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Tom Meester wins national title; Vikings finish 6th at NCAA Championships
March 13, 2004
MANKATO, Minn. - For Augustana College wrestler Tom Meester, the wait for his first national wrestling championship was worth the wait.
Meester, a junior from Rock Rapids, Iowa, erased the painful memory of not being able to wrestle in the 2003 national championships due to illness by recording a 10-1 major decision over North Dakota State's Matt Hermann Saturday night to capture the 184-pound national title Saturday night at Bresnan Arena on the campus of Minnesota State University, Mankato. It was Meester's third victory over Hermann this season.
Ranked No. 1 in the nation all season, Meester improved to 30-2 on the season and picked up his 100th career victory in the process. His career record now stands at 100-18.
"When there was 10 seconds left, I was riding him and I started watching the clock," Meester said. "When it got down to about 1 second, I started thinking about how all the practice and hard work have finally paid off. It's great, one of the best feelings I've ever had.
"It's nice to have this over with so I can enjoy this offseason and not have to worry about it anymore," Meester added.
Meester's victory helped the Vikings finish sixth in the final team standings with 54 points. Fellow North Central Conference member Nebraska-Omaha won the team title with 97.5 points, while North Dakota State, a third NCC member, was second with 95 points.
Meester, who has not lost to a Division II opponent since the 2002 season, was dominant in his four victories. He pinned Casey Woodall of Adams State in 4:32 in the first round and followed that with a 13-5 major decision over Corey Jacoby of Shippensburg in the second round. In Saturday morning's semifinals,
Meester defeated No. 5 Jordan Nichols of Fort Hays State 5-2 to advance to the championship match.
"He wrestled the way he has all year," Augustana head coach Jason Reitmeier said. "He dominated every match. There is nobody in his weight class or in the weight classes around him that can beat him. He had an outstanding season. He was on a mission from the very beginning of the year, and he didn't let the hype get to him. I couldn't be prouder of him and the rest of our team. I thought we could have finished in top five, and with a little luck here and there we could have made the top five."
In winning the national title, Meester becomes Augustana's first national champion since Reitmeier won the 142-pound national title in 1997.
Meester's victory is a completely different ending than the 2003 season. Ranked No. 1 at 174 pounds most of the 2003 season, Meester became ill at the North Central Conference Championships, the qualifying tournament for the NCAA Championships. He was forced to withdraw from the tournament, ending his chance at a national title. He had placed third at 174 pounds as a freshman in 2002.
Augustana had a successful day in the wrestle backs. Sophomore Ryan King, who entered the meet ranked No. 1 at 149 pounds, won three matches Saturday to finish third. In the third-place match, he avenged his second round loss by defeating Ryan Ickes of Pittsburgh-Johnstown 8-3. He ends the year 34-6.
"I know Ryan got caught and pinned Friday night, but I still think Ryan is the best wrestler in that weight class," Reitmeier said. "He showed that today. He came back very strong and dominated the rest of his matches, including his last match against the kid who beat him on Friday."
Sophomore Dusty Wilking placed sixth for the Vikings at 174 pounds. He collected a forfeit over Travis Krinkie from Minnesota State-Mankato in his first match Saturday. However, he dropped a 6-3 6-3 decision to Aaron Meister of Fort Hays State in his next match. In the fifth-place match, Wilking lost a 5-4 decision to Brett Barbarick of Central Missouri State. Wilking ends the year with a 28-12.
Junior Aaron Grauman ended up eighth at 125 pounds. Graumann, who injured his hamstring Friday night, lost 10-2 to Shippensburg's Jamie Thomas in his first match and then had to forfeit the seventh-place match to Ricky Randazzo of Mercyhurst due to his injury. Graumann, now a two-time All-American, finishes the year at 21-11.