SETTING THE SCENE
The Southwest Minnesota State wrestling team will be back in action this Friday and Saturday with a dual versus Saint John's and the St. Cloud State Open. On Friday, SMSU will square-off with Saint John's at 7 p.m. in Collegeville, Minn. The Mustangs are 2-2 in dual matches this season and are coming off a 2-1 record at the Wisconsin-La Crosse duals last weekend. On Saturday, SMSU wrestlers will compete at the St. Cloud State Open in St. Cloud, Minn., starting at 9 a.m.

LAST OPEN
The last time SMSU competed at an open was Nov. 23 at the Jimmie Open hosted by Jamestown College. Seventh-year head coach Jesse Nelson saw three individuals - Justin Reinsma (133), Travis Peralta (184) and Micah Larson(197) all take home titles.

Justin Reinsma claimed the 133 pound title by going 4-0 with victories over Adam Sutlief (Ridgewater CC), Jacob Knudsvig (Minot State), Zach Matthys (Itasca CC), and Joshua Douglas (Minot State). Reinsma opened with a 12-3 major decision over Sutlief and followed with a win by fall at 3:54 versus Knudsvig. A 7-3 decision in the semifinals advanced him to the first-place bout where he claimed a 6-4 sudden victory for his first open title of the season.

Micah Larson became the third champion for SMSU on the day when he took the 197 pound bracket by going a perfect 4-0. Larson pinned Jacob Tilley (Unattached) at 5:51 and Skyler Carroll (Dickenson State) at 5:45 to advance to the semifinal round - where he defeated Tyler Schlosser by a 9-1 major decision. Larson closed out his perfect performance with a 9-4 decision of Tommy Petersen (Unattached).

At 184 pounds, Travis Peralta went 3-0 after receiving an opening round bye. Peralta pinned U-Mary's Patrick Pontarellie in his opening match and followed with a 9-4 decision over teammate William Dean in the semis. Peralta edged Matthew Lewellen (MSU-Moorhead) 7-6 to take first-place and earn his first tournament title of the season.

"DUH, PINNING!"
Eight of Kyle Begin's 12 wins at 165 pounds this season have come via pin – his fastest coming in 42 seconds over Concorida-Moorhead's Jake Krogstad. Begin is 12-5 in his first season wrestling at 165 pounds and has won five straight. Begin qualified for the NCAA tournament by taking the 174 Super Region 3 crown last season as a true freshman.

CHANGING 100
Senior Justin Reinsma is seeking his 100th career with – something that has only been done by seven other men in SMSU history. Reinsma is currently 12-7 on the season and sits 10th on SMSU's all-time win list with 91. Reinsma is five wins away from tying Troy Mentzer (1989-93) and Tim Johns (2002-06) for eighth place and nine wins away from hitting the 100-win mark. Reinsma has averaged 26 wins in his first three seasons with a career-high 28 coming last season as a junior and his first season as a redshirt freshman. Randy Dorn's leading mark of 123 wins seems out of reach but there is still room for Reinsma to move up on SMSU's all-time wins list.

NCAA RANKED
Southwest Minnesota State wrestlers Justin Reinsma and Jacob Begin are individually ranked in the latest NCAA Division II National Wrestling Coaches Association poll.

Justin Reinsma, a senior at 133 pounds is ranked No. 8 with his 10-6 record. Reinsma is a two-time All-America selection and was named All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference second team last season. This season, Reinsma has claimed the 133 pound title at the Jimmie Open, fourth at the Warren Williamson / Daktronics Open, and sixth at the Finn Grinaker / Cobber Open.

Jacob Begin, a senior at 174 pounds is ranked No. 7 with his 9-5 overall record in his first season wrestling at 174 pounds. Last season he qualified for the NCAA tournament and was named All-NSIC second team with a record of 17-5 at 165 pounds. He was ranked has high at No. 5 by the NCAA at 165 pounds last season.