Wrestlers forecast to move up nationally

Augustana wrestlers, with two returning All-Americans, have been ranked at No. 12 in the nation in NCAA Division III. Their season starts Saturday at the Wisconsin-Platteville Invitational. 

Augustana finished 17th at last year’s NCAA Division III Championships, and returns starters in all 10 weight classes.  

InterMat Wrestling also ranked the Vikings' All-Americans Adarios Jones and Christos Giatras, at first and third in the nation, respectively, at 285 and 184 pounds.

Jones finished 39-4 as a first-year last year and took third place in the national meet. He scored a 9-1 decision over Wartburg’s Lance Evans (31-4) in the third-place match. Evans is second behind Jones in this year’s rankings.

Giatras, a senior, finished seventh in the nation at 184 pounds last year with a 30-8 record. 

Augustana's new wrestling coach, Tony Willaert, is the 15th head coach in program history. Before coming to Augustana, he was a student-athlete and later head coach at St. John's University in Minnesota. 

The Vikings first home meet will begin at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 7 in Carver PE Center vs. Loras College.