Augustana Wrestling Takes Down No. 17 Minnesota State
MANKATO, Minn. — The Augustana wrestling team recorded its fifth win over nationally-ranked opponents Friday night in the Taylor Center in Mankato, Minnesota. The Vikings defeated the Minnesota State Mavericks 24-13 to move to 10-3 on the season and 6-1 in the NSIC.
“We showed a lot of heart tonight,” head coach Jason Reitmeier said. “I’m proud of the effort, this team is resilient and nothing keeps them down.”
Junior Ethan Cota started the night off with a narrow victory in the 125 pound bout. Trailing 3-2 with less than a minute to go in the final period, Cota took his opponent down and recorded enough riding time to get the extra point and win 5-3.
Redshirt junior Brandon Carroll followed Cota’s performance with sheer dominance in the 133 pound bout. Carroll recorded five takedowns, four near fall points, a reversal and over a minute of riding time before pinning his opponent and giving Augustana a 9-0 dual lead.
Redshirt freshman Hunter Burnett put Augustana up 12-0 in the 141 pound bout when he defeated No. 9 ranked Louie Sanders. Burnett logged two takedowns, a reversal and a riding time point in the win.
Minnesota State pushed the dual score to 12-7 with wins at 149 and 157 pounds, but senior Bailey Neises put a stop to the Mavericks’ scoring with a win in the 165 pound match. Neises had a narrow 3-2 lead in the third period, but recorded a clutch takedown to take the match 5-2 and put Augustana ahead 15-7.
Junior and No. 8 ranked Ben Kelvington captured Augustana’s second win over Minnesota State’s ranked wrestlers when he defeated No. 10 Zach Johnston in the 174 pound match. Kelvington and Johnson traded escapes and takedowns and found themselves tied 4-4 late in the third period. Kelvington then took Johnston down for the 6-4 lead and only allowed an escape to hang on and win the match 6-5.
After close losses in the 184 and 197 pound bouts, redshirt freshman Steven Hajas took home Augustana’s last victory of the night with a fall in the heavyweight bout. Hajas took his opponent down twice and recorded four near fall points, before being awarded the pin at 2:44.
Overall, the Vikings won six of the 10 bouts on the night, recording two falls along the way. Augustana is now 5-1 overall and 2-0 on the road against ranked Division II opponents with their two road wins coming tonight and on Feb. 2 against No. 10 Upper Iowa.
Augustana 24 Minnesota State 13
125: Ethan Cota (AU) wins a 5-3 decision vs. Trenton McManus (MSU)
133: Brandon Carroll (AU) wins via fall at 4:32 vs. Lucas Hagel (MSU)
141: Hunter Burnett (AU) wins via a 9-4 decision vs. No. 9 Louie Sanders (MSU)
149: No. 3 Kyle Rathman (MSU) wins via a 13-3 major decision vs. Jebben Keyes (AU)
157: Cooper Siebrecht (MSU) wins via a 6-2 decision vs. Jacob Tvinnereim (AU)
165: Bailey Neises (AU) wins via a 5-2 decision vs. Logan Saltou (MSU)
174: No. 8 Ben Kelvington (AU) wins a 6-5 decision vs. No. 10 Zach Johnston (MSU)
184: Trevor Turriff (MSU) wins via a 12-6 decision vs. Kolby Kost (AU)
197: Matthew Blome (MSU) wins via a 3-1 decision vs. Daniel Bishop (AU)
285: Steven Hajas (AU) wins via fall at 2:44 vs. Max Villnow (MSU)
Up Next
The Vikings take on the No. 1 ranked, defending national champion St. Cloud State Huskies Wednesday at 7 p.m. in St. Cloud, Minnesota, in their last dual of the season.
The Mavericks will be back in action Saturday, Feb. 15, when they host the Northern State Wolves at Taylor Center for Senior Day. Six senior student-athletes will be honored for their accomplishments as a Maverick. The dual is set to begin at 4:00 p.m.
Check out Vikings Wrestling at goaugie.com and on Twitter and Facebook.