ABERDEEN, S.D.  – The 17th-ranked Augustana College wrestling team opened Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference duals with a 43-3 victory over Northern State on Wednesday evening. The Vikings are 8-4 in duals, 1-0 in NSIC action and the Wolves are 0-3 overall, 0-2 in NSIC action.
 
Fourth-ranked Jeremiah Peterson started the dual on the right foot giving the Vikings an early 5-0 lead with a 17-2 technical fall over Northern State's Tyler Frost at the 141-pound bout. Peterson improved his season record to 7-1.

At 149-pounds Brandon Chesnut downed his opponent in a sudden victory win of 7-5 over Grant Steen to push the Vikings lead to 8-0 after the first two matches.

Northern State's Sean Havlovic put the Wolves on the board with a 7-0 decision at the 157-pound bout. Followed by the 165-pound division where Augustana's Parker Swanson regained momentum for the Vikings winning by a technical fall of 17-0 over Blake Perryman. Augustana went ahead 13-3.

In the 174-pound match, Mason Bender won by forfeit to give the Vikings a 19-3 upper hand in the dual. Jeff Nielson battled at the 184-pound bout against David Murphy. Nielson won the close bout with a 6-5 decision to gain a 22-3 lead.
 
Fifth-ranked Jayd Docken edged out in a close match, 3-2, in the 197-pound bout to push Augustana's lead to 25-3 with three matches left. At the heavyweight match, Freshman Lane Lettau pinned Northern State's Quace Wright in 2:15 to give the Vikings a 31-3 advantage. Augustana never looked back taking the final two bouts.

No. 1 TJ North (125 pounds) and Morgan Engbrecht (133 pounds) won by forfeits in their respective weight classes to give the Vikings a 43-3 victory to open NSIC competition.

Augustana returns to the mat Jan. 17 for the Ranger Duals hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in Kenosha, Wis.

Match Scores:
141: No. 4 Jeremiah Peterson won by a technical fall (17-2) over Tyler Frost; AC 5, NSU 0
149: Brandon Chesnut won by a sudden victory (7-5) Grant Steen ; AC 8, NSU 0
157: Sean Havlovic won by a decision (7-0) over Shawn Hatlestad ; AC 8, NSU 3
165: Parker Swanson won by technical fall (17-0) over Blake Perryman; AC 13, NSU 3
174: Mason Bender won by forfeit over OPEN; AC 19, NSU 3
184: Jeff Nielsen won by a decision (6-5) over David Murphy; AC 22, NSU 3
197: No. 5 Jayd Docken won by a decision (7-4) over Joe Gomez; AC 25, NSU 3
285: Lane Lettau won by pin (2:15) over Quace Wright; AC 31, NSU 3
125: No. 1 TJ North won by forfeit over OPEN; AC 37, NSU 3
133: Morgan Engbrecht won by forfeit over OPEN; AC 43, NSU 3