Saint John’s Wrestling Family and Friends,

As I look over the past year, it makes me want next year to start early. I know that wishing time away is never a good thing, but the outlook for this program is getting brighter again. I have 2 former Johnnies who live in the area and have come back to coach as often as they can. Anthony Hennen is back for his second year, and Brady Mehr just finished his first season. It was nice to see one or both of them most days in the practice room and for most travel events. I hope the days of this one-man show are over. Both these coaches have seen leaner times while they were competing here. As we approached the end of the season, the number of wrestlers in the room was higher than when they started their seasons. When they made that comment it did put a small smile on my face. We will be graduating one Senior this year and have hopes of another 20 new athletes joining next fall. Ben Gilbertson our lone survivor from his incoming class of 10.

Looking back at the schedule we had more home events than the past few years. We started our first event, The Haws/Elton 4 team Rumble. The new format makes for a much shorter day, which is a pleasant change from the all-day grind of some of the opens. We posted a 3-1 dual record. The past few years those numbers were reversed. Johnnies wrestled well at the Regional this year. We had 6 guys in the blood round Friday night. I was hoping for a clean sweep and have 6 men standing on the podium the following day. My hope wasn’t strong enough to win a few of those matches, but it was nice to see so many still alive at that point. We had 2 freshmen wrestlers place 8th.  All but one from the regional team will return next year. We will be returning to the line up several young wrestlers who suffered season ending injuries. 40 wrestlers on the team to start next year is a real goal. It has been a few years since we have seen the team that large.

The Johnnie wrestling golf outing is scheduled for August 2nd in Annandale, MN. This will be the reunion event for the 1980-84 and 2000-04 wrestlers/teams. 2 reunion groups rolled into one golf outing should make for the best event we have ever hosted. Call your teammates to get as many scheduled as possible. As I have mentioned in the past, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO GOLF. Drive a cart for a group, drive a cart to see as many friends as you can. Or sit with me behind a bush near a tee off and use air horns during their back swings. Either way, make this event a priority for you and your teammates to reconnect.

It is now full-blown recruit season. Goal is to get as many Sr’s and Jr’s on campus as possible and sell them on the fact that this is the best college in the region, and we can and will have the best wrestling team too.

Coach Schiltz

Johnnie Wrestling Community,

As the start of the season is right around the corner, Monday Oct 16th, I would like to thank all of you that attended this year's golf event and those that helped us raise 10,000 dollars for the Go Johnnies Challenge. these two events help us with extra funds to do a few things that would otherwise not happen. 

We are starting off this year with the largest team in a while. The room will have just over 30 wrestlers, many of them are first year johnnies. We added a few transfer students to this year's team as well, with the possibilities to add a few more transfers in December. A good number of upper-class wrestlers return to help guide the younger ones down the right. 

After a few years of Covid messing up the schedule for our events, we are finally getting it back on track. We have several home events this year, including a new event. I wanted to recognize the great coaching legacy of Terry Haws and John Elton. The best way for me to recognize them is to name a new event after them. This year will be the first of many for the Haws/Elton 4 team rumble. We have invited 3 teams in for a mini-individual tournament. this event is able to start a bit later in the morning and get done before the dinner bell rings. This event is attractive to some of the closer teams as they won't need to spend the hotel dollars for the team. Drive to SJU, stretch out. warm-up, wrestle. go home, short and sweet.  I will be adding a new part to the blog. The Alumni Corner, will be a short thought or statement from SJU wrestling alumni. I hope to add at least 2 notes each blog. if you have an idea or thought to share, you can send me an email and I will try to get your note added for all to read.

I have added a few more coaches to the list from past years. Anthony Hennen, Brady Mehr. Anthony helped out last year and is back for round 2. Brady has been coaching high school for the past few years, but is making the switch to college. glad to have them both here now.

Alumni Corner: Why or what excites you about Saint John's Wrestling?

Matt Vos:

I am excited about the pieces that are starting to fall in place. The effort and passion of those involved is infectious. I am also excited about the current wrestlers that are going to be able to look back and see what they were a part of.

 Gary Svendsen:

As I look back on my time in the St John’s wrestling program, I realize that it was not only a wonderful time in my life but it also served as a time for me where I developed valuable life disciplines that served me well for the rest of my personal life and workplace life … goal setting, work ethic, leadership, teamwork, etc.  The friendships , comradery and memories developed last a lifetime even as we part ways and move on with the rest of our lives.

I would like to encourage all past Johnnie wrestlers to participate in the St John’s wrestling golf outing fundraiser each summer to help keep this program well-funded going into the future.  It is a great opportunity to connect with old teammates, relive old stories, meet current wrestlers as well as wrestlers from other eras.  It is a four-man scramble format … so no pressure on individual skills.  Having a great time is the only requirement!

One last thing,  if any of you are interested in team gear, the following link will take you to our website:

https://shop.game-one.com/minnesota/collegeville/saint-johns-university/saint-johns-university-johnnies-wrestling

Kevin Shiltz

Welcome back for another year of Johnnie wrestling information and updates. I Would like to write a letter to all of you each month. It has been more like every other month. I will see if I can make that happen this year.

I have a request for the first item today. As we had another great golf outing this year with several individuals attending from the 70’s. It seems that we have old information on quite a few wrestlers from every era. I would like to find an individual from each decade that would put forth the effort to get this list updated to current information. I have a strong desire to keep guys united with johnnie teammates. Then to see those teammates at an event or two, together. The stories and the energy of these gathering are special. If you would like to be the head of any timeframe, please send me an email. I will be able to send you what I have to get you started. The reunions we had during the golf outing were great for the guys who came. Some alumni chose to just ride in the golf cart for the day with their teammate from years ago. Several hours of embellished stories of the past. Some just sound embellished today, with all the changes in how we operate the sport now. Some just come by the club house and wait for the teams to come in. At that time, the stories and memories start to fly around the club house. Steve Wolfe helped a bit this year with a few guys who were not listed as wrestlers in our alumni list. Many more like these guys might be out there.

