Max Steigauf / Sports Director

St. Cloud State’s wrestling program lost at home for the first time in 13 years on Thursday losing 20-19 to #9 UW Parkside. The Huskies refocused after the tough loss and got ready for the Augustana Vikings.

At 125 #6 Paxton Creese looked to avenge his loss from UW Parkside against #5 Jaxson Rohman. At the end of the third period the score was knotted up at four heading into overtime. Creese would get a go behind to win his match and give St. Cloud a 3-0 lead.

At 133 there would be more dramatics with Husky Sam Spencer getting a take down to tie the match at three heading into the third period. Spencer would get an escape at the beginning of the third to take a 4-3 lead. Late in the third Huffman would get desperate and try and throw Spencer, but Spencer would trip the Augustana Viking to take a 6-3 win.

141 Alyeus Craig started his match with a bang taking Kade Sammons down in the first period getting near-fall off the take down as well. Craig wasn’t done he was thinking bonus points from the beginning and would walk away with an 8-0 victory.

At 149 Joey Bianchini was taken down to start the first period but would escape and fight for a takedown to head into the second period winning 3-2. A slow second period gave way wo a thrilling third period that saw Bianchini takedown Simmonds twice in the final seconds to wrap up a 7-6 victory.

At 157 #4 “Tricky” Nicky Novak would put his undefeated record on the line again against #10 Miles Fitzgerald. In the first period Novak would take Fitzgerald down, but it was intally ruled out of bounds. After a lenthy review it was detrimined that Novak was in bounds when he took Fitzgerald down giving Tricky Nicky a 2-0 lead and all the momentum he would need. Novak would cruise to a 6-1 win. The Huskies swept the first half of wrestling taking a 16-0 team score into the intermission.

Coming out of the intermission Jimmy Pierandozzi would look to continue to wrestle tough for St. Cloud. Pierandozzi would once again wrestle a close match, but this time he would prevail with a late takedown in the third to win 3-2.

The Huskies boast the #1 ranked wrestler at 174 with Abner Romero and he would live up to the hype in his match. Romero would start looking for heel picks taking down Augustana’s Kolby Kost multiple times. Kost would adjust his stance to try and stop Romero, but it would leave him susceptible to a duck-under clinic that romero would use on his way to a 18-3 tech fall.

St. Cloud would drop their only match at 184 when Cade Mueller took Shaeden Scheidt down in the third to give the Viking’s a 3-1 win at 184.

The Huskies would finish the match with two workmen like wins with #4 Dominic Murphey winning 6-2 and Elijah Novak would close the match with a 4-2 win giving the Huskies a 30-3 victory over Augustana.

St. Cloud is now 8-1 overall and 1-1 in the NSIC after this week. On Saturday St. Cloud will host Minnesota State Mankato at 2 p.m. It will also be the Huskies alumni match. Many Husky alumni will be there and will also be introduced at the intermission of the match.