In 20 of his 21 seasons as head coach, Augustana alum, Jason Reitmeier has had at least one wrestler earn All-America honors (56 overall) and has tutored four individual national champions.
Reitmeier became the winningest coach in Augustana history, surpassing Paul Kendle (154-56-1) when he picked up his 155th career dual victory at the South Dakota Showcase against Northern State on Dec. 4, 2016. He now has 225 dual victories after reaching his 200th against Minot State on Feb. 5, 2022.
Augustana has never finished lower than fourth in the final conference standings since he took over the program in 2003-04. Under Reitmeier, the Vikings have 16 top-five region showings along with a third-place and two runner-up finishes at nationals.
The 2023-24 season saw the Vikings go 13-6 overall and 7-2 in the NSIC, leading to a third place finish. The Vikings recorded eight victories over ranked opponents and earned a second place finish at the NWCA National Duals. They placed third at the Super Region V Tournament and had six wrestlers qualify for the NCAA National Championships. Four of those six earned All-American honors while Jaxson Rohman finished second at 125 pounds for the second consecutive season. AU finished eighth at the National Championships, its best finish since the 2010-11 season.
During the 2022-23 season, the Vikings held a 10-10 overall record and an NSIC record of 5-4. Augustana placed second at the NCAA Super Region V tournament with 106.0 points. Four Vikings qualified for the NCAA National Championships in 2022-23. Augustana saw Jaxson Rohman finish second at the national tournament, the highest finish since the 2018-19 season. Rohman also earned NCAA All-American honors.
Reitmeier saw two student-athletes earn NSIC Wrestler of the Week honors in 2022-23. In the classroom, nine wrestlers garnered NSIC All-Academic honors. The Vikings also saw seven earn NWCA Scholar honors while the team earned DII All-Academic honors. Rohman was also named to the CSC Academic All-District team.
In 2021-22, the Vikings finished second in the NSIC, holding an overall record of 8-4 and a conference record of 8-1 during the regular season. Augustana placed second with 129.5 points at the NCAA Super Region V tournament, with six region runners-up and two regional champions. Under Reitmeier's guidance, eight Vikings qualified for the NCAA DII National Championships. At the national tournament, Jack Huffman (133 pounds) brought home NCAA All-America honors with an eighth-place finish.
Five student-athletes earned All-NSIC honors in 2021-22, three student-athletes were named the NSIC Wrestler of the Week and Reitmeier was named the 2021-22 NSIC Coach of the Year. In the classroom, nine Vikings were named to the All-Academic NSIC team, seven Vikings earned NWCA All-Academic honors and the team finished 19th in DII for academics. Daniel Bishop earned CoSIDA At-Large All-District Academic honors and became the eighth Viking wrestler to earn CoSIDA At-Large All-America honors. Bishop was named an NSIC Elite 18 award winner and an NSIC Myles Brand All-Academic award winner in 2021-22.
Reitmeier saw his 2020-21 squad go 3-3 in duals during the regular season, finishing in a tie for fourth in the NSIC standings, finish in 4th at the NCAA Super Region 5 Tournament and finish in 21st at nationals. At the regional tournament, Steven Hajas qualified for nationals at 285 pounds while Brandon Carroll qualified at 133 pounds. At the NCAA DII National Tournament, Hajas brought home NCAA All-America honors with a third-place finish and 4-1 record at the tournament.
Other accolades throughout the season included Daniel Bishop breaking the school's tech fall record, Hunter Burnett earning NSIC Wrestler of the Week honors after defeating the No. 1 wrestler in the country, a win over No. 22-ranked Wisonsin-Parkside, four wrestlers earning Second-Team All-NSIC honors, eight wrestlers earning Acadmeic All-NSIC honors, Daniel Bishop earning NSCA All-America honors, eight wrestlers earning NWCA Scholar All-America honors and the team having the fourth-best GPA in the country.
The 2019-20 season showcased continued excellence for Reitmeier’s program. Tabbed fourth in the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll, the Vikings went on to finish second in the standings with a 6-2 NSIC dual record. Overall, Augustana went 10-4 in duals including a nine-dual win streak from Dec. 20 to Feb. 7 and wins over five nationally-ranked opponents, No. 2 Nebraska-Kearney, No. 23 Western Colorado, No. 17 Northern State, No. 10 Upper Iowa and No. 17 Minnesota State.
