The Augustana wrestling team currently stands in 6th place out of 22 teams after the opening day of the Midwest Classic Saturday in Indianapolis, Indiana. 6 of 9 Viking entries remain in the tournament, as each class contains 8 remaining wrestlers who will dual on Sunday to earn their teams points based on finish and types of decisions throughout the tournament.
Ty Copsey finished the day 2-0 in the 197 bracket to stay alive in the championship bracket. Copsey scored decisions over James Breidel of Mesa State (6-2) and Bobby Jablonski of Missouri Baptist (4-0) and will face Keeno Griffin of Newberry College in the semifinals.
At 174, Brian Schultz also finished 2-0 to remain in the championship bracket. Schultz won a close decision (10-7) over Chris Daniels of Gannon and finished the day strong with a major decision (13-5) over Mike Wade of King College. Schultz will face Josh Whitelock of Newberry on Sunday.
At 133, Adam Schlee opened with a major decision loss (10-2) to Grant Baker of Central Missouri, but wrestled his way into Sunday's wrestleback semifinals with a major decision win (13-0) over Allen Schweikart of Mt. St. Joseph and a decision (8-2) over Tom D'Alessandro of Heidelberg College. Schlee will face Mike Peraino of Findlay in the semifinals.
In the 141 bracket, Jay Sherer scored a major decision (11-3) over Joe Spooner of Ohio Northern before being dropped to the wrestleback with a decision loss (5-1) to Doug Surra of West Liberty. Sherer won a major decision (11-3) over Scott Meyer of Ashland and will face AJ Milanak of Gannon on Sunday.
At 149, Chism Fink lost a major decision (10-1) to Craig Becker of Wisconsin-Parkside, but wrestled his way back to Sunday's action by pinning Ethan Gunter of King College in 4:17 and winning a close decision (3-2) over Mick Letcher of Ohio Northern. Fink will face Tommie Grazi of Ashland in Sunday's wrestleback.
Mitch Lunning won his opening match at 184, winning a decision (5-3) over Mitch Knapp of West Liberty. Lucas Haag of Wisconsin-Parkside scored a major decision over Lunning, 10-0, to drop him to the wrestleback bracket. Lunning pinned Aaron Winemiller of Limestone in 2:20 and will face Matt Alexander of Ohio Northern on Sunday.
The Classic will conclude on Sunday. Follow the action through updated brackets by clicking here.
The Vikings will next compete next Saturday when they take on Central Missouri in a dual in Warrensburg, Mo. The dual is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m.
Viking wrestlers in Sunday's championship and wrestleback field
133 – Adam Schlee (2-1) – wrestleback
141 – Jay Sherer (2-1) – wrestleback
149 – Chism Fink (2-1) – wrestleback
174 – Brian Schultz (2-0) – championship semifinal
184 – Mitch Lunning (2-1) – wrestleback
197 – Ty Copsey (2-0) – championship semifinal
Viking wrestlers who have been eliminated (two losses)
125 – Cody Lensing (1-2)
157 – Carl Serck (2-2)
165 – Marcus Edgington (0-2)
Current team standings
Plc Score School
After Day 1
1 - 91.5 - Newberry College
2 - 71.0 - Univ Wisconsin Parkside
3 - 63.5 - Ashland University
4 - 56.0 - West Liberty State
5 - 54.0 - Adams State College
6 - 47.0 - Augustana College SD
Also on Saturday, a handful of Vikings competed at the Dana Open in Blair, Neb. Here is a look at how they fared:
149 pounds
Austin Carmichael, 3-2 (6th place)
Michael Edgington, 1-2
174 pounds
Matt Morris, 1-2
