No. 3 Augustana begins NSIC dual season against MSU Moorhead

This week: Augustana (6-1), ranked No. 3 in NCAA Division II, opens the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference dual portion of its schedule on Saturday when Minnesota State Moorhead (2-3) comes to Sioux Falls for a 7 p.m. contest.

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Last time out: Augustana earned runner-up honors at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals this past weekend, picking up wins over San Francisco State, No. 6 Minnesota State and No. 2 St. Cloud State before falling to No. 1 Nebraska-Omaha in the finals.

Quite a run:  The Vikings were enjoying wins in their last six duals before meeting No. 1 Nebraska-Omaha last Sunday for the NWCA National Duals title.  Augustana opened the National Duals by handing San Francisco State a 23-9 loss on Saturday morning.  The Vikings followed that with a commanding 31-6 victory over No. 6 Minnesota State later in the day.  Those wins set the Vikings up with second-ranked St. Cloud State, where the Vikings pulled off the mild upset 18-15.  In the finals, Augustana nearly knocked off No. 1 Nebraska-Omaha, holding a 15-14 lead heading into the heavyweight match.  But UNO’s Taylor Escamilla came up big for the Mavericks in the heavyweight bout, sneaking out a 3-1 win over Lance Peters for the decisive lead change.

We’ll meet again:  While the Vikings are likely still feeling the sting from the loss to No. 1 Nebraska-Omaha, they will have a chance to avenge the loss next month.  Augustana and the Mavericks are slated to meet on Feb. 16 in the Elmen Center at 7 p.m.  The Vikings will also have rematches–both at home–with No. 2 St. Cloud State (Jan. 27) and No. 6 Minnesota State (Jan. 28).

Jeremiason honored:  The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference announced Monday that Jason Jeremiason has been named its Wreslter of the Week for his 4-0 performance at this past weekend’s NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa.  Jeremiason, a native of Marshall, Minn., collected a 4-0 record at 133 pounds for Augustana. He opened the weekend with 5-1 decision over San Francisco State’s Brian Tharp.  He followed that by pinning Minnesota State’s Skyler Moore in 2:02, and in the semifinals, Jeremiason’s 3-1 decision over St. Cloud State’s Eric Ellington allowed the Vikings to knock off the Huskies. The junior beat Nebraska-Omaha’s Yasiim Bribieseca 2-0 in the championship dual.

Northern Sun honors:  Jason Jeremiason‘s pick as the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Wrestler of the Week marked the second time Augustana has had someone earn the honor as Cody Lensing picked up the accolade on Nov. 29.

Duals to finish:  From here on out, the Vikings’ schedule is filled with duals.  Augustana has no opens for the remainder of the season.

National news: Augustana retained its No. 3 spot in the NCAA Division II Wrestling Rankings released Jan. 4 by the National Wrestling Coaches Association. The Vikings received 140 points.  Nebraska-Omaha remained No. 1 with 159 points, while conference neighbor St. Cloud State again took the No. 2 spot with 153 points.

Who’s ranked: Augustana had six individuals ranked in the latest NCAA Division II rankings.  Defending national champion Jay Sherer kept his top spot at 141 pounds. A pair of Viking wrestlers grabbed No. 2 ranking as Marcus Edgington was second at 157 pounds and Ty Copsey earned that spot at 197 pounds.  Other ranked wrestlers included Nate Herda (No. 3 at 149 pounds), Al Meger (No. 4 at 125 pounds) and Gavin Nelson(No. 7 at 165 pounds).  To view the latest national rankings, click here.

Northern Sun rankings:  Augustana is ranked No. 2 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.  The Vikings accumulated 61 points in the conference rankings and 56 in the region rankings.  Individually, Jay Sherer (141 pounds), Nate Herda (149 pounds), Marcus Edgington (157 pounds) and Ty Copsey (197 pounds) each took the No. 1 position. Others in the top five included Al Meger (No. 3 at 125 pounds), Cody Lensing(No. 3 at 133 pounds), Gavin Nelson (No. 2 at 165 pounds), Carl Serck (No. 3 at 174 pounds) and Lance Peters (No. 4 at 285 pounds).  To view the complete conference rankings, click here.

