Augustana Completes Roaring Comeback in Dramatic Fashion
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – On the day Augustana honored head wrestling coach Jason Reitmeier for becoming the Vikings winningest coach of all-time, Augustana wrestling puts together a comeback for the ages. Augustana upended No. 19 Upper Iowa, 19-16, after winning its last three matches.
The Vikings remain unbeaten in the NSIC and improved to 11-5 (5-0 NSIC) on the season. Each Augustana victory came from an upperclassman.
Augustana trailed 16-9 entering the 184 pound match, but Aero Amo started to swing the momentum in the Vikings favor. Amo raced out to a 10-0 lead after the first period and coasted to an 11-3 major decision, bringing the score to 16-13.
At 285 pounds, Michael Lowman was pitted against fifth ranked Logan Hopp. Similar to Goodwin’s match, Lowman and Hopp exchanged escape points and went to sudden victory to determine the winners of the match and the dual.
After plenty of jostling for position, Lowman came out victorious with a takedown in sudden victory. Lowman put an exclamation point of the comeback at the Viking remained undefeated in NSIC duals with a 19-16 win.
Oscar Ramirez Jr. put Augustana on the board with a hard-fought win at 141 pounds. Ramirez Jr., wrestling in his first NSIC dual, secured the 8-5 decision over Jordan Roths.
At 157 pounds, Tyler Nation continued his strong season with a 2-1 decision over Zak Benitz. Mitch Rechtzigel put together a complete performance at 165 pounds to get an upset victory over 11th ranked Colbey Vance. Rechtzigel won by a 5-2 decision.
Next weekend, Augustana will host a pair of NSIC duals at the Elmen Center. On Friday, Feb. 10 the Vikings will take on MSU Moorhead at 7 p.m. On Saturday, Feb. 11 the Vikings will battle Minnesota State at 2 p.m.
Augustana 19, Upper Iowa 16
125: Maleek Williams (UPIO) over Brandon Carroll (AUSD) (MD 14-5)
133: Josh Walker (UPIO) over Brandon Charbonneau (AUSD) (Fall 4:30)
141: Oscar Ramirez Jr. (AUSD) over Jordan Roths (UPIO) (Dec 8-5)
149: Damian Penichet (UPIO) over Colin Ayers (AUSD) (Dec 3-0)
157: Tyler Nation (AUSD) over Zak Benitz (UPIO) (Dec 2-1)
165: Mitch Rechtzigel (AUSD) over Colbey Vance (UPIO) (Dec 5-2)
174: Dalton Westerlund (UPIO) over Lukas Poloncic (AUSD) (Dec 7-5)
184: Aero Amo (AUSD) over Nick Baumler (UPIO) (MD 11-3)
197: Ben Goodwin (AUSD) over Ryan Parmely (UPIO) (SV-1 3-1)
285: Michael Lowman (AUSD) over Logan Hopp (UPIO) (SV-1 3-1)