Augustana University Athletics

Augustana College earned the No. 2 ranking in the NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches’ Association Preseason Top 25 poll released Thursday.

The Vikings return all 10 starters, including four All-Americans and one national champion, from last year’s team that finished sixth at the 2004 Division II National Championships in Mankato, Minn.

Senior Tom Meester headlines a group of six Vikings who are ranked in the top 8 of their respective weight classes. Meester, who won the 184-pound national title last season, enters the 2004-05 season ranked No. 1. Junior Ryan King and junior Dusty Wilking are ranked No. 2 at 149 and 174 pounds. King was third in the nation last year, while Wilking was sixth.

The remaining Vikings who are nationally-ranked are senior Aaron Graumann, ranked No. 5 at 125 pounds, sophomore Cody Henriksen, ranked No. 8 at 167 pounds and junior Tim Boldt, ranked No. 8 at 197 pounds. Graumann is a two-time All-American who was eighth at last year’s national championships. Boldt, meanwhile, was a 2003 All-American at South Dakota State. He was ranked No. 3 in the nation heading into the 2004 championships, but he was unable to wrestle due to health reasons.

Fellow North Central Conference member and defending national champion Nebraska-Omaha is the preseason pick to defend its national title. The Mavericks return six All-Americans and have four No. 1 ranked wrestlers.

Augustana opens its season with an alumni dual on October 30. The first official meet of the season is the Daktronics Open on November 6 in Brookings, S.D.

Division II Wrestling Coaches’ Association
Preseason Top 25 Poll


School (State)
1. Nebraska-Omaha
2. Augustana (S.D.)
3. Nebraska-Kearney
4. Shippensburg (Pa.)
T5. Fort Hays State (Kan.)
T5. Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)
7. Truman State (Mo.)
8. Central Oklahoma
9. Minnesota State-Mankato
10. San Francisco State (Calif.)
T11. Mercyhurst (Pa.)
T11. Ashland (Ohio)
13. Findlay (Ohio)
T14. West Liberty State (W.Va.)
T14. North Carolina-Pembroke
T16. Adams State (Colo.)
T16. Western State (Colo.)
18. Wisconsin-Parkside
T19. Colorado School of Mines
T19. Minnesota State-Moorhead
T19. Northern State (S.D.)

Division II Wrestling Coaches’ Association
Preseason Individual Rankings
(Ranked Augustana Wrestlers)

125 Pounds
1. Dustin Tovar, Nebraska-Omaha
5. Aaron Graumann, Augustana (S.D.)

149 Pounds
1. Patrick Allibone, Nebraska-Omaha
2. Ryan King, Augustana (S.D.)

165 Pounds
1. J.D. Naig, Nebraska-Omaha
8. Cody Henriksen, Augustana (S.D.)

174 Pounds
1. Aaron Meister, Fort Hays State (Kan.)
2. Dusty Wilking, Augustana (S.D.)

184 Pounds
1. Tom Meester, Augustana (S.D.)

197 Pounds
1. Jeff Sylvester, Nebraska-Kearney
8. Tim Boldt, Augustana (S.D.)