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Sherer Wins National Title, Vikings Finish Second

March 13, 2010

Augustana's Jay Sherer won the 141-pound national championship Saturday night at the 2010 NCAA Division II National Wrestling Championships in Omaha, Neb. As a team, the Vikings finished second in standings. Nebraska-Omaha won the team championship.

The Vikings finished the tournament with 72 points, while Nebraska-Omaha had 131 points to win its second-straight title and fifth in seven seasons. Augustana's runner-up finish is the Vikings' best finish since finishing second in 2005.

Meanwhile, Ty Copsey ended up finishing second in the 197-pound weight class. Copsey, ranked No. 2 in the nation, fell to No. 4 Donovan McMahill 3-1.

Sherer becomes Augustana's first national champion since 2005 when Aaron Grauman (125 pounds) and Tom Meester (184 pounds) claimed national titles.

Sherer, ranked seventh in the nation edged Nebraska-Omaha's Mario Morgan, ranked No. 3, 3-1 in sudden victory. After a scoreless first period, Sherer got an escape from the down position in the second period. Morgan tied the score 1-1 with an escape from the down position in the third period.

Tied at the end of regulation, they went to a 1-minute sudden victory period. With about 15 seconds left, Sherer took a shot and a scramble ensued. Then with 1 second left in the period, Sherer managed to secure the takedown for the win.

In the 197-pound bout, Copsey fell behind late in the first period when McMahill got a takedown with 5 seconds left in the first period to take a 2-0 lead. McMahill then chose the down position to start the second period and got an escape to increase his lead to 3-0.

In the third period, Copsey chose down and got a quick escape to make it a 3-1 score. However, Copsey was unable to get the tying takedown.

In Saturday's morning session, the Vikings had two wrestlers finish fourth, as well as one fifth-place finisher and one eighth-place finisher.

Nate Herda (149 pounds) and Marcus Edgington (157 pounds), finished fourth. In the semifinals, Herda fell 10-5 to Esai Dominguez of UNO. Herda bounced back with a 12-4 win over Tad Elg of Minnesota State before falling to Nebraska-Kearney's Thomas Hepburn 5-3 in the third-place match.

Edgington battled his way through the consolation bracket. He defeated North Carolina Pembroke's Michael Williams 6-4 before knocking off top-ranked Joseph Deaguero of Adams State 9-7. However, in the third-place match, Edgington dropped a 2-1 decision to Mercyhurst's Andy Lamancusa, whom Edgington defeated in the first round on Friday.

At 133 pounds, Laramie Shaffer finished fifth after beating Corey Bowers of Gannon 9-7 in the fifth-place match. He dropped a 4-0 decision to eventual national champion Shane Valko of Pittsburgh Johnstown before suffering a 4-3 setback to Upper Iowa's Kyle Pedretti in the consolation semifinals.

Augustana's final wrestler, Gavin Nelson, finished eighth at 165 pounds. Nelson was pinned by St. Cloud State's Tad Merrit in the consolation third round and then pinned by Matt Gille of Wisconsin-Parkside in the seventh-place match.

Official NCAA Championship Web Site - CLICK HERE

Final Team Standings - Top 10
1. Nebraska-Omaha 131
2. Augustana 72
T3. Nebraska-Kearney 67
T3. Upper Iowa 67
5. Wisconsin-Parkside 55.5

Augustana Results

125 pounds - Al Meger (1-2, eliminated)
First Round: Seth Wright (N.M Highlands) def. Al Meger (Augie), 10-8
Consolation First Round: Al Meger (Augie) dec. #5 Cody Zimmerman (Wis.-Parkside), 3-1 (sudden victory)
Consolation Second Round: Terrell McKinney (Neb.-Omaha) major dec. Al Meger (Augie), 15-6

133 pounds - #7 Laramie Shaffer (3-2, 5th place)
First Round: #7 Laramie Shaffer (Augie) dec. Michael Magaha (Lewis), 4-2
Second Round: #7 Laramie Shaffer (Augie) dec. #8 Scott Berens (Central Okla.), 3-1
Semifinals: #1 Shane Valko (Pittsburgh-Johnstown) dec. #7 Laramie Shaffer (Augie), 4-0
Consolation Semifinals: Kyle Pedretti (Upper Iowa) dec. #7 Laramie Shaffer, 4-3
Fifth place match:  #7 Laramie Shaffer dec. #4 Corey Bowers (Gannon), 9-7

141 pounds - #7 Jay Sherer (4-0, National Champion)
First Round: #7 Jay Sherer (Augie) def. Joshua Falk (Findlay), 5-3
Second Round: #7 Jay Sherer (Augie) dec. #1 Andre Harrison (Ft. Hays State), 2-1 (2OT)
Semifinals: #7 Jay Sherer (Augie) dec.  #4 Jeremy Parker (Limestone), 3-2
Finals: #7 Jay Sherer (Augie) dec. #3 Mario Morgan (Neb.-Omaha), 3-1 (sudden victory)

149 pounds - #4 Nate Herda (3-2, 4th place)
First Round: #4 Nate Herda (Augie) dec. Tyler Juby (MSC), 17-12
Second Round: #4 Nate Herda (Augie) dec. #5 Latra Collick (Newberry), 6-4
Semifinals: #3 Esai Dominguez (Neb.-Omaha) dec. #4 Nate Herda (Augie), 10-5
Consolation: #4 Nate Herda (Augie) major dec. Tad Elg (Minnesota State), 12-4
Third place match:  #7 Thomas Hepburn (Neb.-Kearney) dec. #4 Nate Herda (Augie), 5-3

157 pounds - #5 Marcus Edgington (4-2, 4th place)
First Round: #5 Marcus Edgington (Augie) dec. Andy Lamancusa (Mercyhurst), 6-4 (sudden victory)
Second Round: #4 George Ivanov (Neb.-Omaha) dec. #5 Marcus Edgington (Augie), 3-1
Consolation Second Round: #5 Marcus Edgington (Augie) dec. Justin Turek (Minn. State), 3-1 (sudden victory)
Consolation Third Round: #5 Marcus Edgington (Augie) dec. #6 Michael Williams (UNC Pembroke), 6-4
Consolation Fourth Round:  #5 Marcus Edgington (Augie) dec. #1 Joseph Deaguero (Adams State), 9-7
Third place match:  Andy Lamancusa (Mercyhurst) dec. #5 Marcus Edgington (Augie), 2-1

165 pounds - Gavin Nelson (2-3, 8th place)
First Round: Gavin Nelson (Augie) dec. Derrick Adkins (Central Okla.), 5-3
Second Round: #1 Josh Shields (Mercyhurst) pinned Gavin Nelson (Augie), :33
Consolation Second Round: Gavin Nelson (Augie) dec. #7 Kyle Keane (Pittsburgh-Johnstown), 10-5
Consolation Third Round: #4 Tad Merrit (SCSU) pinned Gavin Nelson (Augie), 2:08
Seventh place match:  Matt Gille (Wis. Parkside) pinned Gavin Nelson (Augie), 1:40

197 pounds - #2 Ty Copsey (3-1, Runner-Up)
First Round: #2 Ty Copsey (Augie) dec. Daniel Stevenson (Findlay), 6-2
Second Round: #2 Ty Copsey (Augie) dec. Mitch Knapp (West Liberty), 7-2
Semifinals: #2 Ty Copsey (Augie) dec. #3 Jacob Marrs (Neb.-Omaha), 4-3
Finals:  #4 Donovan McMahill (Western State) dec. #2 Ty Copsey (Augie), 3-1