MOORHEAD, Minn. – The Augustana wrestling team will be sending five wrestlers to the National Championships in Birmingham, Ala. in two weeks after their impressive showing at the Super 3 Region Championships in Moorhead, Minn. on Friday and Saturday.
The Vikings were led by Aero Amo (184) and Ben Goodwin (197) who each won their weight classes on Saturday. Also qualifying for the Vikings were Brandon Carroll (125), Tyler Nation (157) and Michael Lowman (285).
In the team race, Augustana finished in fourth with 92.5 points. St. Cloud State was the team champ with 147 points. McKendree, Maryville, Augustana and Minnesota State rounded out the top-five.
Session Three
Four Vikings punched their tickets to Nationals by coming away victorious in their semifinal matches. Brandon Carroll (125), Aero Amo (184), Ben Goodwin (197) and Michael Lowman (285) each earned hard-fought, close wins to qualify for Nationals.
Carroll, the lone true freshman in Augustana’s lineup, got the Vikings rolling with a 12-11 victory over Carlos Jacquez of Lindenwood in the semifinals. Carroll avenged an earlier season loss to Jacquez and becomes the first Augustana true freshman to advance to National since 2003.
Amo earned his second straight trip to Nationals by defeating Zeb Wahle of Maryville by a 3-2 decision in the semifinals.
Goodwin had yet another exciting match that came down to the wire. In the semifinals, Goodwin used a last second takedown to upset No. 3 seeded Vince Dietz of St. Cloud State to advance to the finals and clinch his spot at Nationals. It will be Goodwin’s first trip to Nationals.
Lowman went to overtime to secure his spot in the finals. Lowman defeated Coltyn Pease of McKendree with a takedown in sudden victory to win the semifinals match and to earn his second career trip to Nationals.
Tyler Nation (157) won both of his consolation matches in the session to advance to the third-place match. Nation defeated Isaac Novacek of MSU Moorhead in the consolation third round and beat Zak Benitz of Upper Iowa in the consolation semifinals.
Session Four
The Vikings sent six to the medal round, including four finalists and placing five in the top-three.
Aero Amo repeated as regional champ at 184 pounds by defeating Corey Abernathy of Minnesota State. Amo won by a 9-5 decision and avenged an earlier season loss to Abernathy.
Ben Goodwin capped off his astounding regional tournament by defeating No. 1 seeded Ethan Sherertz of Maryville by a 5-4 decision on a late reversal and winnings the 197 pound bracket as a No. 7 seed. Goodwin defeated the top three seeds en route to his title.
Brandon Carroll (125) and Michael Lowman (285) had already locked up their positions at Nationals and went on to take runner-up finishes in their respective weight classes.
Tyler Nation gave the Vikings their fifth qualifier after taking third place at 157 pounds. Nation came back to defeat Dylan Herman of Minnesota State by an 11-2 major decision. Nation had lost to Herman in the quarterfinals but went on to win his final four matches to earn the third place finish.
Lukas Poloncic finished in sixth at 174 pounds after going 2-3 during the tournament.
2017 NCAA Division II Northern Regional Qualifier Results
Next for the Vikings will be the NCAA Championships in Birmingham, Ala. on March 10-11 to conclude the 2016-17 season.
Visit The Guillotine College Tournament Time Page for brackets, results, and live video links.
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