The Guillotine
Forum | H.S. | College | Youth | Club | News/General | Links | Photos | Subscribe | Advertise | Contact


No. 14 Vikings host a pair of nationally ranked foes this week

February 5, 2007

THIS WEEK: The 14th-ranked Augustana College wrestling team concludes the home portion of its dual schedule with a pair of home duals against nationally-ranked opponents. On Tuesday, Augustana entertains No. 4 Minnesota State-Mankato in a 7 p.m. dual. Then on Saturday, the Vikings will take on No. 20 Minnesota State-Moorhead, also at 7 p.m. Both duals will be held in the Elmen Center.

SATURDAY NIGHT DOUBLEHEADER: Saturday night will feature a doubleheader. Canton High School (S.D.) will face Jackson County High School (Minn.) in a dual at 5 p.m. Augustana and Minnesota State-Moorhead will follow at 7 p.m. Tickets that night cost $6 for adults and $3 for students and are good for both duals. Doors will open at 4 p.m.

INSIDE THE RANKINGS: Augustana is ranked No. 14 in the latest NCAA Division II national rankings, as well as No. 4 in the North Region. Minnesota State-Mankato is fourth in the national poll and first in the regional rankings. MSU-Moorhead is tied with Kutztown (Pa.) for No. 2 in the national poll, while garnering a fifth-place ranking in the region.

Individually, Augustana has 4 wrestlers nationally ranked, while Minnesota State-Mankato has 8 and MSU-Moorhead has 1, Nate Baker, the defending national champion at 165 pounds.

LAST WEEK: Dana used a pair of 1-point decisions at 125 pounds and Heavyweight to upend Augustana 27-17 on Wednesday. Augustana rebounded 2 nights later with a 34-4 win over Northern State.

Dana, the defending NAIA national champions, won 7 of the 10 matches to pick up the victory. Austin Scarset, Cody Henriksen and Nate Buys were the Augustana grapplers who won. Scarset pinned Jason Bilinski in 4:09 at 157 pounds, while Buys pinned Wade Jordan in 6:06 in the 197-pound match. Henriksen earned a 19-4 technical fall over Josh Ghobadpoor at 174 pounds.

Against Northern State, Augustana claimed 7 of the 8 contested matches. Six of Augustana's wins came by decision. Nate Buys earned a major decision at 197 pounds when he registered a 10-0 victory over Todd Naasz.

The Vikings strung together 3 straight decisionas as Adam Schlee defeated Corbin Surat 6-3 at 133 pounds, Mike Long edged Dave Schiley 6-5 at 141 pounds and Brandon Kruger edged Dustin Bonn 9-4 at 149 pounds.

Also earning decisions were Aaron Haddorff (165), Beau Severtson (184)and Ray O'Connor (Hwt.) Haddorff defeated Brunau Agustine 9-5, while Severtson edged Cale Cornemann 5-4. O'Connor beat Jared Little 3-1.