Second request for help, If you would like to help grow this golf and reunion event, we could use your help. Adam Clemen stepped up to take over for Chris Gross this year. He is looking for 3-4 guys to take a small portion of assistance with this. If you have an interest in this, I will send you to Adam for details.

Now some wrestling updates. Our team is growing, and the talent is growing with returners experience, highly talented new commers. This year’s team will be right at that 40-wrestler mark. I am looking for steady improvement to the team’s results as the past few years have not lived up to the history of Saint John’s Wrestling. I hope to find a few former Johnnies at one or more of this year’s events. Please feel free to introduce yourself to me at the event. I also have an open room for alumni to come back to practice. Younger guys can bring their shoes and get on the mat. Older wrestlers might be ok with demonstration or just tell a few stories at the start of practice. Love to have YOU there some time.

Last Item, our annual “Go Johnnie Challenge” is right around the corner. This drive helps us supplement our budget. With this team growing and costs going up, this day is more important than ever to keep a strong schedule. We will need to take charter busses to all tournaments this year. 40 wrestlers, 4 team managers, and one coach won’t fit in our campus small busses very well.

September 7th is the date for the challenge. A donation to the wrestling team will go directly to the wrestling team. This event is driven on social media. You can log into the event from the site listed here (https://www.givecampus.com/schools/SaintJohnsUniversity/2023-go-johnnies-challenge). If you would like to donate another way, you can do that. I have received donations over the phone and by email. Let me know what amount you want to add to the drive, and I will enter it for you. You can mail in a check after the event is over. You can be anonymous or add your name. My goal this year is to beat last year. You can help this event grow by making a few calls to teammate's to boost the drive's outcome. You have the opportunity to set up a reoccurring donation to the team. I believe you can do a monthly or a yearly donation this way.

See you this winter at a Johnnie wrestling event.

Email me if you want to help with the alumni list or the golf outing. I can't do this without some help. this is my personal cell listed below. If you have any thoughts to help the Johnnie wrestling program. feel free to call me.

Kevin Schiltz

Head Wrestling Coach

Saint John’s University

2585 Abbey Road

Collegeville, MN  56321

O: (320) 363-2516

C: (320) 249-7219

Email:  kschiltz@csbsju.edu

Web Site:  gojohnnies.com

This Blog will be the wind down for the summer.

Some quick notes from the end of the season. We fell short of getting guys on the podium at the regional tournament. We had more wins than the previous year, but I also know that the competition was better from top to bottom. We are one of the teams in the toughest region in the country. This is a young team and will be taking more steps to getting several guys on the stand this next year.

We will be sending two great wrestlers, team members, Humans out into the world. This blog isn’t a novel, so I have summed them up into a new term that I will be making into an award, “Johnnie Gold” these two were always someone younger guys could look up to in awe. Always there in the weight room. Always there in the practice room, always there in the library, always there for campus involvement, always there for you. Johnnie Gold will be the Wrestling team’s full involvement award. Julian Mares and Logan Edwards will have their mark on this team for years to come.

Recruitment has gone well this year; I will be bringing in 22 new faces to the team. We will have faces from many states. We will be welcoming a few transfers as well. Returning guys will have to do all the right stuff this summer to try and keep their spots.

Reunion: we will be honoring the guys from years 1974-1979 at this year’s golf event. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO GOLF! Last year we had a great turnout for the 1970-1974 teams. I hope to see some of those guys back this year or in the next golf outings after. We are trying to get 100 golfers to this event. They do not have to be wrestlers, or even Johnnies. This will be a full day event. The stories told will be left at the golf course, just like the ones I heard last year. Except the good ones. Call your roommates, teammates, family, anyone who wants to help build this event and share the memories from that era. Golf event post card will be sent but info is listed below.

Friday August 4th Riverwood National 10247 95th St NE, Monticello, MN 55362

You can register for this event here:

Coach Schiltz

See you on the links

Welcome to the first notes for the SJU wrestling team 22-23. I wanted to start this off with great news. I have acquired the service of Garrett Vos as an assistant coach. Garrett was a 3 time All-American for St. Cloud State. Finished last season as runner-up in D2. He is the nephew of Matt Vos 04’, Johnnie All-American. The wrestlers are excited to have another voice in the room. I know I have him for this year and we will see what the future holds the following years. One staple to all strong programs, is having a strong stable staff year after year. In addition to stability with staff members, you need to have the additional personalities in the room. I believe each wrestler will adhere to a coach as their primary. This primary isn’t always the head coach.

I would like to introduce you all to my two Sr Captains. I have asked them both to write up a bit about who they are. I would like to tell you in my words that these two have been an absolute joy to coach. They are involved just about everything on campus. They are diehard leaders who have done everything I have asked to get this team ready in and out of the regular season. Great people leading great people.

Logan Edwards

I am one of the two seniors on the wrestling team this year. As my collegiate wrestling career draws to a close, I can't help but look back in gratitude for the amazing time I've had here at St. John's. Wrestling has undoubtedly been one of the highlights of my time here, but it would be a shame if I didn't acknowledge the holistic development this institution has brought me. Because of all the lessons the sport has taught me, I've been equipped to significantly contribute to this community and prepare myself to serve the world after graduation. Being a three-year captain, I've had the privilege of watching this program grow from nearly being cut to now having an eager group of 15+ freshmen ready to bring this program to the next level as I depart. As a sophomore, I was privileged to be honored with the Extraordinary Service Award for some of my service including Prison Ministry, J-Walking (a program accompanying men reentering society after incarceration) and other various programs. I also was honored as an Academic All-American in 2020. As amazing as this recognition is, I can't help but look at my time on the mat as one of the driving forces behind this work. From serving as the Vice President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to working as a student supervisor for Campus Ministry, the lessons of hard-work, commitment, grit and my faith undergird all of it. Now, as I move on toward graduate school in pursuance of a Master of Divinity degree, I hope to become a high school theology teacher and coach wrestling as a way of giving back to the world that has given me SJU.