Concordia 26 Ridgewater 16

MOORHEAD, Minn. (1/12/11) — No.7-ranked Concordia rallied from a 13-0 deficit, won the last six matches against Ridgewater on Wednesday and claimed a 26-16 dual meet victory.

The win marks the second straight season that the Cobbers have bettered the Warriors and pushes their dual-meet record in 2010-11 to 4-2.

Concordia used a mix of newcomers and veterans to come away with the win against Ridgewater. The Cobbers fell behind 13-0 after the first three matches of the meet before freshman Jake Long started CC on their rally road. Long earned a tight 5-3 decision at 141 to cut the lead to 13-3. For Long it was his seventh win of the season and evens his season record at 7-7.

All-American Justin Berns then scored the only pin fall of the match for CC as he pinned his opponent at the 4:04 mark in the 157-lb match. Berns is now 15-3 on the season and has 118 career wins which puts him seven away from breaking the school’s all-time win mark.

After a Ridgewater win at 165, Concordia closed out the match with four straight wins from their “murderer’s row” lineup at the end of the weight classes. All-American Ross Dankers beat nationally ranked Travis Peralta 7-3. Dankers, who is currently ranked fifth in Division III, came up with his 14th win of the year over Peralta who is ranked fourth in the NJCAA.

National Champion Phil Moenkedick won by forfeit at 184 to claim his team-leading 19th win of the year and 119th career victory. He is one win ahead of Berns and only six shy of breaking the all-time win total.

Sophomores Nathan Schmitz and Tom Bouressa sealed the team win with victories at 197 and 285. Schmitz posted a 7-1 decision at 197 and is now 13-7 on the year while Bouressa recorded a technical fall at 285 by beating his opponent 16-0. For Bouressa it was his 13th win of the year which is one shy of his overall total from last season.

The Cobbers will now take on Calumet College (Ind.) on Friday, Jan. 14 at 5 p.m. at the University of Minnesota. The match is part of the NCAA National Championship Celebration the Gophers are holding to honor the 2001 DI title team. Concordia assistant coach Matt Nagel was a part of the 2002 national championship team while Calumet head coach Leroy Vega was a member of the 2001 title team.

NCAA Wrestling Box Score

#7 Concordia 26, Ridgewater 16    Team Score
125 – Lonny Boosu (RCC) maj. dec. John Busch (CC); 21-10    0-4
133 – Nate Friedrich (RCC) pin fall John Kryska (CC); 3:53    0-10
141 – Javior Portillo (RCC) dec. Tim Ruter (CC); 4-3    0-13
149 – Jake Long (CC) dec. Mariono Portillo (RCC); 5-3    3-13
157 – Justin Berns (CC) pin fall Sam Perrin (RCC); 4:04    9-13
165 – Trevor Krueger (RCC) def. Josten Coleman; 9-6    9-16
174 – Ross Dankers (CC) dec. Travis Peralta (RCC); 7-3    12-16
184 – Phil Moenkedick (CC) wins by forfeit    18-16
197 – Nate Schmitz (CC) dec. Aaron Samuelson (RCC); 7-1    21-15
285 – Tom Bouressa (CC) tech. fall Derek Carlson (RCC); 16-0    26-16

Match Notes:
– #7 Concordia is now 4-2 in dual meets this season.
– Cobbers won six of the final seven matches after falling behind 13-0.
– Concordia won 6 of 10 individual matches in the dual
– Cobbers won three matches by decision, one by technical fall, one by pin fall and one by forfeit.
– Cobber senior Phil Moenkedick earned his team-leading 19th win of the year (19-1)
– Moenkedick is now 119-10 in his career and needs six more wins to break the school’s all-time win record

