Vikings go 6-4 in dual meets; finish third at CCIW Championships; compete at NWCA Championships; Ellex Williams conference runner up at 125
 
Augustana posted a 6-4 dual-meet record, placed third at the CCIW Championships for the second year in a row and sent 10 wrestlers to the NWCA Championships in a COVID-disrupted 2020-21 season. With the NCAA postseason cancelled, the National Wrestling Coaches Association organized its own national tournament, held at Coralville, Iowa in March.
 
The Vikings opened the season on January 24 with a three duals in Decatur, Illinois. They fell to North Central and Millikin—the eventual conference runner-up and champion, respectively—before bouncing back with a 29-18 win over Elmhurst. Sophomore 285-pounder Daniel Skold (St. Francis HS, Plainfield, Ill.) logged a pair of wins by fall on the day.
 
A tech fall by senior Frankie Faasen (Manasquan HS, Lake Como, N.J.) at 197 Skold's major decision at 285 pounds lifted Augustana to a 22-21 victory over Concordia (Wis.) at the North Central Duals on January 30. Coach Tony Willaert's Vikings downed Lakeland 54-0 later in the day to move to 3-2 on the season.
 
Milwaukee School of Engineering (30-18), Wheaton (34-18) and Carthage (52-3) fell victim to Willaert's bunch in Kenosha, Wisconsin on February 5, as Augustana finished the season with a 6-2 head-to-head record against the other CCIW programs.
 
Junior Ellex Williams (Moline HS, Moline, Ill.) turned in the Vikings' top performance at the CCIW Championships at Carver Center on February 13. Williams placed second at 125 pounds, while Skold, senior Daniel Terronez (Moline HS, Moline, Ill.) and sophomore Trevor Boryla (Sycamore HS, Sycamore, Ill.) logged respective third-place efforts at 285, 157 and 133. Augustana finished solidly in third place for the second consecutive year.
 
The Vikings warmed up for the NWCA Championships with February 26 duals against American Rivers Conference opponents Cornell and Luther. The Rams scored a 30-18 win and the Norse defeated Augustana 36-8.
 
The season wrapped up on March 13 at the NWCA Championships in Coralville, Iowa. No Vikings placed, but four reached the championship round of 16 before being knocked to the consolation bracket. Seniors Josh Bush (Moline HS, Moline, Ill.) (184 pounds), Faasen (174) and Neil O'Shaughnessy (Niles West HS, Niles, Ill.) (165) were all winners in their opening bouts, while Terronez (149) advanced to the round of 16 with a first-round bye.
 
Boryla finished 12-6 in the abbreviated season to lead the team in wins. Skold posted an 11-5 mark, with Williams (10-5) and Faasen (10-7) reaching double-figure wins as well.
 
 
2021 COLLEGE CONFERENCE OF ILLINOIS & WISCONSIN CHAMPIONSHIPS
February 13, 2021 *** Carver Center *** Rock Island, Illinois
 
TEAM SCORES: 1. Millikin 153.5; 2. North Central 146.5; 3. AUGUSTANA 105; 4. Wheaton 87; 5. Elmhurst 67; 6. MSOE 59; 7. Concordia (Wis.) 57.5; 8. Carthage 15; 9. Lakeland 0
 
INDIVIDUAL PLACE WINNERS

WT	CHAMPION	SECOND	THIRD	FOURTH
125	Bradley Rosen, NCC	Ellex Williams, AUG	Trey Pearcy, Mil	Gabe Rodriguez, CUW
133	Robbie Precin, NCC	D.J. Millett, Mil	Trevor Boryla, AUG	Austin Vincent, CUW
141	Jimmy McAuliffe, Elm	Jordan Carson, Mil	Ethan Harsted, Whe	Nic Minnito, AUG
149	Peter McCusker, Mil	Lucas Regnier, CUW	Daniel Terronez, AUG	Jacob Reece, Elm
157	Tristan Birt, Mill	Cole Cervantez, NCC	Jack O'Donnel, CUW	Caleb Brick, MSOE
165	Bradan Birt, Mil	Rafael Roman, NCC	Caele Manley, Whe	Neil O'Shaughnessy, AUG
174	Drew Matticks, MSOE	Shaylan Loomis, Mil	Jordan Chisum, NCC	Frankie Faasen, AUG
184	Brock Montford, NCC	Helton Vandenbush, MSOE	Natan Jara, Whe	Josh Bush, AUG
197	Logan Hagerbaumer, Mil	Cody Baldridge, NCC	Ben Lokos, Whe	Scott Anderson, Elm
285	Ben Bergen, NCC	Brayan Reyes, Mil	Daniel Skold, AUG	Isiah Causey, Whe

 
 
2020-21 AUGUSTANA WRESTLING SUPERLATIVES
NCAA DIVISION III LOWER MIDWEST REGIONAL – Cancelled
NCAA DIVISION III CHAMPIONSHIPS – Cancelled
NWCA SCHOLAR ALL-AMERICA – Trevor Boryla, Daniel Skold, Daniel Terronez
CCIW ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE – Trevor Boryla, Neil O'Shaughnessy, Daniel Skold, Matt Straus 
CCIW TEAM FINISH – 3rd with 105 points
TEAM DUAL MEET RECORD – 6-4 (.600)

TEAM AWARDS
Most Valuable: Daniel Terronez, Josh Bush
Freshman of the Year: Nic Minnito
Most Improved: Trevor Boryla
Most Dedicated: Daniel Terronez
Coach's Award: Neil O'Shaughnessy, Frankie Faasen, Ellex Williams