Springfield, Ill – The #3 St. Cloud State wrestling team defeated #1 Newberry 23-12 to claim the championship of the Division II NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals held in Springfield, Ill. Earlier in the day, the Huskies defeated Upper Iowa University 22-13 to advance to the championship bout. 

SeniorsTad Merritt (165/174), Derek Skala (184), and Lucas Munkelwitz (197) and junior Jake Kahnke (285) all had two wins on the day.

Merritt (Canby) pinned Wade Gobin of Upper Iowa in 4:35 and won a major decision over Sean Byrnes of Newbery, 12-1.

Skala (Owatonna) decisioned Mitch Schultz of Upper Iowa 10-4 and defeated Mitch Brown of Newberry 4-2 in overtime.

Munkelwitz (Forest Lake) gained a 6-2 decision over Carl Broghammer of Upper Iowa and won 6-0 over John Reed of Newberry.

Kahnke (Shakopee) had two major decisions on the day. He beat Luke Stika of Upper Iowa 11-0 and Jake Elkins of Newberry 19-8.

Against Newberry, the Huskies won four of the last five weights as the match was tied 9-9 after the first five weights.

Semifinal Match

#3 St. Cloud State 22, Upper Iowa 13

125 Kyle Pedretti (Upper Iowa) over Eric Forde (St. Cloud State) Dec 3-2

133 Trevor Franklin (Upper Iowa) over Zach Stewart (St. Cloud State) Dec 4-1

141 Jay Hildreth (St. Cloud State) over Blake Hilmer (Upper Iowa) Dec 9-3

149 Josh Howk (St. Cloud State) over Jordan Rinken (Upper Iowa) Dec 5-3

157 Winston Robbins (Upper Iowa) over Matt Leibforth (St. Cloud State) Maj 13-2

165 Blake Sorensen (Upper Iowa) over Dan Dick (St. Cloud State) Dec 2-0

174 Tad Merritt (St. Cloud State) over Wade Gobin (Upper Iowa) Pin 4:35

184 Derek Skala (St. Cloud State) over Mitch Schultz (Upper Iowa) Dec 10-4

197 Lucas Munkelwitz (St. Cloud State) over Carl Broghammer (Upper Iowa) Dec 6-2

285 Jake Kahnke (St. Cloud State) over Luke Stika (Upper Iowa) Maj 11-0

Championship Match

#3 St. Cloud State 23, #1 Newberry 12

125Dylan Wright (St. Cloud State) over John McDonald (Newberry) Dec 9-4

133Andrew Pokorny (St. Cloud State) over Matt Oliver (Newberry) Pin 0:38

141William Young (Newberry) over Jay Hildreth (St. Cloud State) Dec 11-4

149Deral Brown (Newberry) over Matt Leibforth (St. Cloud State) Dec 3-0

157Taylor Knapp (Newberry) over Josh Howk (St. Cloud State) Dec 13-7

165Tad Merritt (St. Cloud State) over Sean Byrnes (Newberry) Maj 12-1

174Travis Sheehy (Newberry) over Kurt Salmen (St. Cloud State) Dec 6-23

184Derek Skala (St. Cloud State) over Mitch Brown (Newberry) OT 4-2

197Lucas Munkelwitz (St. Cloud State) over John Reed (Newberry) Dec 6-0

285Jake Kahnke (St. Cloud State) over Jake Elkins (Newberry) Maj 19-8