 "Photo: Michel Bafondoko/The Mirror")
The Augustana College and University of Sioux Falls (USF) Rivalry: Wrestling Edition took place at USF's Stewart Center on Dec. 2—minus the eggs, fireworks and other instruments of destruction brought about by the last rivalry showdown.
One thing Augustana and USF did have in common, though, was Augustana's dominance within the athletic realm. The Augustana wrestlers won 42-6, winning every match contested, and gave up six points due to an open weight class forfeit in the 133-pound division.
Sophomore Marcus Edgington, who won his match over USF's Koln Fink by fall in two minutes and 24 seconds, carried a mindset of a refusal to lose.
"We went in not expecting to lose, and I think it showed that we were right on track with where we wanted to be at this part of the season," Edgington said.
One thing that did show was that Augustana was a much more experienced and dominant squad, with the closest match being a 9-4 decision won by Augustana's Lance Peters in the 285-pound weight class.
Al Meger of the 125-pound class won 10-3, and three straight pins followed a forfeit for Augustana at 133 pounds. Jay Sherer, Nate Herda and Edgington each pinned their opponents within the first period.
"The coaches set pretty high expectations of us this year, and so far we are on track to achieve those," Edgington said. "We want to be a top five team by the end of the year."
The Vikings are currently ranked No. 7 in Division II wrestling.
165-pounder sophomore Kyle Svendsen defeated USF's Tyler Reibsamen by a major decision, 14-5, and Carl Serck (174 pounds) won by fall in four minutes and 14 seconds over USF's Travis Godbersen.
"I thought my match went pretty well," Serck said. "I felt like everything went as planned, and I wrestled a solid match."
Luke Heine and Ty Copsey each won by major decision, 9-1 and 16-6, respectively. The final match of the evening was Peters.
"It was fun to get out there and get another win," Heine said. "We are right on track to establish ourselves as a top team in the country."
The Vikings finished the night with four pins, three major decisions, two decisions and gave up one forfeit.
"We have a lot of respect for USF, but we also knew this was a chance for us to go out, push the pace and work on getting better," Serck said.
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