PELLA, Iowa – Augustana moved to 5-0 on the season with a pair of victories over Iowa Athletic Collegiate Conference schools on Thursday, December 5 in Pella, Iowa. The Vikings defeated Simpson 31-9 to start the evening and then finished with a 25-13 win over Central of Iowa. This was the first competition for head coach Eric Juergens' team since wrestling at the Concordia Open in Mequon, Wisconsin on Saturday, November 23.
 
Three Vikings were double winners on Thursday night. Juniors Kevin Sundberg (Paw Paw HS, Paw Paw, Mich.) at 157, Connor Cummings (Downers Grove North HS, Woodridge, Ill.) at 165, and Thomas Reyhons (Davenport Assumption HS, Davenport, Iowa) at 184 all finished the night without a loss.
 
Reyhons leads the team in victories this year with a 14-2 mark.  Four Vikings already have eleven victories on the season.  Sophomore Isaiah Schaub (St. Francis HS, Traverse City, Mich.) and junior John Schraidt (Riverside-Brookfield HS, Riverside, Ill.) are 11-4, senior Hunter Feraco (Gull Lake HS, Battle Creek, Mich.) sits at 11-5, and Sundberg is 11-2.
 
Augustana will now be off until wrestling in the North Central Invitational on Saturday, December 14 in Naperville, Illinois.
 
AUGUSTANA 31, SIMPSON 9
 
The Vikings fell behind early in this one when sophomore Kadmiel Smith (Wilton HS, Wilton, Iowa) was pinned at 2:56 of the 149 pound match. However, Sundberg got those points right back when he pinned Derek Entz at 2:20 of the 157 pound bout. Sundberg's fall opened up the floodgates as Augustana won the next four matches, two of them by pins, to effectively put the match away.
 
Cummings beat Shane Swank 13-3 at 165 pounds and junior Alex Bowers (Noblesville HS, Noblesville, Ind.) picked up a 2-0 win over Brett Roberts at 174. Reyhons pinned Taylor Witzel at 2:29 of the 184 pound class and Feraco pinned Jared Bevins in 1:00 at 197.
 
After Feraco's pin made it 29-6 in favor of the Vikings, Schraidt lost a 3-1 decision at 285 to Colby Vlieger. Freshman Sam Butler (Chatham-Glenwood HS, Chatham, Ill.) picked up a forfeit at 125 and freshman Sean McMahon (Victor J. Andrew HS, Tinley Park, Ill.) pinned Sam Reichenbacker in 2:56 at 133.  Sophomore Justin Smiley (Plainfield North HS, Plainfield, Ill.) closed out the match with a 7-5 win over Jeff Sand at 141.
 
149 – Ryan Joint (S) pinned Kadmiel Smith (A) @ 2:56
157 – Kevin Sundberg (A) pinned Derek Entz (S) @ 2:20
165 – Connor Cummings (A) beat Shane Swank (S) 13-3
174 – Alex Bowers (A) beat Brett Roberts (S) 2-0
184 – Thomas Reyhons (A) pinned Taylor Witzel (S) @ 2:29
197 – Hunter Feraco (A) pinned Jared Bevins (S) @ 1:00
285 – Colby Vlieger (S) beat John Schraidt (A) 3-1
125 – Sam Butler (A) won by forfeit
133 – Sean McMahon (A) pinned Sam Reichenbacker (S) @ 2:56
141 – Justin Smiley (A) beat Jeff Sand (S) 7-5
 
AUGUSTANA 25, CENTRAL OF IOWA 13
After losing the first match of the meet at 149 pounds when Hector Ruiz (East Aurora HS, Aurora, Ill.) fell to TJ Peretti by an 11-0 major decision, Augustana won the next four weight classes to take command in an eventual 25-13 victory.
 
Sundberg beat Ryan Vandall 6-0 at 157 and Cummings followed with a 13-4 major decision against Keegan Overbey at 165 to put the Vikings on top 7-4.  Senior Jordan Richardson (Grandville HS, Wyoming, Mich.) also scored a major decision at 174, by a score of 13-1 against Sam Apland and Reyhons pinned Benny Melisi in 2:15 at 184 to make it 17-4 in favor of the visitors.
 
Feraco fell 6-0 to Tyler Lowy at 197 but Schraidt won 4-0 against Jaime Miranda at 285 to make the score 20-7. Butler lost 5-0 to Daniel Page, the fifth ranked wrestler in NCAA Division III, at 125 and freshman CJ Sojka (Glenbard West HS, Glen Ellyn, Ill.) dropped a 6-2 match to Aaron Anderson at 133. That closed the gap to 20-13 but Schaub accounted for the final score by recording a technical fall (21-5) at 6:26 in the 141 pound match.
 
149 – TJ Peretti (C) beat Hector Ruiz (A) 11-0
157 – Kevin Sunberg (A) beat Ryan Vandall (C) 6-0
165 – Connor Cummings (A) beat Keegan Overbey (C) 13-4
174 – Jordan Richardson (A) beat Sam Apland (C) 13-1
184 – Thomas Reyhons (A) pinned Benny Melisi (C) @ 2:15
197 – Tyler Lowy (C) beat Hunter Feraco (A) 6-0
285 – John Schraidt (A) beat Jaime Miranda (C) 4-0
125 - #5 Daniel Page (C) beat Sam Butler (A) 5-0
133 – Aaron Anderson (C) beat CJ Sojka (A) 6-2
141 – Isaiah Schaub (A) beat Bryan Connolly (C) 21-5 – tech fall @ 6:26