you ready to compete as a Bennie or a Johnnie? Come take a closer look –schedule a campus visit today!
wrestling Facilities
Wrestling Room
Opening in 1973, the wrestling room is the primary practice space for the wrestling team. Complete with padded walls and mats, as soon as one walks into the wrestling room, they are reminded of the proud tradition of Johnnie Wrestling as conference honors and titles of former grapplers adorn the walls.
Sexton Arena
Although the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) dropped wrestling as an official conference recognized sport in 2004, Saint John’s University continues to add to its prestigious wrestling history to this day. Students pack the mats inside of Sexton Arena (and sometimes the Donald McNeely Spectrum) to watch the Johnnie grapplers take on some of the best competition that the country has to offer. During the days of MIAC wrestling (1948 to 2004), Saint John’s won a total of 14 team titles, 59 individual MIAC titles, and produced eight Carl Larson Trophy Award winners (given to the best individual grappler in the conference). Eight of the 14 MIAC team titles came in straight succession from 1952 to 1959.
McGlynn Fitness Center
Opened in 1997, the 5,600-square-foot McGlynn Fitness Center is equipped with upper-body, lowe-body and full-core machines as well as cardiovascular machines such as treadmills, ellipticals and bikes.
Donald McNeely Spectrum
The Donald McNeely Spectrum is a multi-purpose fieldhouse located inside the Warner Palaestra that can also be used for home meets.
a sense of connection
That’s what Saint John’s University junior Cole Stencel enjoys most about life in Collegeville.
The connection the physics major on a pre-engineering track feels with his professors and peers in the classroom, the connection he feels with his coaches and teammates on the Johnnies cross country and track and field teams, and the connection he feels to the natural beauty that surrounds him each and every day.
“We talk a lot about community here, but it’s really true,” Stencel said. “This is a very tight-knit place. You get to know everyone really well and you form lasting relationships. It’s also a very outdoorsy college, which is something I really enjoy. There are lakes right outside your door. There are acres and acres of woods and trails. I don’t know of any other campus that has this many natural resources.”
A Maple River High School graduate, Stencel made the dean’s list last semester and is also involved in SJU Campus Ministry.
“They really encourage you to get involved in the community here and that’s a good thing,” Stencel said. “Campus life makes up such a big part of the college experience. I’ve met so many people who I know are going to be my friends for a lifetime.”
Stencel’s interest in engineering springs from his father, Jay, a civil engineering instructor at South Central College in Mankato.
“That’s how I first got acquainted with the field and the concepts,” said Cole, who plans to attend graduate school, then pursue a career in the mechanical engineering field. “He was the one who told me to check out the kind of jobs that are available and everything engineering
entails. The more I got to know about it, the more it appealed to me.”
Stencel said the individual attention he gets from his professors at SJU is helping prepare him for future success.
“I feel really comfortable here,” he said. “There’s a big sense of belonging. There’s a lot of one-on-one time with the faculty. If I have a question, I feel like I can go to any of my professors and talk it over with them. That means a lot.”
But Stencel said his SJU experience would likely not have been possible were it not for the assistance scholarships have provided. He currently receives the John Drahmann Memorial Scholarship, as well as an academic achievement and alumni referral scholarship.
“That helped cut my bill more than in half right away, which made coming here so much more achievable,” he said.
“I just want to say thank you to all the donors who make it possible for students like me to be immersed in this amazing college experience. Without them, I wouldn’t be here. So I’m extremely grateful.”
hall of famers
Brandon Novak
Brandon Novak served as head coach of the Saint John’s wrestling team from 2004 to 2014, compiling a record of 83-73 in dual meet competition.
Under Novak’s watch, Johnnie wrestlers earned All-American honors 15 times. That included Minga Batsukh, who won threestraight national titles from 2009 to ʼ11.
Novak was a two-time All-American himself, who won a national title at 197 pounds in 2001. He was also an All-American linebacker on the football field and remains SJU’s current co-defensive coordinator.
Terry Haws
When Terry Haws took over as wrestling coach at Saint John’s in the fall of 1967, the program had not won a conference title in four years. But Haws, who had great success as a high school coach in St. James and at St. Cloud Cathedral, quickly built the Johnnies into a national power.
In his six seasons at the helm, his teams compiled a dual meet record
of 65-9-2, earning three-straight MIAC titles in 1971, ’72 and ’73.
Under his watch, wrestlers earned All-American honors four times and Gary Svendsen earned an NAIA national championship at 134 pounds during the 1971-72 season.
He also led the Johnnies to back-toback titles at the National Catholic Invitational Tournament in 1972 and ’72, a season in which he earned national Catholic Coach of the Year honors.
