MARSHALL, Minn. – The Southwest Minnesota State wrestling team (6-4-1, 1-4 NSIC) will close out the 2010-11 regular season this week in NSIC action on Thursday with a dual against the University of Mary (5-8, 1-5 NSIC) starting at 6 p.m. The Mustangs will then travel to Aberdeen, S.D. to take on Northern State (3-9-1, 0-6 NSIC) at 7 p.m. on Friday in the final dual of the season.
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Streak snapped: Senior
CD Johnson had is consecutive wins streak snapped last Thursday in SMSU's dual with No. 8 Minnesota State. MSU”s Aaron Norgren who is ranked No. 6 at 184 pounds, slipped past Johnson with a 6-4 decision in overtime. Johnson would get back on track the following night, and extend his season record to 23-12 in defeating Buena Vista's Demetrius Heard by fall at 2:39 adding to SMSU's large lead over BVU.
Rodas Rules: Junior
Brian Rodas (285 pounds) got back on track last week picking up two wins. Rodas defeated MSU's Nate Haynes in a 9-5 decision capping off the dual with Minnesota State. He would extend his season record to 7-1 with a win by fall over Buena Vista's Jacob Nelson at 3:35 giving SMSU a 38-6 win over the Beavers. Four of his seven wins this season have come by fall.
The reign of Reinsma: Redshirt freshman
Justin Reinsma (133 pounds) extended his season record to 23-10 earning two wins last week. Reinsma was the first to score for SMSU against Minnesota State last Thursday winning an 8-3 decision over Paul Norgren. His second win came on Friday night against Buena Vista's Michael Berardesco. Reinsma recorded his third major decision of the season defeating Berardesco 12-4.
20-plus club: CD Johnson and
Justin Reinsma were the first two Mustangs this season to reach the 20-win plateau. Johnson currently owns a record of 23-12 while Reinsma sits at 23-10.
Winning tradition: Southwest Minnesota State's six wins on the season mark the highest number of wins in a single season since the 2003-04 season when SMSU finished 7-11 overall and 0-2 in NSIC play.
History lesson: SMSU's 18-3 record in 1978-79 marks the highest win total in by a Mustang wrestling team in school history.
Marauders at a glance: U-Mary enters the dual with a record of 5-8 overall and 1-5 in NSIC action. The Marauders picked up their first NSIC victory with a 21-17 win over Northern State on Feb. 15. Brady Anderson (184 pounds) enters the dual at 18-8 on the season. The sophomore has won nine consecutive bouts dating back to Jan. 19. Anderson was named the NSIC Wrestler of the Week on Jan. 24.
Results vs. the Marauders: Southwest Minnesota State is 2-0 all-time against U-Mary. The two teams first met during the 2008-09 season. The Mustangs defeated U-Mary on Feb. 13 last season 25-15 in Marshall. The win marked SMSU's first NSIC win of the season and gave SMSU its highest win total since the 2005-06 season.
Wolves at a glance: Northern State (3-9-1, 0-6 NSIC) is coming off eight straight losses dating back to Jan. 12 when they defeated Northwestern (Iowa) 47-3. The Wolves lost a tight 21-17 NSIC dual against U-Mary on Feb. 15. Matthew Meuleners leads the Wolves with a record of 21-3 at 197 pounds. Meuleners had won 14 consecutive matches before losing a 5-4 decision to Jake Kahnke of St. Cloud State on Feb. 4. Before that match, his last loss was on Nov. 13.
Results vs. the Wolves: SMSU and Northern State first met during the 1979-80 season. The Mustangs own an 11-game lead in the all-time series against the Wolves (20-9-2). The two teams last met last season on Feb. 19. In that meeting, Northern State rallied from a 15-0 deficit to defeat SMSU 21-18 in Marshall.
Mustang lineup:
Wt. Wrestler
125
Travis Borchert (9-12)
133
Justin Reinsma (23-10)
141
Ethan Hildebrandt (17-9) or
Codie Lane (9-10)
149
Demond Carter (4-6)
157
Casey Field (9-15)
165
William Fate (7-5) or
Travis Frederiksen (2-4)
174
Zach Coates (10-7)
184
CD Johnson (23-12)
197
Martin Hagen (10-12) or
Erik Berdahl (11-2)
285
Brian Rodas (7-1)
Marauder lineup:
Wt. Wrestler
125 Matt Garcia
133 Ryan Swelland
141 Tanner Beaman
149 Landon DellaSilva
157 Brandon DeLeao
165 Taylor Nagel
174 Kurt Wiedrich or Ross Edison
184 Brady Anderson
197 Kriss McLeary
285 Austin Woo or Martin Patron
Last time out: The Mustangs earned a 38-6 win over Buena Vista University last Friday night in Marshall. SMSU picked up three falls and two technical falls on the night walking away with a big win over the Beavers. SMSU fell behind 3-0 early when No. 2 ranked Austin Mogg defeated
Travis Borchert.
Southwest Minnesota State would win eight of the next nine bouts to defeat the Beavers.
Demond Carter,
CD Johnson and
Brian Rodas all won by fall while
Justin Reinsma won by major decision.
Casey Field and Zach Coates each won by technical fall.
The Mustangs began the week on Thursday night with a 31-6 loss against No. 8 ranked Minnesota State.
Justin Reinsma and
Brian Rodas picked up the only two wins for the Mustangs in the dual. Reinsma earned an 8-3 decision at 133 pounds and Rodas won a 9-5 decision at 285 pounds.
In the poll: The Southwest Minnesota State wrestling team received votes in the Jan. 4 edition of the NCAA Division II wrestling rankings released by the NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Association.
National qualifiers: The 2010-11 Mustangs return two national qualifiers from last season.
Brian Rodas and
CD Johnson both qualified for the NCAA tournament last season. Johnson earned a spot in the national tournament at 184 pounds.
Experienced returners: Demond Carter and AJ Jenniges will add to the veteran leadership for the Mustangs. Carter just missed out on a national tournament berth last season. Carter spent two weeks in the national rankings last season as well. The 146 pounder spent time ranked sixth and eighth in the country last season. He was the only Mustang Wrestler to earn a national ranking last season. Jenniges compiled a 14-11 record in his freshman season for the Mustangs.
Talented newcomers: The 2010 recruiting class combined for a 1,448-363 career high school record. The class had 29 state tournament appearances last year. 22 of those placed in the state tournament and 10 were finalists. Zach Coates highlight the incoming freshman and will look to contribute to the Mustangs on the mat in their freshman season. Coates was a six-time letterwinner at Henry Sibley High School who appeared in three state tournaments and finished his season with a 39-2 record.
According to the coaches: The Mustangs were picked to finish fifth in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. SMSU earned 14 points and a tie with MSU Moorhead for the fifth place spot in the preseason poll. St. Cloud State earned 67 points and the top spot in the preseason poll.
2010-11 NSIC Wrestling Preseason Coaches' Poll
1 St. Cloud State 67
2 Augustana 64
3 Minnesota State 37
4 Upper Iowa 24
5 MSU Moorhead 14
Southwest Minnesota State 14
7 Northern State 12
8 University of Mary 8
