WATCH LIVE | LIVE STATS
This week
No. 5-ranked Augustana (9-1, 1-0 NSIC) takes to the road for a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference duals this weekend. Augustana visits No. 1 and unbeaten St. Cloud State (16-0, 3-0 NSIC) for a 7 p.m. match Friday at Halenbeck Hall in Saint Cloud, Minn. The Vikings are guests of No. 17 Minnesota State (2-5, 0-0 NSIC) on Saturday for a 7 p.m. encounter at the Taylor Center in Mankato, Minn.
Last time out
Augustana opened its conference season with a 31-3 win over the U-Mary last Friday. The battle in the Elmen Center saw the Vikings register nine consecutive wins.
Perfection
Augustana's
Cody Lensing (125) and
Jason Jeremiason (133) take perfect 10-0 records into the weekend encounters with St. Cloud and Minnesota State. Lensing did not compete in the dual with U-Mary, while Jeremiason pinned the Marauders' Kyle Larson at the four-minute mark.
Conference openers
The Vikings remained perfect in NSIC openers after defeating U-Mary 31-3 last Friday. Since joining the conference in 2008-09, Augustana is 4-0 to open the NSIC season. Last year, the Vikings beat MSU Moorhead 29-6 at home. 2009-10 started with a 36-6 victory over Southwest Minnesota State in Sioux Falls, and 2008-09 began with a 26-10 triumph over MSUM at home.
Outscoring opponents
Augustana has more than doubled its opponents' points in dual contests this season. The Vikings are outscoring foes 260-112 for 2011-12. The largest margin of victory for
Jason Reitmeier's team this season was a 40-0 throttling of Dakota Wesleyan on Dec. 9.
A year ago
St. Cloud State and Minnesota State were tagged with losses last season on their trips to Sioux Falls. The Vikings beat SCSU 18-13 and MSU 21-10 in the Elmen Center. The wins were part of Augustana's 7-0 conference campaign that saw the Vikings earn the NSIC crown.
Scouting St. Cloud State
St. Cloud State, ranked No. 1 in the country, brings a 16-0 record to Friday's dual against the Vikings. SCSU is tied for first in the NSIC with a 3-0 mark. Six Huskies are nationally ranked: Jacob D. Horn is fifth at 157 pounds, Tad Merritt is first at 165 pounds, Shamus O'Grady is third at 174 pounds, Derek Skala is third at 184 pounds, Lucas Munkelwitz is third at 197 pounds and Jacob Kahnke is first at 285 pounds. Head coach Steve Costanzo is in his sixth season and owns a 74-23 at the school and a 135-53-2 career record.
Scouting Minnesota State
Minnesota State is ranked 17th in Division II and owns a 2-5 record. The Mavericks have yet to wrestle an NSIC dual. Corey Ulmer is ranked second at 125 pounds, and Drew Lexvold is No. 8 at 133 pounds. Head coach Jim Makovsky, now in his 19th season, has a record of 222-84-4 at MSU and a career record of 247-103-5.
In the NSIC
Augustana is one of four teams in the NSIC with perfect conference records. St. Cloud State and Upper Iowa lead the NSIC with 3-0 marks, the Vikings are 1-0 and Minnesota State is 0-0. The remaining four teams are winless in conference action.
Win, win, win
Augustana's 14 dual wins last season tied a school record. The Vikings, who already have nine dual wins in 2011-12, could break that record with victories in their remaining seven contests. It will be a tall task, however, as the ensuing opponents--all NSIC members--include three teams currently nationally ranked.
Consecutive victories
The Vikings have strung together six-straight dual wins heading into this weekend. The win streak is the longest since last season when
Jason Reitmeier's crew put together eight-consecutive midseason victories.
Viking lineup
Jason Reitmeier plans to field the following lineup this Friday:
NSIC honors
Augustana has had one NSIC Wrestler of the Week this season.
Jayd Docken earned the honor on Dec. 5.
National news
Augustana moved up one spot in the latest Division II national rankings released Jan. 11. The Vikings received 127 points. St. Cloud State earned the top position with 160 points. To view the complete poll, click
here.
|
Date |
Rk |
|
Oct. 26 (Preseason) |
6th |
|
Dec. 7 |
6th |
|
Jan. 11 |
5th |
Individual rankings
Four Augustana wrestlers are individually ranked in the top eight in the nation in their respective weight classes.
Regionally speaking
The latest Super Region Three rankings have Augustana third with 40 points. The Vikings fell in behind St. Cloud State and Upper Iowa For the complete region rankings, click
here. The individual rankings breakdown as follows:
NSIC rankings
Augustana has two wrestlers ranked No. 1 in the conference in their respective weight classes.
Nate Herda (149) and
Marcus Edgington (157) hold that distinction. Several other Vikings also rank high. As a team, Augustana is ranked second--up one spot--with 52 points. To view the complete rankings, click
here.
According to the coaches
Augustana was picked third in the 2011-12 NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Vikings, who are the defending conference champions, collected 44 points in the poll. St. Cloud State, the national preseason favorite, was the top choice in the NSIC with 55 points. The Huskies narrowly edged out Upper Iowa, which collected 54 points.
|
1. |
St. Cloud State |
55 |
|
2. |
Upper Iowa |
54 |
|
3. |
Augustana |
44 |
|
4. |
Minnesota State |
32 |
|
5. |
U-Mary |
20 |
|
6. |
MSU Moorhead |
17 |
|
7. |
Northern State |
11 |
|
8. |
Southwest Minnesota State |
7 |
Coaches' corner
2011-12 marks
Jason Reitmeier's ninth season as the head coach of the Augustana wrestling program. A former Viking wrestler, Reitmeier has mentored 39 All-Americans and guided his teams to six top-10 national finishes. He is assisted by
Tom Meester, Mike Long, Brett Lutmer, Nate Buys,
Al Meger and Jeremie Degen.
All-Americans
Of Augustana's seven All-America honorees last season, three return.
Jason Jeremiason (133),
Nate Herda (149) and
Marcus Edgington (157) are all back for the 2011-12 season.
A look back
Last season, Augustana finished third and had seven All-America honorees at the NCAA Championship. The Vikings, who took second at the Super Regional Three Championship, finished the dual season with a record of 14-2 and were the NSIC champions with a flawless 7-0 conference campaign.
Up next
Augustana hosts Southwest Minnesota State and Northern State on Feb. 3 and 5.
