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MARSHALL, MINN. - The Southwest Minnesota State wrestling team opens the 2008-09 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference dual season Saturday when it travels to Bismarck, N.D., to square off with Mary.  This will be the first time the Mustangs have seen the mat since Dec. 13 when they wrestled at the Husky Open.

Last time out:  Michal Barrie (Westbrook, Minn.) was the top Mustang finisher at the Husky Open last month; the 133 pounder went 6-1 to capture third place.  Jordan Rozeboom (Mason, Mich) went 3-2 at 125 pounds to take fifth place, and Brandan Schunk (Wabasso, Minn.) was 2-3 at 133 pounds to grab sixth place.

Home for the holidays:  The hiatus of the SMSU wrestling squad was due to the 2008-09 holiday break.  While the Mustangs  had nothing on the schedule for a few weeks and were able to give their athletes a week or two to get their legs back, the team was still back in the wrestling room at the end of December readying for their conference opener. 

The series:  This will be just the second meeting between SMSU and U-Mary.  The Marauders won last season's inaugural match-up 21-16.  U-Mary is 0-1 on the season as the Marauders lost their NSIC season opener to Minnesota State Moorhead 32-9 on Jan. 7.

Open season:  Five of SMSU's first seven contests of the 2008-09 season have been open tournaments.  The only dual action of the season thus far was the Mustangs' Nov. 12  match-up with Sioux Falls (S.D.) and Dec. 9 meeting with Augsburg.  In open tournaments, SMSU has placed a total of 28 wrestlers.

National news:  Tyler Johnson (Harrisburg, S.D.) was ranked No. 8 at 184 pounds in the first NCAA Division II national wrestling rankings released Tuesday, Dec. 9, by the NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Association.  He has since dropped out of the rankings, but the senior has been the lone Mustang to take a spot in the national rankings this season.

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: 15

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:  Conference wrestling continues for the Mustangs as they meet Augustana at home on Jan. 16 at 7 p.m.