Julian Mares

When thinking on my time here at Saint John's and what drew me here, wrestling always enters my mind first. As a 18 year old Southern California boy, wrestling is what truly drew me here, but more importantly, the chance the Kevin Schiltz provided me with. I was a good high school wrestler, but never a head turner, but after coming here on my visit and talking to Schiltz, I felt like I not only had a chance but the guarantee to succeed here at SJU. This of course came with a lot of hard work, dedication, and first and foremost, many blessings from above. Entering my senior year and beyond, I have fully come to appreciate my time here, but not just as a wrestler, but as a wholistic member of this community. Saint John's has given me to excel academically, socially, and in the wrestling room. Understanding that we are not just wrestlers, but human beings has helped me to become a Dean's List recipient, have over a 3.5 GPA, be involved in our Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) for three years, being a part of KFH and helping to raise over 100,000 meals for people struggling for a single meal in a day, and finally excelling as a wrestler and leader in ways I could not have dreamed of as a 18 year old. I lay this before you not to parade my achievements, accolades, and involvements. I speak about these because without the Lord, great coaches, professors, friends, support from my loving family, and so much more I would never had the confidence, drive, and focus to a accomplish such feats. To circle back to my reverence for Saint John's University, my time in the wrestling room helped me focus these skills to its fullest. Being in the room with a group of highly motivated, excited, and caring teammates all taking part in a common goal which was simply to excel and better themselves for the sake of personal evolution, I would not be where I am today. So, thank you alumni for laying out that path and bringing back that understanding of hard work to future generations, I hope to do the same in your shoes, and I know I have a lot of work to do to keep our tradition of worthwhile alumni.

Sorry for the long letter. Here is a link to our store if you are interested in purchasing wrestling items.

See you on the mat soon.

FYI Friday August 4th will be the date for next years golf outing. We will be honoring the 1975-1979 classes at this event. Let’s keep this program growing. See you on the links in August.

Coach Schiltz

As the season is winding down and the recruiting is heating up, I wanted to change up the blog format a bit. I have two senior managers this year, who without their help, this ship would have sunk. They have covered the work that an assistant coach would normally perform.

Hello, I am Rachel Rogers and I have been a wrestling manager since my first year at CSB/SJU. I am a nutrition- dietetics major, and after graduation, I will be completing a dietetic internship at St. Cloud Hospital. Completion of the internship will allow eligibility for the exam to become a registered dietician. I first became involved with the Johnnie wrestling program upon request from a manager a year older than I. Choosing to be wrestling manager for my student job has brought me great memories and some of my closest friends. I enjoyed watching the team evolve, and I am honored to be thought of as a valuable member.

Hi, my name is Hailee Thayer, and I am one of the senior managers for the wrestling team! I have been managing since my sophomore year at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University. I am a political science major with a gender studies minor. After graduation in May, I will be traveling to Brazil on an embedded study abroad program. During the summer, I will also be presenting at the European Conference on Gender and Politics in Slovenia. I am super excited to see what the future brings! I became a wrestling manager because Rachel had mentioned that the team needed one more and I was more than happy to become part of the team. I could not have asked for a better student job! I have so many memories from the many tournament trips that we took and made many new friends during my years as a manager.

We handle a lot of the planning that goes into a tournament. For example, we book hotel rooms for out-of-state tournaments, book flights for the Florida tournament, film all the matches during the tournament and duals, and order food for the team after a day of wrestling. We also take a lot of the pictures that you see on social media. We loved being part of the wrestling team and look forward to being alumni! We hope to see you at the Annual Golf Outing in August!

I have been spending time during the nights and weekends texting and calling potential Johnnies for next year. This sport is one of attrition. With the injuries, dedication levels dwindling during the four years. The need to have larger recruiting classes is necessary to cover the losses over time. We will have a large incoming class next year, filled with talent from various states.

SJU wrestling has one senior this year.

My name is Hayden Hedrington, and I am a senior on the Sant John’s wrestling team. I am a integrative health sciences major on the pre-chiropractic track. Although I joined during the year of Covid-19, I genuinely enjoyed my time with the team and connecting with Coach Schiltz. The long tournaments and hard practices not only developed me as an individual but helped me grow closer with my teammates. After I graduate, I am doing the Benedictine Volunteer Corps through the Saint John’s Abbey, and will be spending a year in Hanga, Tanzania. After that, I may take some time to work in Alaska or begin graduate school to become a chiropractor.

I hope to see many of you August 5th at the Annual Johnnie Wrestling Golf Outing, where we will celebrate the individuals from the 1970-74 wrestling era.

Blessings,

Coach Schiltz

So far, this year has been a breath of fresh air compared to last (COVID) season. We just completed our third event of the season. We had three guys place in our first event at the Pointer Open in Stevens Point, WI. Team points at this event were not kept. We had several others who lost their matches and did not get to the placer round.

Our second event was a home dual with Buena Vista, Iowa. We competed without a few weight classes due to growth and injuries. 125, 133, 141 were open weight classes for the Johnnies. These lighter weights are a priority with the next few years of recruiting. We battled back to be down by one, 20-21, before our two first-year student-wrestlers, at the top, lost their bouts.

Our third event was a new one to our program. We drove to Eau Claire, WI for a tournament called Eight-Man Battle -- four teams with two guys in each weight class. They ran extra brackets so each team could bring their complete roster. We placed third with Thorsten, Gilbertson. And fourth with LeMonds, Langer, and fifth with Mares. This tournament was a great design for a three-match day for each guy. The tournament started at 10 a.m. and we were on the road by 2:30 p.m. We are used to a much longer day with most tournament events. I would like to see more events like this one in the future, in order to keep my almost all dark hair for a few more decades.

We have four events scheduled in December: December 3, we dual Ridgewater; December 5, we are at the Moorhead State Open; December 12, we travel to the Itasca Duals; and the always-great-event, the Citrus Invite in Fort Lauderdale, FL, on December 29-30.