Individually, the Vikings claimed nine champions throughout the season in their five open tournaments. At the NCAA Super Region 5 Tournament, three Vikings qualified for nationals, Hunter Burnett at 141 pounds, Ben Kelvington at 174 pounds and Steven Hajas at 285 pounds. As a team, Augustana took third-place at the region tournament with 96.5 team points. Kelvington and Burnett were named All-Americans despite the NCAA Championships being cancelled due to COVID-19.
Other accolades garnered throughout the season included Burnett and Bailey Neises being named NSIC Wrestlers of the Week, Burnett and Kelvington being named second-team All-NSIC, Neises and Kelvington earning Myles Brand All-Academic Awards and four wrestlers making the NSIC Winter All-Academic Team. Kelvington also took home the NSIC’s Elite 18 Award and the NCAA’s Elite 90 Award for having the highest GPA at the regional and national tournament.
As a team, Augustana earned NWCA Division II Scholar All-America honors with the fifth-best GPA in the country. Six athletes were also recognized individually as part of the NWCA Division II Scholar All-American Team. Regan Bye also earned NSCA All-America honors.
In the 2018-19 season, Reitmeier led the Vikings to a fourth-place tie in the NSIC with a conference record of 4-4 and an overall record of 5-4. Augustana would then go on to place fifth at the NCAA Regionals with 61 points and would qualify two athletes for the NCAA Championships.
Reitmeier guided Colin Ayers to a second-place finish in the 157 pound weight class and Clayton Wahlstrom to a fourth-place finish in the 179 pound weight class at the NCAA Championships. The two athletes were named All-Americans as well.
In the 2017-18 season, Reitmeier led Augustana to a tie for second in the NSIC with a conference record of 6-2 and an overall record of 11-4. Reitmeier's Vikings also finished sixth in the region and had two national qualifiers.
Aero Amo made his third-straight trip to nationals and Lukas Poloncic became a first-time qualifier. Amo became the 19th two-time All-American in Augustana history with a seventh place finish and the 33rd Viking with multiple All-American honors.
During the 2016-17 season, Reitmeier led the Vikings to a successful team campaign going 12-7 in duals and earning an NSIC dual record of 6-2, good for third in the conference.
Reitmeier qualified five wrestlers for nationals: Brandon Carroll, Tyler Nation, Ben Goodwin, Aero Amo and Michael Lowman. He had four regional finalists, including two regional champs and a third-place finisher. His team finished fourth at the regional tournament.
At the NCAA Championships, Michael Lowman (4th) and Aero Amo (5th) became the first pair of All-Americans under Reitmeier since 2014-15. The team's 11th place finish was the highest finish for a Reitmeier coached team since the 2011-12 season.
In the 2015-16 season, Reitmeier led his team to its second-consecutive 18-win season. The Vikings finished fourth in the NSIC and ninth in the NCAA Super Region 3 Tournament. Aero Amo advanced to the national championship after winning the 184 pound weight class. At the national championships Amo went 1-2, winning his first match of the tournament.
In the 2014-15 season, Reitmeier led the Vikings to an 18-5 record and a second-place NSIC finish. The Vikings placed ninth at the NCAA Super Region 3 Tournament and qualified TJ North, Jayd Docken and Michael Lowman for nationals. North took home second-place and Docken finished in sixth-place for All-America honors.
Augustana went 12-6 in 2013-14 and sent Jayd Docken and TJ North to nationals. The Vikings went 5-3 in the NSIC and finished fourth in the standings. North earned All-America honors and became the 43rd to do so under Reitmeier.
Augustana’s 2012-13 team went 10-6 in dual action, including a fourth-place 5-3 NSIC mark.
Sophomore Jayd Docken earned All-America status with a sixth-place finish at nationals after the Vikings took seventh place at the NCAA Super Region 3 Tournament.
Augustana placed third at the 2012 Super Regional Three competition and went on to claim a share of 10th place at nationals. Three Vikings competed with All-America distinction – Cody Lensing (125), Jason Jeremiason (133), and Chism Fink (141).
