Vikings to be tested in loaded Ranger Duals field

Augustana (6-3) embarks on one of their toughest weekends of the season, heading to the Ranger Duals in Kenosha, Wis. on Saturday, Jan. 18. The Vikings will face a pair of top-20 opponents and a team that opened the season in the top-20 poll.

To open the Wisconsin-Parkside-hosted tournament, Augustana faces No. 13 McKendree (5-1) at 9 a.m. The Vikings’ competition remains stiff as they face eighth-ranked Indianapolis (4-5) at 10:30. In the final dual, the Vikings square off with Findlay (1-5) at noon.

Augustana suffered their first Division-II and NSIC loss when they fell to Southwest Minnesota State, 15-14, Tuesday.

The Vikings received votes in the last NCAA Division II Coaches poll but remained outside of the top 20 Augustana is led by three Vikings ranked in the top eight of their respective weight classes, while six total Vikings earned rankings in the top eight of the Super Region 3 rankings TJ North and Jayd Docken will face ranked opponents in each of their first two bouts.

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Next up

Augustana heads back on the road for a pair of duals in Minnesota. The Vikings take on Augsburg, ranked second in Division III, on Friday, Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. in Minneapolis, Minn. Augustana then heads to Mankato, Minn. for an NSIC dual with Minnesota State on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. The Vikings will close out their home schedule the following week with Northern State on

Scouting the competition

– #15 McKendree –
McKendree enters the weekend ranked 13th in the latest NCAA Division II poll. The Bearcats have a 5-1 record this year, and finished second at the Midwest Classic, hosted by Indianapolis. Three McKendree wrestlers are nationally ranked in their weight classes. Julian Smith is No. 5 at 197 pounds and owns a 20-6 record this year. At 157 pounds, Josh Ballard is ranked seventh for the Bearcats with a 25-7 record. Debuting in the national rankings for the Bearcatas is 149-pounder Kyle Williams, checking in at eighth. This will be the first meeting between the two programs according to Augustana records.

– #10 Indianapolis –
Indianapolis will be the highest-ranked opponent of the season thus far, ranking eighth entering this weekend. The Greyhounds are 4-5, most recently going 1-2 at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals. Leading UIndy are two wrestlers ranked in the top four of their respective weight classes, including the top 125-pounder Alex Johns moved up to the top spot at 125 pounds and owns a 19-1 record, 14-0 against Division II opponents. Cameryn Brady owns the No. 4 ranking at 149 pounds and leads the Greyhounds with a 21-1 record. This will be the first meeting between the two programs according to Augustana records.

– Findlay –
Findlay enters the 2014 Ranger Duals with a 1-5 record. The Oilers opened the season ranked No. 16 in the preseason national poll, but dropped out recently. Findlay is led by one of the top 174-pound wrestlers in Adam Walters. Ranked second in his weight class, Walters is 15-1 this season with an 8-0 record record against Division II opponents.

Series: Augustana is 4-0 all-time against the Oilers, most recently defeating Findlay 27-12 on Jan. 7, 2012. All four duals have been neutral meetings with the Vikings winning each handily. Augustana’s average margin of victory over the Oilers has been 16.8 points per dual. The Vikings first defeated Findlay on Jan. 20, 2002 before defeating the Oilers in consecutive years in 2006 and 2007.

National news – Docken climbs one spot, Derry and North hold strong
Jayd Docken’s undefeated start to the season has moved him to No. 4 in the NCAA individual rankings A 2013 All-American, Docken is 6-0 this season, wrestling at 197 pounds. TJ North made his debut in the NCAA individual rankings at No. 5 in the 125 pound weight class two weeks ago. North jumped to No. 1 in the NCAA Super Region 3 and NSIC rankings in the latest release. With a 16-3 mark, North owns the best winning percentage this season for anyone wrestling all year. Sean Derry held onto his No. 8 ranking and has posted a 16-5 record this season. Derry and Docken both remained ranked No. 2 in the NCAA Super Region 3 and NSIC rankings.

As a team, Augustana received votes for the second consecutive national release. The Vikings are one of nine teams receiving votes outside of the top 20. Two NSIC teams appear in the top 10 with St. Cloud State holding down their No. 5 position and Upper Iowa climbing up three spots to No. 10. Five teams from the NCAA Super Region 3 are ranked in the top 20 with two more receiving votes.

In a separate release, Augustana earned the No. 14 ranking in the Basford rankings. Augustana collected 20 points and also had three wrestlers ranked. North held the No. 6 spot at 125 pounds, Derry came in eighth at 184 pounds, and Docken led the Vikings with the No. 5 billing in the 197-pound class.

Vikings split two NSIC duals after month-long hiatus
Augustana returned from a month-long break and split its first pair of duals since the break. The Vikings rode three pins to a 36-6 dismantling of Minot State. Tim Weber, Sean Derry, and Shawn Hatlestad all pinned their opponents. Hatlestad faced a deficit before turning the tides and pinning his opponent in the 149-pound bout.

In Tuesday night’s dual, the Vikings split five bouts with Southwest Minnesota State, but an unsportsmanlike penalty cost the Vikings a point and handed the Mustangs a win. All 10 bouts were decision wins as Derry was the closest to a major decision win, defeating his opponent 10-3 and falling 10 seconds shy of an additional riding time point. Mitch Rechtizigel, Morgan Engbrecht, and Drake Fanslau each fell by one point in their respective bouts, with Engbrecht ad Fanslau going toe-to-toe with the eighth- and seventh-ranked wrestlers in the 133- and 174-pound weight classes, respectively.

The coach
Jason Reitmeier is in his 11th season as the head coach of the Augustana wrestling program. Reitmeier owns a career record of 111-55 in dual meets (36-21 in conference duals) which ranks second at Augustana Reitimeier’s winning percentage of .663 is the second-highest in Augustana history and his conference winning percentage of .632 is the best by over 200 points. Reitmeier has coached two conference championship teams, two region championship teams and led seven teams to top-10 finishes at the NCAA Tournament while coaching 43 All-Americans at Augustana