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February 18, 2004
SIOUX FALLS - In a dual where four of the matches went down to the final seconds, third-ranked Nebraska-Omaha edged eighth-rated Augustana 17-16 Wednesday night before 687 fans at the Elmen Center.
The Mavericks (10-2, 4-0 North Central Conference) and Vikings (6-6, 1-3 NCC) each won five matches, but Nebraska-Omaha recorded two major decisions to one for Augustana. The outcome came down to the final match, where No. 1 Les Sigman collected a 16-5 major decision over Augie's Ray O'Connor, giving UNO the four points necessary to claim the one-point victory.
The dual was exciting throughout. It began with a classic double-overtime match at 125 pounds. UNO's Dustin Tovar edged No. 6 Aaron Graumann 3-2. The match was tied 1-1 at the end of three periods and 2-2 at the end of the first overtime. In the second overtime, both wrestlers scored escapes, but Tovar was awarded the winning point for having 28 seconds of riding time in the overtime period.
Augustana's Andre VaderVelde rallied late to upset No. 8 Eli Dominguez at 141 pounds. Trailing 15-11 with 1:13 left in the match, VanderVelde scored a takedown and a three-point near fall in the final 44 seconds to squeak out a 16-15 decision.
At 174 pounds, Augie's Dusty Wiliking literally held on for a 9-8 decision over Steve Conlin. Trailing 8-7, Wilking scored a takedown with 21 seconds left in the match. He then managed to hold off an escape attempt by Conlin in the final seconds by securing his arms around Conlin's ankles.
The Vikings had a chance to secure the dual win at 197 pounds. Leading 16-10, Augustana needed Tyler Bullerman to beat Ben Strandberg. However, Strandberg used a third-period escape to take a 4-3 lead. He then fought off Bullerman's last second takedown attempt, setting the stage for the heavyweights.
The dual featured three wrestlers ranked No. 1 in their weight classes. Aside from Sigman at heavyweight, Augustana's Ryan King recorded a 7-4 decision over Patrick Allibone at 149 pounds, and Augie's Tom Meester collected a 15-5 major decision over Nate Oviatt at 184 pounds.
Augustana's other win came at 165 pounds where Cody Henriksen was impressive in a 7-4 decision over No. 4 J.D. Naig. Henriksen led 7-2 until surrendering a takedown with 2 seconds left in the match.
Augustana will be in action again Thursday night as the Vikings travel to Brookings, S.D., to face South Dakota State in their final dual of the season. The dual begins at 7 p.m. at Frost Arena.