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April 1, 2006

2008-2009 Season - 2005-06 WRESTLING REVIEW

2005-06 WRESTLING REVIEW

Ryan McMurray joins Brian Daly, Larry Amedio and Dan Stanton with over 100 career victories; Vikings finish sixth at NWCA duals and third in CCIW; Daly, McMurray and Leo Byrd all capture individual conference titles with Daly notching his fourth straight; Daly and McMurray qualify for NCAA Division III national tournament

The Augustana Vikings wrestling team finished another successful season under head coach Pat Marsh.  Ryan McMurray (Lyons Township HS, Willow Springs, Ill.) joined three of his teammates in the 100 career victory club, going 35-16 on the season to lead the Vikings in individual wins.  McMurray, only the 18^th wrestler in Augustana history to reach 100 wins, will head into his senior season with a career mark of 105-50.  He is currently 17^th on the all-time victory list. 

Seniors Brian Daly (DeLaSalle Catholic HS, Chicago, Ill.), Larry Amedio (DeLaSalle Catholic HS, Chicago, Ill.), and Dan Stanton (Lincoln Way HS, New Lenox, Ill.) also added to their career victory totals.  All three reached the 100 career win plateau last season and climbed the charts even higher this year.  Daly finished his career fourth on the all-time win list with a mark of 149-51.  Amedio goes out tied for fifth with a 143-72 record.  Stanton ends tied for 11^th with a 124-66 mark.

Daly finished his career with four College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin titles.  After being crowned champion at 157 in 2003, he went up a weight and brought home three straight first place finishes at 165.  Daly defeated Elmhurst’s John Sklena in 4-0 in this year’s title match.  At the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships, Daly fell in the championship match to top seed Ryan Valek from Augsburg, but was one of the wild-card selections for the NCAA Division III National Tournament. 

McMurray also won a CCIW crown, upsetting top-seeded David Silva of Elmhurst in the final round 3-2.  He later finished second in the regional tournament, again upsetting Silva, this time by a score of 6-3.  McMurray also received a wild-card to wrestle in the NCAA Division III National Tournament.

Leo Byrd (Mundelein HS, Mundelein, Ill.) added another individual title at the CCIW championships for the Vikings.  He defeated Jared Christner of Millikin in the final 4-3.  Byrd later finished third at the regional tournament, but was not selected to wrestle at the NCAA Division III National Tournament.

The Vikings finished the season with an 8-8 record in dual meets.  Included in the eight dual wins, was an 18-17 victory over the nationally ranked Cornell Rams.  The Rams were ranked #16 when the Vikings opened the dual meet season on November 17 with this dramatic road win. 

Augustana finished sixth in the nation in the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Duals on January 14 and later added a third place finish in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Championships on February 11.  The team also finished fifth at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional. Augustana finished the season ranked 16^th in the final NCAA Division III dual meet rankings.

At the NWCA Division III Duals, the Vikings had victories over Delaware Valley (18-16), UW-Stevens Point (22-18), Simpson (20-18), Central of Iowa (40-3), and Dubuque (21-15).  Augustana narrowly missed out on second place (North Central, 81 points) at the CCIW championships, but finished well ahead of fourth place (Millikin, 39 points) concluding the tournament with 74.5 points.  The Vikings also crowned three individual champions.  Augustana later qualified two wrestlers for the NCAA Division III national tournament at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional.

Marsh is now 65-39-1 in six seasons as the head coach.  The Vikings have had 19 CCIW champions and three NCAA Division III All-Americans under Marsh.

2006 CCIW CHAMPIONSHIPS

February 11, 2006

North Central College

Naperville, Illinois

INDIVIDUAL WEIGHT CLASS CHAMPIONS

125 – LEO BYRD, AUGUSTANA  

133 – Adam Johnson, North Central

141 – RYAN MCMURRAY, AUGUSTANA  

149 – Kenny Thomas, Elmhurst

157 – Tyler Ludwig, Elmhurst

165 – BRIAN DALY, AUGUSTANA 

174 – Josh Rupprecht, Elmhurst

184 – Adil Kolovic, Elmhurst

197 – Dustin Docter, North Central

285 – Ward Brady, Elmhurst

MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER – Ward Brady, Elmhurst

COACH OF THE YEAR – Steve Marianette, Elmhurst

2005-06 AUGUSTANA WRESTLING SUPERLATIVES

NCAA DIVISION III NATIONAL QUALIFIERS – Ryan McMurray (141 pounds) and Brian Daly (165 pounds)

COLLEGE CONFERENCE OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CHAMPIONS – Leo Byrd (125 pounds); Ryan McMurray (141 pounds); Brian Daly – fourth consecutive title for Daly (157 in 2003…165 in 2004-06)

100 VICTORY CLUB FOR CAREER

Brian Daly (149-51 for fourth on all-time list)…Larry Almedio (143-72 for a tie for fifth on all-time list)…Dan Stanton (124-66 for a tie for 11^th on the all-time list)…Ryan McMurray (105-50 for 17^th on the all-time list)

MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER – Brian Daly

MOST VALUABLE WRESTLER – Ryan McMurray

OUTSTANDING FRESHMAN – Jake Mango

MOST IMPROVED FRESHMAN – Brian Kerr

HARDEST WORKER – Mike Kerr

MOST IMPROVED – Dave Mackey

2006-07 CAPTAINS-ELECT – Ryan McMurray, Mike Kerr, John Parkhurst

INDIVIDUAL INVITATIONAL WEIGHT CLASS CHAMPIONS

CORNELL INVITATIONAL (01/07/06) – Leo Byrd at 125 pounds

SIMPSON INVITATIONAL (12/03/05) – Jeff Keske at 149 pounds

SPARTAN CLASSIC (11/12/05) – Jeff Keske at 149 pounds

NCAA DIVISION III FINAL DUAL MEET RANKING – 16^th

NWCA DIVISION III DUALS – 6^th in nation

DUAL MEET RECORD – 8-8

CCIW TEAM FINISH – 3^rd

NCAA GREAT LAKES REGIONAL TEAM FINISH – 5^th

INVITATIONAL TEAM FINISHES

SPARTAN CLASSIC – 4^th on 11/12/05

CONCORDIA OPEN – 5^th on 11/19/05

CORNELL INVITATIONAL – 6^th on 01/07/06