Augies fourth at North Regionals;
Vikings send 5 to Nationals
February 25, 2007
Led by runner-up finishes by Cody Henriksen and Nate Buys, the Augustana
wrestling team finished fourth at the North Regional Championships
Sunday in Moorhead, Minn.
The Vikings scored 85.5 points in the team standings. Minnesota
State-Mankato won the team title with 146.5 points, while Upper Iowa
was second with 122 points. Three-time defending national champion
Nebraska-Omaha was third with 114.5 points.
Augustana qualified five wrestlers for the Division II National
Championships by finishing in the top four in their weight classes.
Leading the Vikings were Henriksen and Buys, both of whom placed
second. Henriksen, a senior 165-pounder, scored an 11-2 major decision
over Shawn Lewis of Northern State in the first round before defeating
Tim Matheson of MSU Mankato in the semifinals. In the finals, Henriksen
dropped a 2-0 decision to defending national champion J.D. Naig of
Nebraska-Omaha.
Buys, a senior 197-pounder, also won his first two matches. He pinned
Craig Draper-Johnson of Southwest Minnesota State in 2:22 in the first
round before downing Ben Janike of MSU Mankato 10-6. In the finals,
Ryan Phillips edged Buys with a 6-4 overtime decision.
Two other Vikings finished third. Chris Trampe (125 pounds) went 3-1 on
the day and defeated Chas Welch of Northern State in the third-place
match. Austin Scarset (157 pounds) had a first-round bye and then
dropped his semifinal match. Scarset rebounded with a pair of victories
in the consolation bracket. In the third-place match, Scarset defeated
Kyle Trout of MSU Moorhead 7-2.
Two more Vikings finished fourth to earn their trip to nationals. Beau
Severtson went 2-2 to finish fourth at 184 pounds, while Ray O'Connor
also went 2-2 at Heavyweight. However, Severtson lost a "true
fourth-place" match to Nick Wilkes of St. Cloud State. Wilkes defeated
Severtson 11-3 to earn the bid to nationals.
Team Scores
1. Minnesota State-Mankato 146.5
2. Upper Iowa 122
3. Nebraska-Omaha 114.5
4. Augustana 85.5
5. Minnesota State-Moorhead 76
6. Southwest Minnesota State 34
7. (tie) St. Cloud State 31
7. (tie) Northern State 31