MARSHALL, Minn. – The Southwest Minnesota State University wrestling team (2-1) will return to the mat on Wednesday, Jan. 11, hosting a triangular meet against Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) and Waldorf College (Iowa) at the PE Gym in Marshall. SMSU will square off with Dakota Wesleyan (2-4) at 4 p.m. and Waldorf (1-3) at 7 p.m. following Waldorf's dual with Dakota Wesleyan.

The Mustangs will then travel to Gunnison, Colo. on Saturday, Jan. 14, to compete in the Western State Duals. 

Follow us live: All three matches of the triangular will be available to view live for free by logging on to www.smsumustangs.com/watch or by clicking HERE.

Holiday Break: The Mustangs have not competed since a Dec. 9 dual at NCAA Division I South Dakota State. By the time the Mustangs hit the mat on Wednesday they will have had just over a month since their last competition.

Tigers at a glance: Dakota Wesleyan, ranked No. 16 in the NAIA national rankings, enters the triangular meet with a record of 2-4 in dual meets on the season. The Tigers last saw action at the NAIA-NWCA National Duals. The Tigers went 3-2 at the National Duals tournament falling in the fifth-place match 27-15 to No. 8 Campbellsville.

Series notes: Southwest Minnesota State and Dakota Wesleyan will meet for the sixth time since the 2000-01 season. SMSU is 5-0 all-time against the Tigers.

Warriors at a glance: Waldorf carries a record of 1-3 into the triangular meet. The Warriors earned their first victory of the season against William Penn University on Dec. 6 and were last in action at the Dick Walker Invitational on Dec. 10.

Series notes: This will be the first ever meeting between Southwest Minnesota State and Waldorf.

Probable lineup:

SMSU
125 – Travis Borchert (5-4)
133 – Justin Reinsma (10-6)
141 – Ethan Hildebrandt (6-6)
149 – Codie Lane (5-5)
157 – Blaine Miller (5-5)
165 – Jacob Begin (9-4) or Travis Frederiksen (1-2)
174 – Trent Molacek (3-4)
184 – Micah Larson (5-5) or Andrew Rodas (5-6)
197 – Martin Hagen (8-4)
285 – Brian Rodas (0-0) or Cole Wilson (4-1)

Last time out: The Mustangs were last in action on Dec. 9 at NCAA Division I South Dakota State. SMSU lost the dual 20-18, falling to 2-1 in dual matches on the season.

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.

Duals to finish: The triangular meet with Dakota Wesleyan and Waldorf will be SMSU's final non-dual competition of the season. The Mustangs will compete in three duals at Western State on Saturday before beginning the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference portion of its schedule on Jan. 22.

Fast start: Jacob Begin (165, So., Anoka, Minn.) owns a record of 9-4 on the season after picking up eight straight wins from Nov. 12 through Dec. 3. Begin has since dropped three straight decisions all by just two points. He lost a 10-8 decision to unattached wrestler Orlando Ponce before falling 12-10 to Jared Wildeboer of Morningside and 8-6 to Dillon Reid of South Dakota State. Martin Hagen (197, Sr., Hanley Falls, Minn.) is 8-4 on the season after going 6-1 from Nov. 19 through Dec. 3. Hagen is coming off an 11-6 decision over Nick Mart of South Dakota State on Dec. 9.

Relying on its youth: Southwest Minnesota State has had to rely on a young group of wrestlers cracking the starting lineup. SMSU has used six sophomores and two red shirt freshman in its starting lineup for the majority of the 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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