Play-By-Play - PDF
Augustana captured six of the nine contested matches, including two over nationally-ranked opponents to defeat Minnesota State University Moorhead 26-10 in a battle of top 20 teams Thursday night at the Elmen Center.
Augustana, ranked 18th in the nation, improved to 5-2 on the season and 1-0 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference with its fifth-straight victory while the 19th-ranked Dragons slipped to 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the NSIC.
Augie's
Gavin Nelson scored perhaps the biggest win of the night at 165 pounds when he scored a 6-5 decision over Tyler Tubbs, who entered the match ranked fourth in the nation. With the score tied 2-2 after two periods, Nelson recorded a reversal early in the third period to take a 4-2 lead. Tubbs escaped with 1:30 left on the clock and added a takedown with 38 seconds remaining to take a 5-4 lead.
However, Nelson quickly got an escape 4 seconds later to tie the score at 5-5. Nelson, who had a 1:14 riding time advantage, then held on for the 1-point victory to increase Augie's lead to 16-10 with two matches remaining.
Marcus Edgington secured the dual win with a 13-4 major decision over MSU Moorhead's Dustin Nagel to push the Vikings' lead to 20-10. MSU Moorhead then forfeited the final bout to account for the final score.
It proved to be a rough night for nationally-ranked wrestlers. In addition to Nelson's win over Tubbs, Augustana's
Al Meger scored an upset by edging eighth-ranked Joe Werner 7-4 in the 125-pound match. Meger led 3-2 after one period and added an escape and takedown in the second to push his advantage to 6-2. He surrendered an escape and a stalling point in the third, but he got one of those points back by having 2:17 of riding time to improve to 1-1 on the season.
Augustana's
Mike Long, ranked fifth in the country at 149 pounds, dropped a wild12-10 decision to Derek Bomstad. Bomstad used a 2-point near fall and a 3-point near fall in the first period to help stake himself to a 9-3 lead after the first period.
A Bomstad escape early in the third period made it 10-3 before Long tried to rally. He got a pair of takedowns and a 3-point near fall at the buzzer to make it 11-10. However, Bomstad earned a riding time point for the 2-point win.
The only ranked wrestler to win was Augustana's
Ty Copsey. Ranked fifth in the nation at 197 pounds, Copsey opened the dual with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Matt Nelson. After a scoreless first period, Copsey escaped to the start the second period and then received a point when Nelson was called for stalling to lead 2-0 after two periods. Nelson scored an escape with 1:20 left in the third period to make it 2-1, but neither wrestler could manage any offense the rest of the bout.
Lance Peters put Augustana up 6-0 with a 4-3 win over Jon Swart at 285 pounds. A key moment came when Peters got a takedown with 10 seconds left in the first period to grab a 2-0 lead. Swart managed an escape and quick takedown early in the second period to take a 3-2 lead, but Peters knotted the score at 3-3 with an escape at 1:41. Peters then chose down to start the third period and escaped with 1:41 left on the clock.
Augustana's other victory came at 141 pounds where
Jay Sherer registered a 14-3 major decision over Evan Forde. Sherer led 3-2 heading into the second period but used an escape, takedown and 3-point near fall to inclrease his lead to 9-2 after two periods. He got two more takedowns in the third period to cruise to the win.
Augustana is back in action on Friday when the Vikings travel to Marshall, Minn., to face Southwest Minnesota State in a 7 p.m. dual.
#18 Augustana 26, #19 MSU Moorhead 10
197 pounds: #5 Ty Copsey (A) dec. Matt Nelson (M), 2-1
285 pounds: Lance Peters (A) dec. Jon Swart (M), 4-3
125 pounds: Al Meger (A) dec. #8 Joe Werner (M), 7-4
133 pounds: Kelly Janke (M) dec. Jason Jeremiason (A), 3-2
141 pounds: Jay Sherer (A) major dec. Evan Forde (M), 14-3
149 pounds: Derek Bomstad (M) dec. #5 Mike Long (A), 12-10
157 pounds: Tallen Wald (M) major dec. Carl Serck (A), 10-2
165 pounds: Gavin Nelson (A) dec. #4 Tyler Tubbs (M), 6-5
174 pounds: Marcus Edgington (A) major dec. Dustin Nagel (M) 13-4
184 pounds: Nick Henning (A) wins by forfeit