I would also like to send out a save the date for our alumni. We will be having a “Brawl at Br. Willies Pub” on January 28, from 5 to 9 pm. This event will honor the classes of 1970-74. I would ask anyone from this era to please help us spread the word to other SJU wresting alumni. My list for contacting our wrestlers has some outdated addresses and emails. I would like to get this info updated at soon, especially from the 1970-74 classes. Thank you for your help in advance with passing this info on to the ones missing from my list. I would like to have the honorees pair up with a current Johnnie wrestler, who will be on the mat that night, as their honorary coach. This will be a night filled with wrestling, food, fun and stories, as well as beverages and comradery in our on-campus PUB! We will try to have rolling alumni events each year so each of you are able to return to campus and to be thanked for your foundation in this program.

With our strong Go Johnnies Challenge earlier this fall, we were able to order new warm-ups and a new set of singlets. Our old sets were missing too many pieces and were not Johnnie colors. Thank you to everyone who made this year’s fundraiser one of the best ever for this wrestling program.

I look forward to seeing you at one of our events this year.

Best wishes,

Kevin Schiltz

Head Wrestling Coach

Saint John’s University

Friends, family, and alumni of the Saint John’s University wrestling program.

I wanted to keep everyone informed as best I can on our wrestling program. I will start off with the wrestling season. We had two starts to the season this year. One in October, and one in January, after a long break after Thanksgiving. Our competition duration was brief, with two events spaced seven days apart. Both were home events against Augsburg and Concordia. Both events were set up as more of an exhibition. With some guys having two-to-three matches against different opponents from the other teams. A few days later, we received the inevitable email from the NCAA that our postseason would be cancelled, due to lack of participation by institutions with D3 wrestling programs. I cannot wait for a fresh start next year, with hopes of a mostly traditional wrestling season.

This year’s recruiting has been a strong one. I have had more on-campus visits than any other year by a good margin. I have been working to get as many wrestlers as I can to visit this great University. Past years have mostly consisted of Minnesota recruits. I believe that you need to have a strong foothold on your state before you start going outstate for recruits. I believe I have that at this point by the number of wrestlers who have made visits. I have also been able to e-mail coaches from a few other states that I feel have strong prospective student-wrestlers who may fit into our University and program. These e-mail lists cover the states of Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, and Kansas. I have been receiving a good number of wrestlers from each state from their coaches. Their visits are being scheduled for this spring. I am hopeful to enroll a few from this group every year to add to the Minnesota wrestlers. I will keep expanding my scope to get this program where it needs to be… AT THE TOP!

I have had a bit more time on my hands this year with a very brief schedule and all the long breaks we have had to endure. It has been challenging for both our coaches, and our student-athletes, as our goals have been crushed by the pandemic. We have had to be diligent at keeping our focus on the important things in wrestling and in life. This has been very difficult to do with everything changing so often around us. We are focused on getting stronger in the weight room and getting on the mat when we can, with our masks on. We are mostly drilling moves right now to keep a bit of sanity.

As the head coach, I have watched more video than in past years. I have to do anything I can to keep engaged in wrestling and in life. I have found a new level of making the world around me a better place. I have cleared snow a few times this year for a few neighbors who only shovel. I have spent time at a senior center, talking and playing games, or working with arts and crafts. My recycle-bin has never been fuller. Making several Go Fund Me donations when my wife (Susan) and I see something that impels us to do so.

I hope that this letter finds you and your loved ones safe and ready to make the world around us a better place.

On May 8th we will be having our annual wrestler and alumni paintball event. I encourage all who are willing to play. Please let me know and I will add you to the list. If you would like to attend and not play, we will have great food and other games to play. I like to hear all the old wrestling stories from our alumni.

I hope to see you all there!

Kevin Schiltz

kschiltz@csbsju.edu

320-249-7219 cell

SJU Wrestling Family,

A 100-year Pandemic! Thank God it is only every 100 years. I cannot take another one of these pandemics in my lifetime.

I wanted to pass along the information that I have TODAY to all of you. We started practice on Monday, Jan. 11. We are starting this season for the second time a few months apart. The health and safety of our community is always a top priority. With this second go-around, and just a few practice days under our belts, I like the direction this team is heading towards. We have a hard-working bunch of underclassmen. There’s not a senior on the roster. Four years ago, when I took over the head coaching responsibilities late in the calendar year, I had one first-year student on the team. After two torn ACL’s, on the same knee, he is no longer wrestling. Our group this season has great eyes and ears. What I mean by that is they are looking for ways to get better and they are also very coachable. Anyone who has spent time in and around sports, has heard coaches talk about these types of student-athletes. It makes it a joy to come to practice everyday knowing that you have the attention and serious competitiveness of everyone in that room.

Due to the pandemic, we will be stranded within the state lines for our regular season. There will be no trips to Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, or Florida like we would traditionally have during a typical season. Most of the junior colleges have cancelled their wrestling seasons already. The teams to compete with have dwindled. We have two dates set at this point, outside of Regionals and Nationals. We have duals with Augsburg and Concordia, and both are home meets. We will live stream these events. We will also be running on two mats with extra matches. I am checking to see if we could have both running at the same time. There will be no fans and no wrestling parents at any of the MIAC sports competitions for winter sports this year. This might be a different story tomorrow, as COVID is still in control.

Recruiting is going well, even with the pandemic. We are getting wrestlers to look towards next year and this has been going well. We have had more senior and junior visits this year than in the past few years. Prospective student-athletes are tired of being locked down, as well. Speaking of adjustments being made to slow the spread of Covid-19, we have been occupying about half of the field house for practice. Having three regular competition-size-mats rolled out with one over-sized dual-meet mat makes for a spectacular wrestling complex. Now if I can just find a ways to keep some of the things that popped up from the pandemic around for the next 50 years (we might be wrestling in the largest facility in America). Instead of a much smaller room that most of us have dealt with in the past.

I am hoping to have a good, but short season. I would like to see our graduates have a graduation celebration this spring. And, most of all, I am looking forward to seeing our first inductee into the Saint John’s Hall of Honor (Gary Svendsen). It would be nice to have a huge showing of support for our first-of-many-to-be-inducted wrestlers down the road.

