MINNESOTA STATE MAVERICKS

Makovsky Honored by Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference

3/25/09

St. Paul, Minn.--- The office of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference has announced that Minnesota State's Jim Makovsky has been tabbed the Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year.

Finishing his 16th season at the helm of the Minnesota State wrestling team, Jim Makovsky reached his 200th career win last season as he currently sits at a 227-88-5 (.717) overall record after leading the Mavericks to a 12-4 dual record this season. This season the Mavericks finished 3rd in the NCAA II Championships, 3rd in the Cliff Keen National Duals, won their first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championship and won their third consecutive region championship. Since taking over the MSU wrestling program in 1993-94, Makovsky’s teams have never finished lower than 17th at the NCAA tournament and have placed in the top eight at the NCAA tournament twelve times. Makovsky led the Mavericks to two second-place finishes (1993-94, 2007-08), third-place finishes in 2004-05 & 2008-09, a fourth-place finish in 2006-07 and a trio of sixth-place finishes (1994-95, 1998-99 and 2000-01) with 11 top-nine finishes at the national tournament. Under his tutelage, Makovsky has coached ten national champions in his career and 74 All-Americans.

Makovsky, a Wahpeton, N.D., native is a 1989 graduate of Valley City state University where he served as head wrestling coach for four years before coming to MSU. Makovsky led his alma mater to a 25-19-2 dual meet record in his tenure and coached two national champions and five national All-Academic selections. He currently serves on the National Wrestling Coaches Association board of directors and is a past-president of the NCAA II Wrestling Coaches Association.

Five Mavericks were named to the NSIC All-Conference First Team including 125-pound sophomore Andy Forstner (Madelia, Minn.), 149-pound sophomore Tommy Abbott (Wilmington, Del.), 157-pound junior Travis Elg (Mountain Lake, Minn.), 197-pound sophomore Pat Mahan (Owatonna, Minn.) and 285-pound junior Brady Wilson (Faribault, Minn.).

Senior 165-pounder Tim Matheson (Circle Pines, Minn.) was named to the NSIC All-Conference Second Team.

NSIC ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM
Name Wt. Yr. School Hometown
Andy Forstner 125 So. Minnesota State Madelia, Minn.
Trevor Franklin 133 R-Fr. Upper Iowa South New Berlin, N.Y.
Gabe Suarez 141 So. St. Cloud State Las Vegas, Nev.
Tommy Abbott 149 So. Minnesota State Wilmington, Del.
Travis Elg 157 Jr. Minnesota State Mountain Lake, Minn.
Tyler Tubbs 165 Sr. MSU Moorhead Chokio, Minn.
Mitch Norton 174 Jr. Upper Iowa Waverly, Iowa
Brad Padgett 184 Sr. St. Cloud State Buckley, Wash.
Pat Mahan 197 So. Minnesota State Owatonna, Minn.
Brady Wilson 285 Jr. Minnesota State Faribault, Minn.

NSIC ALL-CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM
Name Wt. Yr. School Hometown
Corbin Surat 125 Jr. Northern State Aberdeen, S.D.
Josh Williams 133 Sr. St. Cloud State Banks, Ore.
J.R. Baker 141 R-So. Upper Iowa Clermont, Iowa
Jacob Roberts 149 Jr. St. Cloud State Jordan, Minn.
Travis Eggers 157 Jr. Upper Iowa Monona, Iowa
Tim Matheson 165 Sr. Minnesota State Circle Pines, Minn.
Derek Skala 174 So. St. Cloud State Owatonna, Minn.
Nick Henning 184 So. Augustana College Fulda, Minn.
Tyler Copsey 197 So. Augustana College Glenwood, Iowa
Lance Peters 285 So. Augustana College Le Roy, Minn.

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