St. Olaf 22 Rochester CTC 20

January 12, 2011 at Rochester, Minn

St. Olaf 22 Rochester CTC 20
125: Jered Kemp RCTC Forfeit
133: Lothus RCTC over Zac Miller 11-2
141: Ryan Timmerman STO Pin 1:53 over Steve Stark
149: Thomas Mork STO Pin over Aaron Niles in OT
157: Sam Schad RCTC Dec over Justin Skillings 8-2
165: Joseph Waples STO Dec over Peter McPhail 4-2
174: Joseph Pesta STO Dec over theo Jensen-Innis 3-0
184: Josh Kinneman RCTC over Elliott Courchain 10-0
197: Joe Schlueter STO over RCTC Andy Godeen 10-2
Hwt: Chris Holland RCTC over St Olaf Justin Luthey

#2 St. Cloud State to face St. John’s and UW-Eau Claire

The Matches:
Jan. 14 – #2 St. Cloud State at St. John’s, 7:30 p.m. (Listen on WBHR AM 660)
Jan. 15 – #2 St. Cloud State at UW-Eau Claire, 7 p.m.

HUSKIES HEADLINERS:

  • #2 St. Cloud State University (10-1) will be on the road this weekend for matches against two NCAA Division III rivals.  On Jan. 14, the Huskies will travel to #3 ranked St. John’s University for a 7:30 p.m. match in Collegeville.  On Jan. 15, the Huskies will have a 7 p.m. at Wisconsin-Eau Claire in Eau Claire, Wis.
  • On the Radio! The upcoming match between SCSU and SJU will be broadcast live on WBHR AM 660 with Mark Lewandowski, Jeff Mergen and Maury Meyer making the call.  The WBHR website is www.660wbhr.com
  • The Huskies were ranked #2 in the latest DII Coaches’ Poll behind Nebraska Omaha. Here is a rundown of SCSU’s nationally ranked wrestlers in 2010-11:  Gabe Suarez (#7 at 141-pounds), John Sundgren (#6 at 157-pounds), Tad Merritt (#2 at 165-pounds),  Shamus O’Grady (#6 at 174-pounds), Mic Berg (#5 at 184-pounds) and Jake Kahnke (#1 at 285-pounds).  The poll was released on Jan. 4.
  • St. Cloud State captured third place at the 2011 NWCA Division II Duals on Jan. 8-9 in Cedar Falls, Iowa.  The Huskies opened the tournament with a 32-6 win over Limestone and then charted a 27-9 win over #13 North Carolina-Pembroke on Jan. 8.  In action on day 2 of the tournament, the Huskies lost a tough 18-15 decision aganst #3 Augustana.  This match featured matches lost by the Huskies in OT.  SCSU rebounded in the match for third place with a convincing 25-9 win over #5 Newberry.  Of note, UN-Omaha won the tournament title with a 17-15 victory over Augustana in the title dual match.
  • Jacob D. Horn enjoyed a strong outing at the NWCA’s.  He posted a 3-0 record a t 149-pounds and this included a 7-5 win over #3 ranked Nate Herda of Augustana and a 9-4 win over #5 ranked Dale DeBacco.  Horn is 17-5 this season and came into the NWCA tournament unranked at 149-pounds.
  • At 285-pounds, #1 ranked Jake Kahnke did not let down at the NWCA Duals.  He charted a 3-0 record that included wins over Augustana, UNC-Pembroke and Newberry.  Kahnke is 15-1 in 2010-11 for SCSU.
  • #2 ranked Tad Merritt hit the 20-win plateau for the third consecutive season.  He is now 22-3 this year at 165-pounds and this total includes 11 pins.  Merritt now has 88 career wins as a Husky, and he is on track to make a run at career win record owner Dustin Darveaux (142 wins from 1999-03).
  • The St. Cloud State University wrestling team (14-7, 5-2 NSIC/3rd) captured 7th place at the 2010 NCAA Division II wrestling championships on March 12-13, in Omaha, Neb.  This marks the Huskies best NCAA finish since capturing 7th place in 1983.  This also marked the best finish for the Huskies at the NCAA tournament since Steve Costanzo took over as head coach in 2006-07.  This marked the 8th time since 1975 that SCSU has charted a top-10 place at the NCAA championships.  The 7th place finish is the best ever for the Huskies at the NCAA DII level. SCSU placed eighth at the nationals in 2009, 1986 and 1976.  SCSU also placed third at nationals during the 1963 and 1965 seasons as an NAIA affiliate.
  • The Huskies qualified 8 wrestlers for the NCAA championships in 2010.  SCSU wrestlers earning All-America status at the meet were Jacob Kahnke (4th place at 285), Tad Merritt (5th place at 165), Shamus O’Grady (6th place at 174) and Gabe Suarez (8th place at 141).  This marked the first All-America finish for Kahnke, O’Grady and Suarez, while Merritt is now a two-time All-America award winner for the Huskies.  The four All-Americans ties a team record for the Huskies, as SCSU also brought home four NCAA All-America honors in 1983 and 1975.
  • The Huskies will have two major targets on the wrestling room wall this season.  First up is the 2011 NCAA Regional championships on Feb. 27 in Sioux Falls, S.D.  This tournament serves as a qualifier for the other big date – March 11-12, which is the 2011 NCAA DII championships in Kearney, Neb.