Stay safe, wear a mask, keep your social distance, webcast our duals, and we will look forward to seeing everyone soon at Gary’s induction this fall!

Coach Schiltz

SJU Wrestling Community,

I would like to thank all of you who helped this year’s Go Johnnies challenge hit a new height in donations! 70 donors donated for a grand total of $21,000. Again, thank you!

Now trying to figure out what is or isn’t going to happen in sports this year is a tough one. Covid-19 is going down, then it’s going up. We are having a season last month, to now, it is looking less likely, as some conferences are dropping out of the winter sports competition. I will do what’s right for the wrestlers and Saint John’s. I will control what I have the ability to control. We are practicing with the intent to get better every day. Team is looking tough with the freshmen and the returning guys. There are a few familiar faces on the team this year that you may not have seen on the roster last year. I had a few set backs with injuries before the season started, that took a few guys out for the year. They are back and ready to go. 24 strong and NO seniors on the team. We will be a good size team next year with the talent rising every year. All of the wrestlers will have another year of eligibility added to their time if they choose to use it down the road. I hope that they all find a way to compete 4 years over the course of 5. But this is D3, and most guys want to keep their schedule of graduating in 4 years. Tough decisions for all who are involved. For the current wresting roster, in this semester, our competition will be internal matches. We Will even host a Johnnie -VS- Johnnie tournament before Thanksgiving. I am checking to see if we can stream an event or two this fall. That would give everyone a chance to see the current team on the abilities of the current Johnnies.

Another thing that I control is recruiting. This year’s recruiting class goals will be to bring in 15 talented Johnnies. I have been busy with recruits on campus this fall. 40 + senior visits to date with more on the books. In Real Estate it’s LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. In coaching it’s RECRUITING, RECRUITING, RECRUITING! I was born with the gift of gab, so I enjoy the recruiting process. I also believe I have a great product to sell, which helps. I would like to find a way for the Johnnie faithful to help in the recruiting efforts. It might be a great selling point to have someone in the field call a prospective wrestler and talk to them about the job and why SJU was a great fit for wrestling and the degree area. Alumni in other states who still get out to watch high school wrestling, might be able to gather a number and pass it on. There are so many options to look at on this topic. Might be something to look at in the near future.

Another area I would like to have control over would be a full time on campus assistant. I have been chatting with our admissions department about the possibility of having an admissions rep/ wrestling coach. This would be a great start. This is how Brandon Novak started his career at SJU. I am hoping that there is an opening there next year so it has a chance to happen. As of today Noah Becker, Last years All-American at 133 would be interested in doing this for a few years. He would be a great asset to the team.

Chad Henle and Scott Fernholz are going to make it in to help out as much as they can. They both have lots of travels in their work. When they make it to practice it is much appreciated.

The process of getting the wrestling endowment is moving along. I would like to thank Bob Labat, Brian Baker, Chris Gross, Mark Dorn, Tom Stock for their work to get us to the point we are at. It has been a long journey so far, but the light is on at the end of the hallway. Few more steps and we will be there. That’s when the hard work starts. Raising the money for the endowment!

I will keep you in the loop on the season, recruiting and the endowment over the next few blogs. This will be the first year in many that I will get to deer hunt on both weekends. There is always something positive in a whole mess of negative.

Hope all is well. Stay positive, and keep moving forward.

Kevin Schiltz

Head Wrestling Coach/Equipment Manager

Saint John’s University

2585 Abbey Road

Collegeville, MN 56321

O: (320) 363-2516

C: (320) 249-7219

Email: kschiltz@csbsju.edu

Web Site: gojohnnies.com

SJU Wrestling Family,

I hope you are all well and thriving during these crazy times. On September 3rd, we will be holding the second annual Johnnie Strong – Go Johnnies Challenge. I know that these are uncertain times for everyone and SJU Wrestling is not immune to that. This event will really help the wrestling program this year. We are needing to replace warm-ups that were purchased in Brandon Novak’s first year as head coach 16 years ago. We will also use the funds raised to improve the overall experience of our student-athletes. I want to provide the best equipment, food, buses and hotels, along with the best wrestling experience possible for these young men that give so much to the wrestling program.

With that all said, I am asking for your support once again on September 3rd. We knocked this event out of the park last year raising over 13,000, with 83 donations. We want to be one of the top sports in the department in regards to donors and money raised.

There are a number of ways that you can help:

1. Support the wrestling program through a simple donation. Make sure to set Wrestling as the designation. DONATE

2. Become an advocate and encourage and promote the event on any social media outlets. ADVOCATE

3. If so inclined, set up a matching gift that will encourage others to donate. Make sure to set Wrestling as the matching designation. MATCHING GIFT

a. Enter dollar amount and decide if you will make the full gift regardless If the match is not complete met (check box)

b. Select “Other” and enter a dollar amount to give and check the “Per donor” box

c. Select the Match a designation box and select the designation you want to match

d. Fill out the rest of the form

We currently have a matching gift set up and ready to go!

Anonymous Donor – $5,000 - $100 dollar match for the first 50 donors

I want to thank you all for supporting the event last year and I hope to get your support again on Thursday, September 3rd.

Kevin Schiltz

Head Wrestling Coach

Saint John’s University

320-363-2516 office

320-249-7219 cell

Where to begin? A good start would be to hope you and your family and friends are doing well during this pandemic!

This year has been a first for many of us with all the changes and adjustments we have had to make to ensure the safety of our closest contacts. With all these adjustments and changes, it is making our upcoming season a challenge. Will we be able to wrestle? How do we practice and not spread this virus? What kind of coverings will stay in place during wrestling? Tournaments are most likely going to be cancelled. Only dual meets will occur! Can we travel out of state for any competitions? Is the NCAA going to have championships when it is all said and done?

