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MARSHALL, Minn. - The Southwest Minnesota State wrestling team (1-0, 0-0 NSIC) opens the 2009-10 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference dual season this weekend, traveling to Augustana (4-4, 0-0 NSIC) on Friday and St. Cloud State (7-4, 0-0 NSIC) on Saturday. Wrestling begins at 7 p.m. for both contests.
Follow the Mustangs: Live stats for both duals can be found on each hosting team's Web site. To follow Friday's action, go to
http://www.augie.edu/athletics/wrestling/acwr.htm; Saturday's live updates can be found at
http://www.stcloudstate.edu/athletics/sports/wrestling, where a link will be posted prior to the competition.
Series records: Friday marks the 25th meeting between SMSU and Augie. The Mustangs are 4-20 against the Vikings all-time. Saturday will be the 39th contest between SMSU and SCSU. The Mustangs are 12-25-1 against the Huskies all-time. Head coach
Jesse Nelson is 0-2 against both programs.
Back in action: The Mustangs return to the mat after a month hiatus from competition. SMSU last wrestled on Dec. 12 at the Husky Open, where
Austen Cole,
Justin Reinsma and
Demond Carter all captured sixth-place finishes. The break, however, could not have come at a better time as SMSU will now be well rested for a string of conference dual competitions and a busy day of wrestling at the Central Missouri Duals--all coming within the month of January.
Veteran personnel: Wade Granger (North Bend, Neb.) and
Brandan Schunk (Wabasso, Minn.) are this year's two seniors on the squad and will lead the Mustangs through the 2009-10 campaign. Both joined the SMSU wrestling program after spending time in the junior college ranks.
According to the coaches: The NSIC's head coaches tabbed SMSU seventh in the 2009 Preseason Coaches' Poll. SMSU received 12 points in the poll. Minnesota State received 54 points and took the top spot.
Team Points
1. Minnesota State 54
2. Augustana 48
3. Upper Iowa 45
St. Cloud State 5
5. Minnesota State Moorhead 18
6. Northern State 16
7. Southwest Minnesota State 12
8. Mary 2
The coach: Jesse Nelson enters his third year as head coach of the SMSU wrestling program. Nelson owns a 4-18 record at SMSU and has charted improved campaigns in each of his seasons with the Mustangs. He is assisted by Jake Avre.
Mustang wrestling online: All of SMSU's home wrestling contests this season will be broadcast at www.pennatlantic.org. The Webcasts are free of charge, but users must set up an account with Penn Atlantic to view the matches.
Stay connected: Stay connected with SMSU wrestling all season long at www.smsumustangs.com. The Mustangs are also on Facebook and Twitter; just log onto www.facebook.com/smsumustangs and www.twitter.com/smsumustangs. For the latest video highlights and new episodes of the Mustang Minute check out SMSU's official YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/smsuathletics.
Up next: SMSU will travel to the Central Missouri Duals on Jan. 24 in Warrensburg, Mo. The Mustangs will not find out who their opponents are until shortly before the competition.
