MARSHALL, Minn. – The Southwest Minnesota State University wrestling team (1-0) continues dual action tonight on the road. The Mustangs head to Sioux City, Iowa to take on Morningside College (1-0) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night. SMSU will continue non-conference dual action on Friday, Dec. 9, at 7:30 p.m. at NCAA Division I South Dakota State University (1-2).

Mustangs (Morningside) at a glance: Morningside College opened the season ranked No. 9 in the first regular season NAIA wrestling poll. Morningside enters the dual meet with a 1-0 record on the season earning a 32-12 victory over No. 13 Dakota Wesleyan on Dec. 2. The Mustangs have four wrestlers ranked in the NAIA individual rankings, led by Joe Sievert who is ranked first at 174 pounds. Brian Bock is ranked fourth at 184 pounds, Jared Wildeboer is ranked sixth at 165 pounds and 184-pounder Andrew Anthofer is ranked eighth.

Series notes: Tonight's dual will be the fifth meeting between Southwest Minnesota State and Morningside College. SMSU leads the all-time series 3-1-1. The two teams wrestled to a draw (18-18) last season in Marshall. SMSU was down 18-15 heading into the heavyweight match and Todd Klemz earned an 11-7 decision to tie the dual at 18.    

Jacks' at a glance: South Dakota State enters the triangular meet with a record of 1-2 in dual matches on the season. SDSU earned a 35-12 victory over Davidson at the Campbell University Triangular on Nov. 18, before falling to host Campbell 23-15. The Jacks' last were in action in a dual meet against North Dakota State on Dec. 6. The Bison defeated the Jackrabbits 32-9. SDSU will take on NSIC-member Northern State in a dual prior to SMSU's match-up with the Jackrabbits. 

Series notes: Southwest Minnesota State and SDSU will meet for the 34th time on Friday. The Jackrabbits own a 29-4 advantage in the all-time series against the Mustangs in a series that began during the 1970-71 series. The two teams last met during the 2004-05 season.

Probable lineup:
SMSU
125 - Travis Borchert (4-3)
133 - Justin Reinsma (8-6)
141 - Ethan Hildebrandt (5-5)
149 - Codie Lane (4-4) or Cord Glanzer (2-4)
157 - Blaine Miller (4-4)
165 - Jacob Begin (9-2)
174 - Trent Molacek (3-2) or Travis Frederiksen (1-2)
184 - Micah Larson (4-4)
197 - Martin Hagen (7-4) or Andrew Rodas (4-6)
285 - Todd Klemz (3-6) or Cole Wilson (2-1) 

Last time out: Southwest Minnesota State opened dual action last Wednesday night hosting St. Olaf. The Mustangs were victorious earning a 32-9 season-opening win behind three pins and two major decisions over the Oles. Travis Borchert, Martin Hagen and Todd Klemz each earned wins by fall for the Mustangs and Jake Begin and Micah Larson each earned major decisions to help the Mustangs take a large lead over the Oles.

On Saturday, the Mustangs competed in the MSU Moorhead Dragon Open and had 11 wrestlers place in the open tournament. In the Red Division (upperclassmen), Jacob Begin took home second place honors at 165 lbs. to lead the Mustangs finishing with a 2-1 record.

At 174, Trent Molacek finished in third place with a 3-1 mark, as did Justin Reinsma at 133 finishing with a 2-1 record.  Ethan Hildenbrandt (141) (1-2 record), Martin Hagen (197) (2-2 record) and Travis Peralta (unattached at 184) all finished in fourth place.  Codie Lane finished in fifth place at 149 with a 2-1 record.

In the Red Division, Justin Stevens, wrestling unattached, finished finished 0-2 at 125. Todd Klemz and Carter Ash both finished 0-2 at HWT.

In the White Division, Andrew Rodas (197 lbs.) and Cole Wilson (HWT) both finished with 2-1 records to earn second place finishes, with Casey Johnson earning third place at HWT with a 3-1 mark, wrestling unattached.  Beau Buysse also placed, wrestling unattached, taking home sixth place at 141, finishing with a 4-2 record.

The captains: Head coach Jesse Nelson announced the 2011-12 team captains on Oct. 3. Senior Trent Molacek, junior A.J. Jenniges and sophomores Justin Reinsma and Micah Larson were named team captains for this season.

Fast start: Jake Begin (165, So., Anoka, Minn.) improved to 9-2 on the season after picking up a 13-0 major decision over Collin Jorgenson in SMSU's 32-9 season-opening dual win over St. Olaf last Wednesday. Begin continued his success at the Dragon Open last weekend going 2-1 finishing in second place in the 165-pound bracket. He started off the day with an 8-4 decision over Matt Morris of Augustana and continued with a 14-2 major decision over Josten Coleman of Concordia-Moorhead. In three open tournaments, Begin has earned two runner-up honors and one championship this season.

In the 2010-11 Central Region Tournament:  Southwest Minnesota State finished eighth out of 10 teams in the Super Regional Three Tournament last season. CD Johnson qualified for the national tournament winning the true-fourth place match over Mic Berg of St. Cloud State. Justin Reinsma, Demond Carter and Brian Rodas all earned fifth-place honors at the regional tournament just missing berths to the national tournament.

The coach: Jesse Nelson is in his fifth season as the head coach of the Mustang wrestling program. Following a winless dual season in 2007-08, the team's dual win total has improved from three in 2008-09, four in 2009-10 and eight this past season. SMSU's 8-4-1 dual record in 2010-11, was the program's first winning season since 2002-03, while the team also finished tied for fourth in the eight-team NSIC and had one national qualifier. Nelson has had six different individuals qualify for the NCAA II national championships, including one two-time national qualifier. His recruiting efforts have also increased SMSU's roster size from 15 during his first season to nearly 40 during the 2010-11 season.

According to the coaches: Southwest Minnesota State was picked to finish eighth in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. St. Cloud State, ranked No. 1 in the country, was picked to win the league earning 55 points.

2011-12 NSIC Wrestling Preseason Coaches' Poll
1 St. Cloud State 55
2 Upper Iowa 54
3 Augustana 44
4 Minnesota State 32
5 University of Mary 20
6 MSU Moorhead 17
7 Northern State 11
8 Southwest Minnesota State 7

SMSU Ranked Individuals
125 pounds
5. Travis Borchert
133 pounds
5. Justin Reinsma
141 pounds
6. Ethan Hildebrandt
149 pounds
6. Codie Lane
157 pounds
6. Blaine Miller
165 pounds
4. Jake Begin
174 pounds
7. Trent Molacek
184 pounds
5. Micah Larson
197 pounds
7. Martin Hagen
285 pounds
4. Brian Rodas

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