I am hopeful for a season even if it is shortened. As we are all aware, wrestling season is a long, intense grind on our bodies and minds. That is why we love it. We, wrestlers, are all a bit crazy. Talk is that we will start our competition season in January. Junior colleges and community colleges have already set January as their start time. Practice will make for some long days as we may have to break up the team in small groups and practice different times during the days. When we are together as a full team we will be rolling out the new mats in the gym so we have better air flow and volume of air exchange. Will basketball have an issue sharing the gym? I am looking at full-head coverings with only eye slits. This will seem a bit strange to anyone walking by the room, but if it means we get to wrestle, I would wear a mini-skirt. With the perspiration that happens during wrestling practice, I will have to get several head coverings for each guy. I hope it works like I think it will. It may be a few years before we see the big tournaments come back as we all know them. This year I will be focusing on duals. Duals will have to be set up with lots of exhibition matches as I want everyone to get the experience they came here for. MIAC sports are to stay within the conference this fall. I am certain that winter and spring will all be under the same guidelines. Wrestling is not a conference sport! I will have to get any outside Minnesota competition approved through the school. Certainly, these are challenging times to be a coach.

Last year I had eight senior wrestlers leave the program. I brought in 10 replacements. This year’s senior class was my first year as a head coach, and we had three recruits that year. One left school with family issues and the other two are on campus, but have not been with the program for a few years. Next year is when the size of the team will jump up from 25 to 35-40 student-athletes. I have no wrestlers graduating on the team. It was a challenge getting visits to campus after the high school season ended. I have started with visits this summer and earlier in the fall to make sure I have a chance to show this place to as many wrestlers as I can. I see the talent and the numbers growing every year. Things are moving in the right direction. To me, SJU is not a football place, it’s a wrestling place that doesn’t know it yet.

When I get more information, I will send it out to everyone. Wishing you all the best. Congratulation to Gary Svendsen for being inducted into the Hall of Honor this year at Saint John’s! I will be planning a reunion gathering again this year if COVID 19 allows. It will most likely happen next year if we do not have a season.

Kevin Schiltz

kschiltz@csbsju.edu

320-249-7219

P.S. Our second Annual Go Johnnies Challenge will be held on September 3rd. Pass this information to any wrestling fan. I expect this year to be better than last year. Let’s pass a few other teams in this great event. For more information, go to www.gojohnnies.com.

This letter is being sent during some very strange times. Like many of you, I find myself working from home, and trying to keep some normal activities. During tough times I like to fall back on the things that make my world go round, God, family, wrestling, and outdoor activities. Today is the wrestling day. Let's be honest, as a head coach, everyday is a wrestling day. Let me update you on a few key points of this past season. It is almost too hard to find the words to recap the season with the way it ended. National tournament being cancelled. I will try to gather the momentum to fill it in.

We had a great recruiting class this past fall. We added 11 new faces to the program, while the teams foundation was solidified with 7 Sr. wrestlers. The schedule was very similar to the previous year. Our placing points at the tournaments went up at almost all events. That's a good sign that things are trending in the right direction. The regular season highlight was in Pella Iowa for the Under Armour Invitational. We had wrestlers at 3 weight classes win their bracket. All was looking good to return to the Al Hanke Invitational in Elmhurst Chicago. We were team champions here last year looking to repeat!! Then the storm of the century was just a few days away. 100 below zero, with 300 mile an hour winds, snow, rain, tornado's, and even a tsunami possible. The details of the storm might be a bit off, but the local bus company made the call to cancel the trip due to the upcoming storm. It turned out to be a very average storm. It was the right call to make when I have lives to keep safe on these trips.

We closed out the final dual of the year with a 42-6 win over the St. Olaf team. It will be the last wrestling event to be held at St. Olaf as they dropped their program at the end of the season. The Olaf team has had very low number of wrestlers in the program for several years. The head coach was part time as well. It seemed inevitable at some point.

On to the National Qualifier in Minneapolis. 17 teams and the top 3 at each weight class make the trip to the National Tournament in Iowa. We had a team of scrappers who wrestled their tails off in the toughest qualifier in the country. When the smoke cleared we had 2 placers. Senior Jerod Novak (6th) and Senior Noah Becker(2nd). Both of these individuals also had the stats and grades to become Scholar All-Americans for the 3rd time. Noah was off to his 2nd national tournament. This time he was going to place high.

We packed a van with Noah, Coach and a practice partner, and headed to Iowa. Had a great day of driving, we had practice on Wednesday when we arrived 7pm. All was looking great, Noah was healthy at the end of the year for the first time in the past two years. He is ready to put his picture on the wall in the practice room. Brackets are out on Thursday, Noah is the 3 seed, but knows he can win the whole thing. Another great practice on Thursday. His weight is good and he is ready to put some winning fuel in his body. It has been a Tradition for years to take the guys to Panera Bread for a winning meal. Minga Batsukh ate there three times and look what he did (3 time champ).

Last thing to do before wrestling starts is a national tournament coaches meeting. At the meeting we covered everything that we were to expect the next morning, from weigh-ins to officiating rules, and when the grappling begins. Meeting ended and I went back to the hotel to take Noah out for his supper so we could get to bed early like champions do. Then, I received a text from the tournament director. Worst text of my life! The tournament had been cancelled! Now the hard part comes. How do I tell my Senior wrestler who has worked so hard for so long for this chance to be National Champion. His last two seasons ended with injury.

The NCAA did not cover this in their manual. It was all up to me! All the other coaches for all the other teams and sports had to do the same thing. I hope that an event like this never happens again. Banquet has been postponed. All visits to campus for recruiting have been postponed. All work to keep this program going in the right direction is being done from home and my cell phone has to be close to a charger as I am on it most of the day texting and calling recruits.

I hope this letter finds all of the Johnnie family safe. We can all use this time to reconnect with teammates. As life has shown all of us in so many ways, we might not be here tomorrow. I will be planning more alumni gathering in the near future. Together, this Johnnie Wrestling Family will stay strong.

Kevin Schiltz

Head Wrestling Coach

Saint John's University

February is always a very busy month for a wrestling coach. Of course, that is certainly the case for me. Our Johnnie team is preparing to qualify for regional competition when we travel to Augsburg College in Minneapolis on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 28-29. The high school state tournament will be the same weekend. So, it’s crunch time to recruit high school juniors and seniors as our next Johnnie wrestling student-athletes. I have also been working with and appreciate our alumni who are working to create an endowed leadership fund for Johnnie wrestling. Certainly, you all be hearing more about this initiative in the weeks and the months ahead.

