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MARSHALL, MINN. - The Southwest Minnesota State wrestling team will square off with Division III Concordia of Moorhead on Thursday in Marshall at 7 p.m in its second home and second non-conference contest of the season.

Last time out:  No. 18 Augustana used a pair of pins and three major decisions to hand the SMSU wrestling team a 32-7 loss in the Mustangs' home opener Friday night in Marshall.  Tyler Johnson (Harrisburg, S.D.) and David Albrecht (Woodbury, Minn.) were the lone Mustangs to pick up wins as Johnson took a 7-4 decision from Nick Henning at 184 pounds and Albrecht picked up a 16-8 major decision from Carl Serck.

Victorious debut:  Albrecht wrestled his first match in a Mustang singlet on Friday and did so with style.  The redshirt freshman's victory was the highlight of the dual for SMSU.  Albrecht, who accounted for more than half of SMSU's team points, used four take downs and was lightning quick on the mat for the Mustangs.

The series:  The Mustangs and Concordia have met seven times, and SMSU is 6-1 against the Cobbers.  Last season, the Cobbers haded the Mustangs 46-3 loss in Moorhead, Minn.  Head coach Jesse Nelson is 0-1 against Concordia.

Standings:  SMSU's 1-1 NSIC mark puts the squad in a tie for third place in the conference.  Northern State, Upper Iowa and St. Cloud State are tied with the Mustangs for the No. 3 spot.

National news:  Tyler Johnson (Harrisburg, S.D.) is ranked No. 7 at 184 pounds in the latest NCAA Division II national wrestling rankings released Wednesday, Jan. 21, by the NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Association.  The spot is a jump up as the senior was ranked No. 8 in the first NWCA Poll released Dec. 2.  He fell out of the top eight in the Jan. 6 poll.

Jesse's class:  The 2008-09 squad 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 15 freshmen and six transfers to compliment 10 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: 3    • Redshirt Freshmen: 5
    • Freshmen: 16

Take me to your leaders:  The Mustang 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.

Up next:  The Mustangs were scheduled to travel to St. John's on Friday, but that dual has been rescheduled to a date to be determined travel to conference-opponent Minnesota State, Mankato on Jan. 30 for a 7 p.m. dual.  The meeting will be SMSU's third conference match-up of the season.

Probable Dual Starters vs. Concordia
125    Ed Reno
133    Michal Barrie
141    Brandan Schunk
149    Garret Rozeboom
157    David Albrecht
165    Nick Wulf
174    Nathan Krekelberg
184    Tyler Johnson
197    Tyler Reed
HWT    Carter Ash

COBBER NOTES:  Clay Nagel enters his third season as the head coach of the Concordia wrestling program and has posted a 6-1 record this season.  The Cobbers are ranked No. 9 in the latest Division III national poll and have picked up wins against nationally ranked squads by the likes of  No. 26 Dubuque, No. 9 St. John's, No. 14 Olivet and No. 11 Cornell.  The Cobbers' only loss of the season was at the hands of No. 4 Coe.  Thursday night's meeting with SMSU will be one of three duals with NSIC teams for Concordia as the Cobbers also wrestle Minnesota State Moorhead on Feb. 4 and Mary on Feb. 10.