Gophers to Honor 2001 National Championship Team This Friday

MINNEAPOLIS — In 2001, the University of Minnesota wrestling team broke new ground for the program, capturing the first national championship in school history. Minnesota will honor the 2001 National Championship team as it celebrates the tenth anniversary of its monumental win this Friday during the Gophers dual against Indiana.

The 2001 NCAA Wrestling Championships will long be remembered as a national tournament with impressive firsts and as a stunning breakthrough for the Gophers. The venue, Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa, was labeled as the “lion’s den” and served as an ideal location for the eventual storybook result. That result, an improbable one, vaulted Minnesota into the national spotlight, long reserved for the Iowas and Oklahoma States of the world. And the way in which the Gophers captured the 2001 NCAA crown can be appropriately classified as groundbreaking and extraordinary.

Unorthodox? Yes, the road to the national title for Minnesota was not typical of the path taken in years past by NCAA champion teams. Remarkable? You bet. Fans and followers of collegiate wrestling will look back at the 2001 NCAA Championships as a national tournament with unprecedented qualities. Record breaking? In more ways than one. The Golden Gophers broke several school and national records along the way to the national crown. A full team effort? Without a doubt. The national title was won for the Maroon and Gold grapplers, not on the backs of two or three dominant individuals, but through the hard work, will and determination of all 10 members of the squad.

Minnesota won the national crown by utilizing a full team effort to earn an NCAA-record 10 All-Americans. It was the first time in NCAA championships history that 10 wrestlers from the same team had earned the prestigious All-American honor in one NCAA tournament. In addition, no team in the history of the national tournament had won the team title without a finalist, but Gold Country captures the national crown despite not placing a single wrestler in the championship matches.

“We knew that the only way that we could win the title was to have a team effort. We knew that we couldn’t win with a lot of ones and twos, but we thought we could win with 10 All-Americans. And that’s what we did,” Minnesota head coach J Robinson, now in his 25th year with the team, said. “Everybody earned this championship. Everybody. That was the key.”

Minnesota Golden Gopher 2001All-Americans:
125: Leroy Vega (Portage, Ind.) – Second at Big Tens, Third at NCAAs
133: Brett Lawrence (Sandpoint, Idaho) – Fifth at Big Tens, Eighth at NCAAs
141: Chad Erickson (Apple Valley, Minn.) – Second at Big Tens, Eighth at NCAAs
149: Jared Lawrence (Sandpoint, Idaho) – First at Big Tens, Sixth at NCAAs
157: Luke Becker (Cambridge, Minn.) – Second at Big Tens, Fourth at NCAAs
165: Brad Pike (Brownsdale, Minn.) – Third at Big Tens, Fourth at NCAAs
174: Jacob Volkmann (Henning, Minn.) – Fourth at Big Tens, Fourth at NCAAs
184: Damion Hahn (Lakewood, N.J.) – Third at Big Tens, Fifth at NCAAs
197: Owen Elzen (Eyota, Minn.) – Third at Big Tens, Third at NCAAs
285: Garrett Lowney (Freedom, Wisc.) – First at Big Tens, Third at NCAAs

Concordia College will be competing against Calumet College prior to the Gopher’s match against Indiana at the Sports Pavilion. Calumet College is coached by former Gopher standout Leroy Vega.

