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Marshall, Minn.: For the first time in school history, Southwest Minnesota State University will be the host institution for the NCAA Division II North Region wrestling championships. The 2005 regional championship will take place this Sunday, February 27 at the R/A Facility on the campus of SMSU.

The regional features four teams ranked in the latest top 20 national rankings released on Wednesday, Feb. 23, including three of the top four teams in the country. Augustana College (S.D.), with a 20-19 victory over previous #1 Nebraska-Omaha on Friday night is the new top-ranked team in nation. Nebraska-Omaha is now ranked #2 while Minnesota State, Mankato is ranked 4th. Minnesota State Moorhead, the fourth North Regional team in the national poll, is ranked 16th.

Sundays championship also features 25 individuals who are ranked in the top eight in their respective weight class in the national rankings. Augustana leads the way with eight individuals ranked nationally, including four ranked #1.

First round action begins at 11 a.m. and will continue all day with the finals beginning at 6 p.m.

Tickets for the event can be purchased at the R/A Facility box office starting on Sunday morning. Cost is $12 for adults and $8 for students. Doors open at 10 a.m.

The North regional championship will feature 70 individuals from seven teams as they battle for a spot in the NCAA II National Championships which will be held on March 11-12 at the University of Nebraska-Omaha in Omaha, Neb. The top four place winners in each weight class will qualify for the national championships.

Three other regionals will also be taking place this weekend across the country. The East Regional is being held at the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.), the Midwest Regional at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and the West Regional at Chadron State (Neb.).

The following is the probable line-ups and notes for each of the teams competing in this weekends regional championship:

University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks
Enters the championship ranked #2 in the nation ... UNO won last years national championship ... heavyweight Lis Sigman is just two wins shy of the UNO single season record for wins ... UNO finished 9-2 in duals including winning the national team duals in January ... UNO has seven individuals ranked nationally ... head coach Mike Denney has led UNO to a pair of national team titles (1997 and 2004).

Class Ranking, Name, 04-05 Record
125 #3 Dustin Tovar, 19-9
133 #5 Dan Hilario, 10-6
141 #4 Eli Dominguez, 29-7
149 #3 Shane Unger, 33-8
157 #5 Patrick Allibone, 28-7
165 #1 J.D. Naig, 17-4
174 Steve Conlin, 24-11
184 Nate Oviatt, 22-15
197 Ben Strandberg, 14-18
Hwt #1 Les Sigman, 45-3

Augustana College Vikings
Enters the weekend ranked #1 in the nation ... defeated previous #1 Nebraska-Omaha on Feb. 18 ... Augustana finished 2nd at the 2005 National Duals falling to UNO in the finals ... Tom Meester and Ryan King both enter the weeknd ranked #1 in their class ... The Vikings have seven individuals ranked nationally ... Meester is the defending national champion while King earned All-American honors last season by placing third ... Augustana finished sixth in last years NCAA Championships.

Class Ranking, Name, 04-05 Record
125 #1 Aaron Graumann, 24-5
133 Justin Bohlke, 15-9
141 Andre VanderVelde, 17-8
149 #1 Ryan King, 16-0
157 #7 Austin Scarset, 20-9
165 #6 Cody Henriksen, 7-2
174 #5 Dusty Wilking, 5-1
184 #1 Tom Meester, 30-2
197 #1 Tim Boldt, 23-4
HWT #8 Chris Bietz, 21-8

Minnesota State University, Mankato Mavericks
The Mavericks enter the weekend ranked #4 in the nation ... MSU has eight individuals ranked nationally ... MSU finished dual season 16-3, matching the school record for wins in one season ... #5 Nick Smith (125 lb.) is a mid-season transfer from Northern Illinois while Efrain Ayala (133 lb.) is also a mid-season transfer from Nebraska ... Jason Rhoten is a returning All-American.

Class Ranking, Name, 04-05 Record
125 #5 Nick Smith, 9-3
133 Efrain Ayala, 8-4
141 #8 Brandon Girtz, 26-7
149 #2 Jason Rhoten, 24-6
157 #6 Math Bitz, 23-11
165 Jeremiah Nowak, 15-14
174 #4 Travis Krinkie, 26-8
184 #2 John Koons, 25-9
197 #6 Josh Janousek, 30-7
HWT #7 Mike Engelmann, 25-7

Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragons
MSU Moorhead is ranked 16th nationally after finishing the dual season 11-4 ... heavyweight Chris Tuchscherer is a mid-season transfer from North Dakota State and is 17-0 with the Dragons and is ranked sixth in the country ... MSU Moorhead has one ranked individual ... Josh Jansen is a returning All-American after finishing eighth last year ... MSU Moorhead won the 2004 NSIC title.

Class Ranking, Name, 04-05 Record
125 David Burgard, 13-17
133 Scott Ahlf, 16-11
141 Ben Keen, 21-8
149 Danny Meyer, 16-10
157 Josh Jansen, 22-10
165 Rockie Stavn, 18-9
174 Skip Toops, 12-11
184 Eric Hageman, 17-18
197 Brandon Gruchow, 4-14
HWT #6 Chris Tuchscherer, 26-5


Northern State University Wolves
Finished the dual season with a 5-7 record ... began the season ranked 19th in the country ... Jamie Andersh and Andy Sinclair both began the season nationally ranked.

Class Ranking, Name, 04-05 Record
125 Chas Welch, 12-2
133 Brandon Haman, 8-11
141 Charles Schimmel, 4-16
149 R.C. Sisson, 4-16 or Jesse Wood, 4-1
157 Spencer Dockery, 10-13
165 Matt Englund 20-11 or Jason Hill, 18-11
174 Andy Sinclair, 14-4
184 Todd Naasz, 18-12
197 Cory Wellnitz, 12-9
HWT Jess Hockley, 2-18

St. Cloud State University Huskies
SCSU finished 0-7 in dual meet competition this season ... Lukas Pohlmeier placed third at 184 pounds at the St. John's North Country Invitational ... last season Pohlmeier was on active duty with the Army in Italy.

Class Ranking, Name, 04-05 Record
125 OPEN
133 Brent Johnson, 0-17
141 Tom Messerli, 3-13
149 Adam Minnette, 7-7
157 Blake Christopherson, 0-14
165 Nate Schut, 11-15
174 Sean Beere, 5-11
184 Lukas Pohlmeier, 8-14
197 Mike Gritti, 5-11
HWT Brad Nowak, 4-14

Southwest Minnesota State University Mustangs
SMSU head coach John Sterner won the NAIA national title at 189 lbs. for SMSU, becoming SMSUs first ever national champion ... Shawn Plumley was ranked fifth in the nation on Dec. 8 ... As a team, SMSU was ranked 19th earlier this season ... SMSU ended the dual season 2-15.

Class Ranking, Name, 04-05 Record
125 Brice Whitacre, 14-14
133 Kurt Smith, 10-19
141 Jeff Cooley, 10-11
149 Aldon Struchen, 14-14
157 Shawn Plumley, 18-10
165 Greg Frank, 6-20
174 Tim Johns, 17-6
184 Ryan Gosch, 1-18
197 Joel Wipperfurth, 8-6
HWT Richard Roesler, 16-16