No. 15 UNC Wrestlers Throttle No. 20 Augustana
The 15th-ranked UNC wrestling squad notched its first North Central Conference victory of the season Thursday when it defeated no. 20 Augustana 34-15 at Butler-Hancock Hall. The Bears improved their overall record to 3-4-1 and their NCC record to 1-3-1. The Vikings dropped to 6-6 overall and 0-3 in the NCC.
UNC exploded out of the gates building a 25-0 lead by the intermission. The dual began at 157 pounds and Augustana was open giving Brody Olson a forfeit win for the Bears. Junior Brian Hufford followed that up with a 4-3 decision at 165 pounds to improve to 14-10. At 174 pounds, freshman Shad Stagl pinned Augie's Jeremy Murphy in 6:24 to build the UNC lead to 15-0. Augustana was open at 184 pounds as Ryan Guillaume picked up the forfeit win. At 197 pounds, junior Tom Clemen showed why he's ranked no. 5 in the nation as he handled Ben McKenzie in a major decision (17-3).
The Vikings got on the board at heavyweight when sixth-ranked James Garvey pinned Tony Schunke in the first period. Senior Jason Romero then turned the momentum back in the Bears' favor with a pin of Charlie Swanson (4:48) to build the UNC lead to 31-6. Simon Hoepfner was the only UNC wrestler to win in the final three matches as he posted a 6-5 decision over Ryan Carlson at 141 pounds. Third-ranked Marshall Hahn lost a tough 3-1 double-overtime decision to no. 8 Seth Webster in the dual's final match.
Northern Colorado returns to action Saturday when it hosts top-ranked Nebraska-Omaha. Match time is slated for 3:00 p.m.
