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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   
    • 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.