MARSHALL, Minn. – The Southwest Minnesota State University wrestling team continues Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action on Friday night traveling to Augustana College to take on the No. 3 ranked Vikings at 7 p.m. at the Emlen Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Mustangs will return home on Saturday to take on the University of Mary beginning at 2 p.m. in the PE Gym.
About the Mustangs: Southwest Minnesota State enters the weekend with an overall record of 7-4, including 1-2 in the NSIC. The grapplers split last weekend earning a 23-17 NSIC dual victory over Northern State on Friday night in Marshall. The Mustangs then traveled to Canby, Minn. to take on No. 1 St. Cloud State University at Canby High School. SCSU earned a 33-6 victory over the Mustangs in front of a sellout crowd.
SMSU won six out of the 10 matches against Northern State on Friday night. Travis Borchert gave the Mustangs an early 6-0 lead with his fifth pin of the season over Anthony Bruno at 4:31. Justin Reinsma, Ethan Hildebrandt and Codie Lane followed with three straight decisions to give the Mustangs a 15-0 lead over the Wolves. Jacob Begin earned a 12-1 major decision at 165 pounds and martin Hagen picked up an 11-3 major decision at 197 pounds to round out the Mustangs scoring.
Cole Wilson saw two tough opponents over the two duals, taking on the first and second ranked heavyweights in the nation. On Friday night, Wilson lost a 14-4 major decision to No. 2 Matt Meuleners before losing an 11-2 major decision to the No. 1 ranked heavyweight in the nation Jacob Kahnke. Wilson falls to 16-3 on the season and had previously won 14 straight matches before losing on Friday.
Begin continues to roll at 165 pounds, picking up his 15th and 16th victories of the season. The sophomore has now won eight consecutive bouts since the month of January began. Begin earned a 12-1 major decision over Blake Lundgren of Northern State before picking up a hard-fought 10-5 decision over Dan Dick of St. Cloud State on Saturday. He is currently ranked second in the region and was named the NSIC Wrestler of the Week on Jan. 16.
Justin Reinsma put on a show in front of the packed house at Canby High School on Saturday. Reinsma fell behind 5-0 to Zach Stewart of St. Cloud State and entered the third period trailing 5-0. He racked up five straight points before Steward got an escape to add to his riding time but Reinsma scored a late takedown to force overtime. Reinsma eventually earned another takedown in overtime to take a 9-7 victory.
About the Vikings: Augustana is 10-2 on the season, including 2-1 in NSIC duals and is currently ranked third in the nation. The Vikings are coming off a 26-9 loss to No. 1 St. Cloud State University and an 18-15 victory over Minnesota State last Saturday. The loss to St. Cloud State snapped a six-match winning streak for the Vikings. Augie has six wrestlers currently ranked in the top eight in the nation in their respective weight classes. Jason Reitmeier is in his ninth season as head coach at Augustana and owns a career record of 92-45.
About the Marauders: The University of Mary carries a 4-3 overall, 1-3 NSIC record into the weekend. The Marauders are coming off four straight dual victories, including a 24-19 victory over MSU Moorhead on the road. Ben Berogan is in his fourth season as the head coach at the University of Mary.
The series: Southwest Minnesota State and Augustana will meet for the 27th time in a series that began during the 1972-73 season. The Vikings lead the all-time series 22-4 and have won 11 straight duals over the Mustangs. Last season, Augustana came into the PE Gym and took a 27-6 victory from the Mustangs on Feb. 4.
Southwest Minnesota State and the University of Mary will match-up for the fifth time in a series that began in 2007-08. The Mustangs own a 3-1 record all-time against the Marauders and have won three straight duals. SMSU took a 24-12 dual victory over the Marauders in Bismarck, N.D. on Feb. 17 last season.
Probable lineups:
SMSU
125 – Travis Borchert (9-7)
133 – Justin Reinsma (14-10)
141 – Ethan Hildebrandt (13-7)
149 – Codie Lane (8-10)
157 – Casey Field (0-0) or Josh Anderson (2-12)
165 – Jacob Begin (17-4)
174 – Trent Molacek (5-10)
184 – Andrew Rodas (7-8) or Micah Larson (6-8)
197 – Martin Hagen (13-7)
285 – Brian Rodas (5-3) or Cole Wilson (16-3)
AUGIE
125 – Cody Lensing
133 – Jason Jeremiason or Jeremiah Peterson
141 – Chism Fink
149 – Nate Herda
157 – Marcus Edgington
165 – Matt Morris or Bradyn Neises
174 – Carl Serck
184 – Jayd Docken or Sean Derry
197 – Brian Schultz
285 – Taylor Harris
MARY
125 – Hunter Menendez (4-14)
133 – Kyle Larson (4-13)
141 – Trevor Johnson (#4 nationally, 24-5)
149 – John Amundson (0-0)
157 – Collin Engelhardt (11-7) or Brock Krumm (10-9)
165 – Taylor Nagel (4-2)
174 – John Devito (4-9)
184 – Brady Anderson (14-6)
197 – Kriss McCleary (3-4)
285 – Martin Patron (13-7)