He was back with his team at the NCIT in Cleveland in February of 1973 when he died of a heart attack at the age of 49.
John Elton
John Elton is the longest-serving head coach in Saint John’s wrestling history, having led the Johnnies from 1981 until his retirement in 2004. Under his watch, SJU sent wrestlers to the NCAA Division III national meet in all but two seasons.
Elton coached two wrestlers to Division III national titles – John Newman at 174 pounds in 1999 and Brandon Novak at 197 pounds in 2001.
Prior to taking over as head coach, Elton was a two-time qualifier for the national meet at 150 pounds for the Johnnies in 1979 and ’80.
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wrestling
in the sju j-club
hall of honor
Minga Batsukh
In the celebration that followed Minga Batsukh’s first national championship in 2009, a challenge was laid in front of the standout Johnnie wrestler.
“I remember everyone was cheering and yelling,” Batsukh recalls. “They were saying ‘You’re a national champion! You’re a national champion!’ But (current SJU head coach) Kevin Schiltz, who was an assistant coach for us at the time, told me it was going to be a lot harder to do it a second time. Everyone was going to be gunning for me.
“That really motivated me. It made me want to keep getting better and work even harder. I wanted to come back and do it again.”
In fact, Batsukh returned to do it twice –following up his first NCAA Division III national title at 141 pounds with another as a junior in 2010, then closing his career by winning the national championship at 149 pounds as a senior in 2011. That makes him the only three-time national champion in school history.
After graduating from SJU, Batsukh returned to Mongolia and continued wrestling for a time, just missing out on the final spot in the 2012 Summer Olympics by the luck of the draw at that year’s Asian Wrestling Qualification Tournament.
He’s gone on to a career in the financial sector in Ulaanbaatar, but he and fellow SJU wrestler Mogi Baatar have both remained involved in the sport. They run a club for kids ages 5-14 that specializes in freestyle wrestling, jiu-jitsu and boxing.
Gary Svendsen
Gary Svendsen ʼ72 wasn’t initially sold on the concept of attending Saint John’s University. In fact, the highly sought-after wrestler from Coon Rapids (Minn.) High School had already decided on another school as a senior in the spring of 1968.
But SJU head coach Terry Haws – who had just completed his first season at the program’s helm – refused to take no for an answer. Svendsen changed his mind and enrolled in Collegeville just weeks before the 1968-69 school year was scheduled to start.
Despite breaking his leg early in his first semester on campus (which posed a challenge for the freshman who had been placed on the fourth floor of Benet Hall), he returned to action after Christmas and made an immediate impact, capturing an MIAC title at 118 pounds.
Svendsen repeated that feat the following year and also won his weight class during the Johnnies’ first trip to the National Catholic Invitational, which included prominent schools like Notre Dame and Marquette. He also advanced to the NAIA national tournament.
Svendsen went on to be a three-time MIAC champion and a two-time National Catholic Invitational champion wrestler. He also won the 1972 NAIA national title at 134 pounds and finished his career with a program-record .921 winning percentage (105-9 record).
a freshman from The Bahamas in 1951. But he went on to great success in the sport, winning the 1953-54 MIAC championship at 130 pounds.
He was also a dominant force on the tennis court, falling in the conference singles final as a freshman in 1952, then winning threestraight MIAC titles in 1953, ’54 and ’55.
After graduating in 1955, he returned to The Bahamas where he served as a coach and as the director of athletics at Saint Augustine’s College, a secondary school for grades 7-12. There, he had a profound influence on not only some of the top athletes in the nation’s history, but on some of the country’s future leaders as well.
That group included Cynthia Pratt, who went on to become deputy prime minister and is now the governor-general of The Bahamas.
He also stayed active in athletics himself, including as a player-coach on the first volleyball team to represent The Bahamas in the Pan-American Games in 1967.
Terry Haws
Terry Haws never wrestled himself. But he would go on to become one of the greatest wrestling coaches the state of Minnesota has ever seen.
After establishing successful high school programs at both St. James and St. Cloud Cathedral, Haws took over the head coaching job at Saint John’s in 1968 and immediately built the Johnnies into a national power.
Over his five seasons in Collegeville, his teams went a combined 73-10-1 in dual meet competition, won three MIAC titles and two National Catholic championships. His wrestlers captured 16 MIAC titles in their respective weight classes, 11 National Catholic championships and one NAIA national title.
Haws was also a successful high school football coach, who then became the first full-time assistant legendary Johnnies coach John Gagliardi ever had.
Lou Adderley
Lou Adderley hadn’t wrestled at all before arriving at SJU as
Sadly, his time at SJU was cut short when he passed away after suffering a heart attack at age 49 while with his team at the National Catholic Invitational in 1973.