The Concordia vs Calumet dual is at 5 pm. The Minnesota vs Indiana dual is at 7 pm.

Jeremiason named NSIC Wrestler of the Week

BURNSVILLE, Minn. – The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference announced Monday that Augustana’s Jason Jeremiason has been named its Wrestler of the Week for his 4-0 performance at this past weekend’s NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Jeremiason and the Vikings earned runner-up honors at the event, topping San Francisco State, No. 6 Minnesota State and No. 2 St. Cloud State before falling to No. 1 Nebraska-Omaha in the finals.

Jason JeremiasonJeremiason, a native of Marshall, Minn., collected a 4-0 record at 133 pounds for Augustana. He opened the weekend with 5-1 decision over SFSU’s Brian Tharp as the Vikings topped the Gators 23-9 in the opening round. He followed that by pinning MSU’s Skyler Moore in 2:02 to guide Augustana to a 31-6 victory over the Mavericks in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Jeremiason’s 3-1 decision over SCSU’s Eric Ellington allowed the Vikings to knock off the Huskies 18-15. The junior beat Nebraska-Omaha’s Yasiim Bribieseca 2-0 in the championship dual, but the No. 1 Mavericks managed to rally for a 17-15 victory for their third consecutive NWCA National Duals title.

This marks the second time this season Augustana has had a Wrestler of the Week as Cody Lensing picked up the honor on Nov. 29.

The Vikings (6-1) host Minnesota State Moorhead (2-3) on Saturday at 7 p.m. to open the NSIC dual season.

Cobbers Finish Seventh at National Duals

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — No.7-ranked Concordia took out their frustration at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Dual Tournament in their final match on Sunday by cruising past UW-Stevens Point 29-6 to capture seventh place. The Cobbers finished the prestigious meet with a 3-2 overall record.

The Cobbers started the tournament on Saturday by beating No.13-ranked University of Dubuque 27-11. Concordia finished off the Spartans by winning the final four individual matches. CC then ran into eventual National Duals champion Wartburg and lost 31-9. Phil Moenkedick and Ross Dankers were the only individual winners for the Cobbers against the No.2-ranked Knights. Concordia finished off Saturday by beating #12 Cornell (Iowa) 28-10. Ben Presler and Daron Hohbein set the tone for Concordia as they won the first two matches and staked the Cobbers to an 8-0 lead. Justin Berns, Dankers, Moenkedick, Nathan Schmitz and Tom Bouressa also posted wins against the Rams.

Concordia faced conference rival St. John’s in the first match on Sunday with the winner earning the right to wrestle for fifth place. The Cobbers jumped to a 9-0 lead on wins by Presler and Hohbein but then a pair of pin falls by the No. 3-ranked Johnnies gave SJU a lead they would never relinquish. Berns, Moenkedick and Bouressa earned the other three wins for CC.

The Cobbers then ended the day by recording their 23-point win over the Pointers. Concordia roared out of the starting block by winning the first five matches and grabbing an 18-0 lead. Dankers would then record a pin fall followed by a decision victory from Moenkedick while Bouressa finished off the match with a 7-1 decision.

It is the second straight year that Concordia has finished with a 3-2 record at the National Duals. Last season they went 3-2 and earned sixth place.

The Cobbers will continue their dual-match season when they host their first home matches of the year. Concordia will square off against Jamestown College and Ridgewater CC on Wednesday, Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. The matches will be held in Olson Forum.