As we prepare for the regional qualifier, our goal as a team will be to battle at every weight class. Expect our Johnnies to bring their “A” game.

Back on February 13, we beat St. Olaf College in Northfield in a road dual meet by a 46-6 score. We had seven falls and a decision. We are building off the success of this dual. It was the last home wrestling match at St. Olaf as they are dropping their program at the end of this year. Lack of attention to the program for years seemed to be the issue. Part time coach, low number of athletes to name a few.

We are very fortunate that our team is healthy. Our guys are fit and ready to compete! We are led by senior Noah Becker who has a 19-1 record. He is ranked third in the country, at present. Noah beat both the no. 1 and No. 2 wrestlers in the nation. I have really been pleased with the effort from Noah and all of our guys. They work extremely hard, they represent Johnnie wrestling well, they are ultracompetitive, and they truly value the great sport of wrestling.

Minga Batsukh ’13, one of the most decorated student-athletes in the history of our Johnnie Athletic Department, has been helping the wrestling team this month. He hails from Mongolia and was a three-time NCAA Division III National Champion for SJU. Minga knows wrestling. He’s very respected in our wrestling circles. And, he is teaching our guys a tremendous amount about the sport. Our guys really are taking in every word he says.

A lot of great things are happening with wrestling at Saint John’s. We are proud of our program and have it trending in positive direction.

We hope you can come and watch us compete at the regional qualifier at Augsburg on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 28-29, in Minneapolis.

We appreciate all your support.

GO JOHNNIES!

Kevin Schiltz

Head Wrestling Coach

Saint John’s University

Johnnie Wrestling Alumni, Fans, Friends and Parents,

Our trip up to Concordia-Moorhead for the NCAA West Regional was a fun one! Although we ended the day with four national qualifiers, it was an emotional roller coaster all day! Freshman Noah Becker, sophomore Luke Dodd, and seniors Teddy Erickson and Robert Tait will all continue their seasons for one more event down at the NCAA Tournament in La Crosse!

We started the day off very well, being within a point of second-place Concordia-Moorhead after the first round. We had pushed five guys through to the semifinals and feeling good about where we were at. That next round went horribly wrong. We went 0-5 in the semis, moving everyone within one loss of elimination and not sending anyone to nationals. We gathered everyone together and had a quick chat about bouncing back and came through with a huge round. We ended up with eight placers and five guys in the third-place match, giving themselves a chance to qualify.

Becker became the first Johnnie freshman to qualify for nationals since 3-time All-American Dustin Baxter ’12. His road began with a 19-5 victory in the first round against an opponent from Concordia-Wisconsin. In his first match in the consolation bracket, Noah got a second period fall to move onto his final match. He qualified by wrestling a very smart and controlled match against UW-Eau Claire to place third.

Senior Teddy Erickson qualified for the second consecutive year at 165 pounds. Starting the day as the 6th seed, he upset the third seed in the first round by winning 12-2. After his semifinal loss, he had his toughest match of the day. Teddy came from behind to beat a very tough Concordia-Moorhead wrestler. He scored a last-second takedown in the third period, followed by the winning takedown in overtime to win the match. In the third-place match, Teddy won 6-2 to secure his spot next weekend in La Crosse.

At 184 pounds, Dodd’s day started different than the other qualifiers. Luke was the fourth seed but got upset in the first match. Battling back from that loss and an injury from that match, Luke rattled off three straight wins in the consolation bracket to earn his first NCAA Tournament berth.

Finally, Tait was our last NCAA qualifier. Rob made the semis as the second seed before taking his first loss. He then came back with a pin to reach the third-place match where he met his Augsburg opponent. Rob also had to come from behind late to stay alive. He scored two takedowns in the last 30 seconds of the match, the second one being at the buzzer, to send the match into overtime. He then found himself in on a leg and in a scramble to score the winning takedown.

Although he didn’t qualify, freshman Jerod Novak also made the third-place match before losing a close match to returning All-American Grant Parker of Augsburg. Jerod was 3-2 on the day.

We will find out who the guys will wrestle at nationals when brackets come out on Monday, March 6.

Thanks,

Tony Willaert
aawillaert@csbsju.edu
507.327.7582

Johnnie Wrestling Alumni, Fans, Friends and Parents,

It’s that time of year again! Postseason wrestling! After months of strenuous lifting, grueling practices and vigorous mental training, it is finally time to compete for regional and national titles! Every event leading up to this point has been a “practice” and learning experience to prepare us for the fun of the qualifier.

Our regular season concluded last Friday at home against Division II University of Mary. Although we lost the dual 25-16, the guys competed very hard! After starting the dual 0-12, the next four matches went back and forth before we ran off three straight wins to pull within six points going into heavyweight. We won five matches at 141, 157, 174, 184 and 197.

Freshman Andrew Smith ended his regular season extremely well with a 16-6 major decision against a very tough opponent that we had seen earlier in the year. He is getting to his offense very early in matches and keeps it coming for seven minutes. He is also improving his top game and got two turns to secure a major decision for us.

At 157 pounds, freshman Jerod Novak had a huge 5-4, come-from-behind victory. He started off slow, giving up a takedown in the first 10 seconds of the match, but dominated the handfight and controlled the center of the mat the rest of the match. He then won in dramatic fashion by finishing a shot as the buzzer sounded.

Senior Teddy Erickson started the line of wins for us with a comfortable victory at 174. He started strong with a takedown and near-fall points before giving up a couple takedowns in the third, but closed the door with a late takedown in his last home match of his college career.

Next was a huge match for us as we had to bump up one of our 174 pounders, Mike Wagner, to 184. He wrestled a very controlled match on his feet and won the match on the mat. He followed our plan to a “T” and came up with a reversal and a solid ride out to win, 4-2.

