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MARSHALL, MINN. - The Southwest Minnesota State wrestling team opens its dual season Wednesday when the Mustangs travel to Sioux Falls (S.D.) to meet up with the Cougars in a 7 p.m. non-conference contest.

Strong home showing:  The Mustangs placed a plethora of wrestlers in their Captain Dan Open hosted in Marshall. 

    •At 125 pounds, a pair of unattached SMSU wrestlers grabbed the second and third place     spots.  Zak Lambert went 2-1 on the day to finish second, while Robert Morris also         went 2-1 to finish third.

    •A trio of Mustangs placed at 133 pounds, with A.J. Jenniges and Jordan Rozeboom     taking co-champion honors.  Ed Reno was fourth at 133 pounds.

    •Another pair of Mustangs reached the title match at 141 pounds as Michal Barrie and         Brandan Schunk both went 2-0 to be crowned co-champions.  Pat Cusack came in fifth at     141 pounds.

    •Garret Rozeboom, wrestling unattached, went unbeaten in four bouts to claim the title     at 149 pounds.  Teammate Tanner Skillings finished fifth at the same weight.

    •Luke Giese finished 2-1 at 157 pounds to post a runner-up finish at the weight.

    •Tony Klosterboer and Chris Hale (unattached) took third and fifth, respectively, at         165 pounds.

    •A 2-2 finish for Nick Wulf at 174 pounds was good enough to get him a fifth place fin-        ish.

    •Going 4-1 and battling through wrestlebacks, Tyler Johnson finished third at 197         pounds. 

    •Carter Ash split a pair of matches at HWT to claim second place.

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 actions.  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 weight 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.

It's been so long:  The last time SMSU squared off with USF was back in 1970.  The Mustangs have a perfect record against the Cougars, bettering them in each of the two meetings between the two teams.

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.

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 preseaon coaches poll.

Probable Starters vs. Sioux Falls
125    Zak Lambert
133    Jordan Rozeboom
141    Brandan Schunk
149    Tanner Skillings
157    Luke Giese
165    Tony Klosterboer
174    Nick Wulf
184    Tyler Johnson
197    Ethan Hoppe
HWT    Carter Ash