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Augustana ranked No. 2 in NCAA Division II

October 14, 2004

Sioux Falls, S.D. * Augustana College earned the No. 2 ranking in the NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches' Association Preseason Top 25 poll released Thursday.

The Vikings return all 10 starters, including four All-Americans and one national champion, from last year's team that finished sixth at the 2004 Division II National Championships in Mankato, Minn.

Senior Tom Meester headlines a group of six Vikings who are ranked in the top 8 of their respective weight classes. Meester, who won the 184-pound national title last season, enters the 2004-05 season ranked No. 1. Junior Ryan King and junior Dusty Wilking are ranked No. 2 at 149 and 174 pounds. King was third in the nation last year, while Wilking was sixth.

The remaining Vikings who are nationally-ranked are senior Aaron Graumann, ranked No. 5 at 125 pounds, sophomore Cody Henriksen, ranked No. 8 at 167 pounds and junior Tim Boldt, ranked No. 8 at 197 pounds. Graumann is a two-time All-American who was eighth at last year's national championships. Boldt, meanwhile, was a 2003 All-American at South Dakota State. He was ranked No. 3 in the nation heading into the 2004 championships, but he was unable to wrestle due to health reasons.

Fellow North Central Conference member and defending national champion Nebraska-Omaha is the preseason pick to defend its national title. The Mavericks return six All-Americans and have four No. 1 ranked wrestlers.

Augustana opens its season with an alumni dual on October 30. The first official meet of the season is the Daktronics Open on November 6 in Brookings, S.D.

The NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches' Association Top 20 preseason poll with returning national tournament points and the teams' 2004 national finish:

Rank	School (State)	Returning Points	2004 National Finish
1.	Nebraska-Omaha	64	1st
2.	Augustana (S.D.)	35	6th
3.	Nebraska-Kearney	33	8th
4.	Shippensburg (Pa.)	25	11th
T5.	Fort Hays State (Kan.)	21	10th
T5.	Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)	21	5th
7.	Truman State (Mo.)	20	16th
8.	Central Oklahoma	17	3rd
9.	Minnesota State-Mankato	16	17th
10.	San Francisco State (Calif.)	12	T13th
T11.	Mercyhurst (Pa.)	11	21st
T11.	Ashland (Ohio)	11	19th
13.	Findlay (Ohio)	10	7th
T14.	West Liberty State (W.Va.)	9	25th
T14.	North Carolina-Pembroke	9	12th
T16.	Adams State (Colo.)	6	9th
T16.	Western State (Colo.)	6	4th
18.	Wisconsin-Parkside	4	20th
T19.	Colorado School of Mines	3	22nd
T19.	Minnesota State-Moorhead	3	24th
T19.	Northern State (S.D.)	3	15th

125 Pounds

1. Dustin Tovar, Nebraska-Omaha

2. Bryce Abbey, Nebraska-Kearney

3. Jamie Thomas, Shippensburg (Pa.)

4. Ricky Randazzo, Mercyhurst (Pa.)

5. Aaron Graumann, Augustana (S.D.)

6. James Phillips, Ashland (Ohio)

7. Chonci Houston, Carson-Newman (Tenn.)

8. Ryon Mazzocco, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)

 

133 Pounds

1. Donald Lockett, San Francisco State (Calif.)

2. Adam Keiswetter, Nebraska-Kearney

3. Mitch Waite, Nebraska-Omaha

4. Andy Uhl, Findlay (Ohio)

5. Curry Pickard, North Carolina-Pembroke

6. Zach Meissner, Ashland (Ohio)

7. Derek Miller, St. Cloud State (Minn.)

8. Chris Saferite, Central Oklahoma

 

141 Pounds

1. Merrick Meyer, Truman State (Mo.)

2. Eli Dominguez, Nebraska-Omaha

3. R.C. LaHaye, Western State (Colo.)

4. Wade Bramlitt, Central Oklahoma

5. Kortney Lake, Adams State (Colo.)

6. Jamie Andersh, Northern State (S.D.)

7. Thad Benton, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)

8. Brendon Bosko, Gannon (Pa.)

 

149 Pounds

1. Patrick Allibone, Nebraska-Omaha

2. Ryan King, Augustana (S.D.)

3. Ryan Ickes, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)

4. Jason Rhoten, Minnesota State-Mankato

5. Zack Leathers, Shippensburg (Pa.)

6. Angelo Vettese, Findlay (Ohio)

7. David Nordhues, Fort Hays State

8. R.J. Paterniti, Gannon (Pa.)

 

157 Pounds

1. Luke Main, West Liberty State (W.Va.)

2. Josh Jansen, Minnesota State-Moorhead

3. Adam Morris, Findlay (Ohio)

4. Gary Skoch, Ashland (Ohio)

5. Mitch Napier, Indianapolis (Ind.)

6. Matt Roncolato, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)

7. Chas DeVetter, Nebraska-Omaha

8. Will Tedder, Mercyhurst (Pa.)

 

165 Pounds

1. J.D. Naig, Nebraska-Omaha

2. Dwayne Coward, North Carolina-Pembroke

3. Mark Glova, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)

4. Zachary Schafer, Mercyhurst (Pa.)

5. Aaron Dalton, Nebraska-Kearney

6. Mark Murphy, Shippensburg (Pa.)

7. Nathan Jones, Carson-Newman (Tenn.)

8. Cody Henriksen, Augustana (S.D.)

 

174 Pounds

1. Aaron Meister, Fort Hays State (Kan.)

2. Dusty Wilking, Augustana (S.D.)

3. Tom Bauer, Ashland (Ohio)

4. Travis Krinke, Minnesota State-Mankato

5. Jason Radtke, Gannon (Pa.)

6. Careef Robertson, Anderson (S.C.)

7. Andy Sinclair, Northern State (S.D.)

8. Paul Bergman, Mercyhurst (Pa.)

 

184 Pounds

1. Tom Meester, Augustana (S.D.)

2. Corey Jacoby, Shippensburg (Pa.)

3. Greg Nurrenbern, Truman State (Mo.)

4. Bryan Tapley, Central Oklahoma

5. Kris Klepacz, Findlay (Ohio)

6. Ben McAvinew, Mercyhurst (Pa.)

7. Kevin Grece, Central Missouri State

8. Brett Wade, Kutztown (Pa.)

 

197 Pounds

1. Jeff Sylvester, Nebraska-Kearney

2. Kevin Lochner, Central Oklahoma

3. Howard Bell, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)

4. Justin Mautz, Mercyhurst (Pa.)

5. Josh Janousek, Minnesota State-Mankato

6. Corey Winston, North Carolina-Pembroke

7. Plamen Paskalev, Central Missouri State

8. Tim Boldt, Augustana (S.D.)

 

Heavyweight

1. Les Sigman, Nebraska-Omaha

2. Andrew Ubben, Fort Hays State (Kan.)

3. Aldo Campea, Ashland (Ohio)

4. Matt Meyer, Wisconsin-Parkside

5. Derek Thompson, Colorado School of Mines

6. Zach Majocha, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)

7. Daren Murphy, San Francisco State

8. Mike Engelmann, Minnesota State-Mankato