Lensing capped an outstanding season in 2012 by winning the Elite 89 Award sponsored by the NCAA. The Elite 89 salutes a student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point-average participating in the finals site for each of the NCAA’s 89 championships.
In 2010-11, Reitmeier’s Vikings were runners-up at Super Regionals, qualified seven wrestlers for nationals, finished third in the team standings, and were fourth in the final Division II rankings. Reitmeier’s team won the NSIC championship for the first time in 2010-11 with a perfect 7-0 dual record. Augustana came within two points of winning the league in 2009-10.
The 2004-05 season saw the Vikings win a school-record 14 dual matches and earn runner-up honors at the prestigious Cliff Keen National Duals. During the campaign the Vikings were ranked No. 1 for the first time in program history. Augustana took first at the combined NCC/North Regional Tournament, securing the program’s first league championship since 1981.
Reitmeier took 10 of his wrestlers to the 2004-05 nationals, where seven were awarded All-America honors. Three Vikings advanced to the championship round with Aaron Graumann and Tom Meester winning titles in their respective weight classes. The final team standings had Augustana in second place with 101 points, matching the best national finish in school history. Reitmeier was named Coach of the Year by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.
Reitmeier wrestled for two seasons for Augustana. His 36-4 record in 1995-96 included the NCC 134-pound championship and third place at nationals. He went 30-3 in 1996-97 and secured a berth at nationals as a wildcard. Seeded seventh at 142 pounds, he became the first Viking wrestler in 12 years to claim a national championship.
In 2008, Reitmeier became a member of the Augustana Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2020, he is slated to join the NWCA Hall of Fame.
He graduated from Augustana in 1997 and served six seasons as a Viking assistant coach before receiving the appointment as head coach.
Reitmeier and his wife, Stacy, are the parents of two children – Wyatt and Josie. Stacy also graduated from Augustana in 1997.
| Jason Reitmeier Year-by-Year |
|
|
Overall |
Conference |
|
Region |
Nation |
| Year |
School |
W |
L |
W |
L |
Finish |
|
|
| 2003-04 |
Augustana |
7 |
6 |
2 |
3 |
4th |
3rd |
6th |
| 2004-05 |
Augustana |
14 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
1st |
1st |
2nd |
| 2005-06 |
Augustana |
12 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
3rd |
2nd |
7th |
| 2006-07 |
Augustana |
9 |
6 |
1 |
2 |
3rd |
4th |
9th |
| 2007-08 |
Augustana |
7 |
7 |
0 |
3 |
4th |
5th |
t-17th |
| 2008-09 |
Augustana |
8 |
9 |
4 |
3 |
4th |
4th |
21st |
| 2009-10 |
Augustana |
11 |
6 |
6 |
1 |
2nd |
1st |
2nd |
| 2010-11 |
Augustana |
14 |
2 |
7 |
0 |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
| 2011-12 |
Augustana |
13 |
3 |
5 |
2 |
3rd |
3rd |
t-10th |
| 2012-13 |
Augustana |
10 |
6 |
5 |
3 |
4th |
7th |
31st |
| 2013-14 |
Augustana |
12 |
6 |
5 |
3 |
4th |
9th |
24th |
| 2014-15 |
Augustana |
18 |
5 |
7 |
1 |
2nd |
8th |
t-14th |
| 2015-16 |
Augustana |
18 |
6 |
5 |
3 |
4th |
7th |
38th |
| 2016-17 |
Augustana |
12 |
7 |
6 |
2 |
3rd |
4th |
11th |
| 2017-18 |
Augustana |
11 |
4 |
6 |
2 |
t-2nd |
6th |
t-33rd |
| 2018-19 |
Augustana |
5 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
t-4th |
5th |
13th |
| 2019-20 |
Augustana |
10 |
4 |
6 |
2 |
2nd |
3rd |
----- |
| 2020-21 |
Augustana |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
t-4th |
4th |
21st |
| 2021-22 |
Augustana |
8 |
4 |
8 |
1 |
2nd |
2nd |
30th |
| 2022-23 |
Augustana |
10 |
10 |
5 |
4 |
6th |
2nd |
24th |
| 2023-24 |
Augustana |
13 |
6 |
7 |
2 |
3rd |
3rd |
8th |
|
|
225 |
111 |
98 |
47 |
|
|
|
