MARSHALL, Minn. – The Southwest Minnesota State University wrestling team will put an end to its four-match homestand this weekend hosting two ranked opponents in No. 2 Augustana College and No. 20 Minnesota State University Moorhead. The Mustangs will dual the Vikings at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 4 before welcoming the Dragons at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
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Veteran presence: CD Johnson (184 pounds) continues to roll picking up his 20th win of the season last Friday against Upper Iowa’s Mark Mueller. Johnson earned a 10-2 major decision over Mueller. Before the dual with Upper Iowa the Mustangs squared off with No. 3 St. Cloud State where Johnson earned a 15-0 technical fall over No. 5 Mic Berg. The senior stretched his season record to 20-11 on the season.
Rodas rules: Junior Brian Rodas (285 pounds) earned his fourth consecutive victory of the season—third by fall—when he pinned Upper Iowa’s Arron Cramer 35 seconds into the bout last Friday night. Roads’ only other bout of the season was a 5-1 decision over St. Cloud State’s Chris Brassell.
The reign of Reinsma: Redshirt freshman Justin Reinsma (133 pounds) enters the weekend with a 20-9 record. Reinsma is coming off two losses, his last coming against Kyle Pedretti of Upper Iowa who is ranked second at 133 pounds in the NCAA. Reinsma has recorded seven pins on the season to go along with one technical fall, two major decisions and 10 decisions.
Vikings at a glance: Augustana College enters the weekend ranked No. 2 in the NWCA Top 25 Poll and atop the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference standings with an overall record of 11-0, and 5-0 in conference play. The Vikings have won five straight duals since losing to then No. 1 ranked Nebraska-Omaha on Jan. 9.
Augustana has six wrestlers ranked individually in the NWCA poll. Jay Sherer is ranked No. 4 at 141 pounds, Nate Herda, eighth at 149 pounds, Marcus Edingtion, second at 157 pounds, Gavin Nelson, sixth at 165 pounds, Carl Serck, sixth at 174 pounds and Ty Copsey, second at 197 pounds, all ranked in the top eight of their weight class in the latest edition of the NWCA coaches poll.
Results vs. the Vikings: The Mustangs and the Vikings first met during the 1982-83 season. Augustana currently leads the all-time series 21-4. The Mustangs have lost 10 straight duals against Augustana.
Dragons at a glance: MSU Moorhead, ranked No. 20 in the country enters the weekend with an overall record of 4-6. The Dragons are 1-3 in conference duals this season. MSU Moorhead will play host to border rival Concordia Moorhead tonight in a non-conference dual. The Dragons have two individuals ranked in the top eight in their particular weight classes. Corey Ulmer is ranked sixth at 125 pounds and Brady Schneeberger is ranked third at 141 pounds.
Results vs. the Dragons: Southwest Minnesota State owns a 24-17 all-time record against MSU Moorhead. The two teams first met during the 1983-84 season. The Mustangs have lost nine straight duals to the Dragons. Last season, the Dragons defeated SMSU 32-6 in a dual in Moorhead.
Mustang lineup:
Wt. Wrestler
125 Travis Borchert
133 Justin Reinsma
141 Ethan Hildebrandt
149 Demond Carter or Kyle Anderson
157 Casey Field
165 William Fate or Logan McAlpin
174 Zach Coates
184 CD Johnson
197 Martin Hagen
285 Brian Rodas
Last time out: No. 10 Upper Iowa University won three out of 10 bouts tonight at the PE Gym to defeat Southwest Minnesota State University 24-13 in an NSIC dual in Marshall. The Peacocks improve to 4-3 overall and 3-1 in the NSIC while SMSU falls to 4-2-1 and 0-2 in the NSIC.
SMSU’s Ethan Hildebrandt (141 pounds) almost had a pin early in the first period against Upper Iowa’s Victor Coronado earning three points with a nearfall. Hildebrandt led 5-0 heading into the second period. He went on to pick up a 6-1 decision improving his record to 15-7 on the season.
CD Johnson stretched his season record to 20-11 earning a 10-2 major decision over No. 5 Mark Mueller in the 184-pound bout. Martin Hagen followed that bout at 197 pounds and fell in a 9-3 decision to Carl Broghammer, which stretched the Peacocks lead to 24-7.
Brian Rodas made quick work of Arron Cramer at the 285-pound weight class. Rodas pinned Cramer just 35 seconds into the first period. Upper Iowa would go on to win the dual 24-13.