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MARSHALL, Minn. - With the regular season complete, the Southwest Minnesota State wrestling team will host the NCAA II Super Regional Three Tournament on Sunday at 12 p.m. at the R/A Facility.   The top-four winners from each weight class qualify for the NCAA Championships in Houston, Texas, on March 13 and 14.

Last time out: Upper Iowa took all but one bout to defeat SMSU 38-3 last Friday in Marshall.  David Albrecht (Woodbury, Minn.) picked up the lone Mustang win on the evening, posting a 6-5 decision over UIU's Derek Stolarzyk at 149 pounds.

How they rank:  Half the of the eight teams at this year's regional are ranked in the latest national poll.  Ranked squads include No. 3 Minnesota State, Mankato, No. 9 Upper Iowa, No. 10 St. Cloud State and No. 13 Augustana.  Fifteen individual wrestlers are also ranked.

Webcast:  The 2009 Super Regional Three will be available to view via Webcast at www.northernsun.tv.  Jason Bryan from Wrestling 411 will handle the play-by-play duties for the broadcast.

Results:  Updated brackets and results from this year's regional can be found on the tournament homepage.  Log onto www.SMSUmustangs.com and follow the link on the right side of the page. Online brackets will be updated after each round.

National news:  Tyler Johnson (Harrisburg, S.D.) was ranked No. 6 at 184 pounds in the latest NCAA Division II national wrestling rankings released Wednesday, Feb. 18, by the NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches' Association.  This is the highest Johnson has been ranked this season.  He also checked in at No. 8 on Dec. 2 and No. 7 on Jan. 21.

Been there, done that:  One of SMSU's grapplers has a bit of a experience getting a national bid from the NCAA Regional.  Last season, Tyler Johnson took home a third-place finish at the regional to qualify for nationals.  Johnson made his way through wrestlebacks at 184 pounds.

An improved squad:   SMSU's three wins this season means an improved campaign in 2008-09 for the Mustangs, who went winless last season.  Those three wins for SMSU include a pair of conference wins, the most NSIC victories since the 2000-01 season when the Mustangs went a perfect 3-0 in conference action.

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: 15

Take me to your leaders:  The Mustang captains for the 2008-09 campaign are Tyler Johnson, Michal Barrie and C.D. Johnson.

Up next:  The NCAA Championships are in Houston, Texas, on March 13 and 14.  The top four place winners from each weight class at the NCAA Regionals will qualify for the national tournament.