Our last win was from sophomore Luke Dodd at 197. Luke also bumped up a weight and wrestled a very smart match as well. After a scoreless first period, he got a quick escape in the second and controlled the pace of the match, then finally got a takedown and ride out to secure the win, 6-0.

The next week we are focusing on preparing the guys for the NCAA West Regional, which is being hosted at Concordia-Moorhead on Saturday, Feb. 25. Please come and cheer the guys on as we try to qualify them to the NCAA Tournament.

Thank you for your support!

Thanks,

Tony Willaert
aawillaert@csbsju.edu
507.327.7582

Johnnie Wrestling Alumni, Fans, Friends, and Parents,

This last week was spent preparing for St. Cloud State and our annual North Country Open. We had a great week of training that was centered on controlling the things that we are able to control. Our mindset training has taught us that no match is bigger than another and that we should focus on our attitude, effort and aggressiveness.

These were the things that we focused on particularly when facing SCSU, who is the #1 team in Division II. Although the dual did not go our way, I was pleased with these aspects of the match. After the match, I told the guys that we schedule this dual because they expose all of our weaknesses. While it is tough to compete against them, it makes us better going into regionals and nationals because they are better than any team in Division III we will compete against. I also want them to see the long-term goal of where our program is going. I think St. Cloud is a great program to emulate to get where we want to be.

This year’s North Country Open was a little different as we competed on a Sunday rather than Saturday. However, the guys handled the change very well and still competed very hard. Despite having several of our starters not participating due to injury, we still had four placers in a very tough tournament that featured Augsburg, Minnesota, NDSU, Augustana and SCSU, among others.

Freshman Jerod Novak was the star by winning the 157-pound bracket. Although he has placed at a couple tournaments this year, this was his first championship. Jerod has a very wide-open style of wrestling that is fun to watch and exactly what we want for the future of our program. He wrestles very hard and smart, but is not afraid to let big moves go!

Senior heavyweight Colin Fisher also made the finals where he competed against Donny Longendyke of Augsburg. Colin and Donny have wrestled each other many times throughout their careers with Donny always having the upper hand. This time was different! Colin came out firing and got a takedown within the first 20 seconds of the match. Even though Colin ended up losing 7-3, I was very proud of the fight and improvement that he showed from the Augsburg dual a week ago.

Sophomore Luke Dodd finished third in the 184-pound bracket. Luke performed extremely well! He opened up the day with a close win over an SCSU wrestler and then began to hit his stride. He made the semifinals where he lost to the #1 ranked wrestler in Division III in a hard fought battle. He then came back to defeat two NDSU wrestlers, one by fall.

Lastly, senior Branden Schorr placed sixth at 149. Like Novak, Branden wrestles an exciting style and is constantly trying to end matches early! He had two pins on the day, adding to his fall total of 9, which leads the Johnnies this season.

Thanks for your support of this blog and our program! Please continue to pass this on to friends as we continue to try to grow our fanbase.

Please follow our social media sites on Facebook (Saint John’s University (SJU) Wrestling, MN Fan Page), Twitter (@SJU_Wrestling), and Instagram (johnnie_wrestling). We regularly post on these sites included segments “Throwback Thursday” and “Takedown of the Week”.

Johnnie Wrestling Alumni, Fans, Friends, and Parents,

Welcome to the Saint John’s University wrestling blog! We are starting this in an effort to keep you informed about our results, practices and events. Most importantly, we want to give you an up-close view of what we are doing in our program and how we are developing our student-athletes. During the season, this will be a weekly posting. Please encourage friends and family to subscribe to this blog as we continue to build our fan base for Johnnie Wrestling!

We hope you’re having a terrific start to your 2017! We began our New Year with a great weekend of duals. First, we competed at Cretin-Derham Hall against St. Olaf. Our guys performed great in front of a fantastic crowd filled with high school wrestlers, family, and Johnnie wrestling alumni, winning the dual 42-8.

There was a quick turnaround after the win against the Oles, as we left for the University of Chicago to participate in the Chicago Duals. We were originally scheduled for three duals against Wabash, Manchester and MSOE. After arriving, Jon McGovern (Dubuque Head Coach) and I agreed on wrestling an extra dual in the 4th round of the event.

We finished the day with a 4-0 record to improve our season record to 5-0. We won a competitive match against Wabash, 28-16, beat MSOE 41-6, and earned the extra dual win against Dubuque, 28-13. The match of the day, however, was against Manchester. After the first five matches, the dual score was 3-21! We came to life in the second half of the dual with five straight wins, including a major decision win by senior Teddy Erickson (After getting taken down to his back to start the match) and a fall by senior heavyweight Colin Fisher to win the dual 22-21. The day was highlighted by several undefeated wrestlers. Erickson and freshman Noah Becker both finished the day 4-0. Fisher, senior Rob Tait and and sophomore Luke Dodd were 3-0.

Our next two events were duals against MSU-Mankato and Ridgewater. We lost the dual against Mankato 3-38, with the lone win by Tait at 197 pounds. We bounced back with a win against Ridgewater, 34-12.

Most recently, we traveled to Minneapolis to take on the #2 ranked Auggies. Although we lost the dual, we saw a lot of great fight in our student-athletes and won three matches at 157, 174 and 197. Freshman Jerod Novak was competing against returning All-American Grant Parker. Jerod got the first takedown before the match was cut short due to a Parker injury. Erickson won at 174 by technical fall, avenging a loss from earlier in the year, and Tait continued to look great in a very controlled win at 197 pounds to move his record to 7-1.

Next up on the schedule is a dual against two-time defending Division II champions St. Cloud State on Thursday, Jan. 26, and our North Country Open on Sunday, Jan. 29. Come out and support our wrestlers!

Please follow our social media sites on Facebook (Saint John’s University (SJU) Wrestling, MN Fan Page), Twitter (@SJU_Wrestling), and Instagram (johnnie_wrestling). We regularly post on these sites included segments “Throwback Thursday” and “Takedown of the Week”.

Thanks for your continued support of SJU Wrestling and have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!