SMSU Looks for Second Dual Win of Season Tuesday
December 8, 2008
MARSHALL, MINN. - The Southwest Minnesota State wrestling
team travels to Minneapolis, Minn., to square off with NCAA Division
III powerhouse Augsburg Tuesday at 7 p.m. in its second dual meet of
the year. The Auggies are ranked No. 2 nationally in Division III.
Shooting for two: The Mustangs will be looking for their second
dual win in as many contests Tuesday against Augsburg. The notches in
the victory column for the 2008-09 squad have already eclipsed last
year’s mark when SMSU went winless in dual action.
A “Barrie” good performance: Michal Barrie (Westbrook, Minn.)
brought home the best finish from the Dragon Open hosted by Minnesota
State Moorhead this past weekend, posting a second-place finish at 133
pounds in the Red Division. Barrie compiled a 2-1 record on the day,
taking a pair of decisions from MSU Moorhead's Kelly Janke and
Augustana's Jason Jeremiason. His only loss of the day came in the
championship bout when he lost a 15-6 major decision to Augsburgs'
Travis Lang.
Other Dragon Open results: In addition to Barrie’s silver
performance, Brady Myers (Redwood Falls, Minn.) and C.D. Johnson
(LeRoy, Mich.) each grabbed third-place finishes at the Dragon Open.
Myers took third at 184 pounds in the White Division, and C.D. Johnson
was third at 184 pounds in the Red 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? Next year: SMSU won’t hit the mat in dual
action again until Jan. 10, 2009, when the Mustangs travel Mary to open
the conference season. The NSIC contest is slated to start at 2 p.m.
