SMSU Back in Action at Dragon Open Saturday
December 5, 2008
MARSHALL, MINN. - The Southwest Minnesota State wrestling team travels to Moorhead, Minn., to take part in the Dragon Open hosted by Minnesota State Moorhead at 9 a.m. on Saturday.
Gimme’ a break: The Mustangs return to action after taking a
two-week hiatus from duals or opens. SMSU, however, was not the only
NSIC team grabbing a breather for the Thanksgiving holiday as Augustana
was the only conference squad in to see the mat last week.
Johnson & Johnson: Tyler Johnson (Harrisburg, S.D.) and C.D.
Johnson (LeRoy, Mich.) were crowned co-champions at 184 pounds at the
Augsburg Open two weeks ago. Both Johnsons posted a perfect 3-0 record
on the day en route to the title.
Other Augsburg Results: The Johnsons weren’t the only grapplers to return home from the Augsburg Open with some hardware:
- Brady Myers (Redwood Falls, Minn.), 184 pounds, First Place, Gold Division
- Ed Reno (Utica, Mich.), 133 pounds, Second Place, Bronze Division
- Brandan Schunk (Wabasso, Minn.), 141 pounds, Sixth Place, Gold Division
- Luke Giese (Slayton, Minn.), 157 pounds, Eighth Place, Gold Division
- Wade Granger (North Bend, Neb.), 157 pounds, Fourth Place, Silver Division
- Nathan Krekelberg (Blaine, Minn.), 165 pounds, Fourth Place, Silver Division
- Carter Ash (Milaca, Minn.), HWT, Seventh Place, Gold Division
A late addition: SMSU will welcome a new face to the squad as
Mustang football standout Tyler Reed (Ottumwa, Iowa) decided to join
the team last month. Reed was a three-time conference champion and
picked up fourth-place state finish in Iowa as a senior. Reed is
expected to wrestle at 197 pounds for the Mustangs.
Jesse’s class: This will be head coach Jesse Nelson’s first true
recruiting class. Hired in August 2007, Nelson had virtually no time to
recruit for the 2007-08 season. However, he has brought in 16 freshman
and five transfers to compliment 13 returners. The squad is young, but
what they lack in experience, they make up for in athleticism.
Fillin’ it out: A full roster this year means the Mustangs will
not have to forfeit weights in dual action. Due to a thinned out roster
last season, the Mustangs had to forfeit several weights throughout the
year, especially in the heavyweight category where SMSU had no wrestler
to fill the spot at any point during the season. The story, however, is
a little different in 2008-09. The Mustangs will not only fill out
every weight, they will be three wrestlers deep at some of the weights.
A new face: Assistant coach Jake Avre begins his first season as
Nelson’s top assistant in 2008-09. Avre wrestled for the University of
Minnesota during its 2001 and 2002 Big Ten and national championship
seasons and brings an impressive resume of coaching experience at the
high school and club level to SMSU.
Break it down: Young might be the best word to describe the
2008-09 SMSU wrestling squad. The following is a class-by-class
breakdown of the team:
- Seniors: 3
- Juniors: 5
- Sophomores 3
- Redshirt Freshmen: 7
- Freshmen: 16
Take me to your leaders: The Mustangs captains for the 2008-09 campaign are Tyler Johnson, Michal Barrie and C.D. Johnson.
New-look NSIC: The newly expanded NSIC adds three more dual
dates for SMSU this season. The addition Minnesota State, St. Cloud
State and Augustana brings the conference to eight teams. SMSU was
picked to finish seventh in the NSIC wrestling preseason coaches poll.
Next dual action: SMSU won’t hit the mat in dual action again
until Dec. 9 when the Mustangs travel to Augsburg for a 7 p.m. contest
against the Auggies. The first conference dual of the year is on Jan.
10, 2009, in Bismarck, N.D., against Mary.
