NCAA College Preview Series: #3 Augsburg

All-American Gabby Skidmore returns for another season at Augsburg. Photo courtesy of Augsburg Athletics.

3x national champion Emily Shilson is back seeking her fourth title. Photo courtesy of Augsburg Athletics.

by Derek Levendusky
Twitter: @AWWderek

Third year program Augsburg isn’t acting like one. Coming into this season, they’re ranked #3 in the recently-released NWCA Preseason Coaches Poll. The program is returning six All-Americans, including young star Emily Shilson, who is already making lots of noise at the Senior level and won a gold medal at Junior Worlds in August.

Here’s an interview with assistant coach Chad Shilson.

1. What are your reflections on last season?
The 2020-21 school year was the second season for the Auggies of Augsburg University competing as a women’s collegiate wrestling program. We finished with one NCAA champ, five individual NCAA All-Americans, a top five team finish at the NCAA Nationals, nine NWCA Scholar All-Americans and fourth in the NWCA Scholar Team National final standings with a 3.586 GPA. We are very pleased with our results of the past two seasons but as our girls always say “‘pleased with’ and ‘satisfied with’ are completely different.”

2. Talk about your returning class. Who are some of the women you have high expectations for this year?
We have a fantastic group of women returning along with these All-Americans:

Emily Shilson
•109 lbs
•2020 WCWA National Champ (OW of the Year)
•2020 NCAA National Champ (OW)
•2021 NCAA National Champ (OW)

Gabby Skidmore
•123 lbs
•2020 WCWA Runner-up (130 lbs)
•2020 NCAA 6th (130 lbs)
•2021 NCAA - Could not compete (COVID)

Autumn Flanigan
•136 lbs
•2021 NCAA 3rd

Kya Rybachek
•143 lbs
•2021 NCAA 4th

Marlynne Deede
•155 lbs
•2020 NCAA 6th
•2021 NCAA 3rd

Faith Tuttle
•191 lbs
•2021 NCAA 7th (170 lbs)

3. Talk about your incoming freshmen class. Who do you expect an immediate contribution from?
We have three incoming Freshman that we expect an immediate impact from and they are:

Charlotte Kouyoumtjian (CA) 130 lbs
•2019 Cadet Fargo finalist
•hard to score on, scrappy and scrambles well.

Nina Makem (MN) 136 lbs
•Junior Fargo 3rd
•Huge upside
•Wants to represent Cameroon in 2024 Olympics
•P4P might be the strongest female in all of college wrestling.

Katie Lange (MN) 143 lbs
•2020 UWW Junior National Finalist
•2021 Junior Fargo 3rd
•2021 UWW Junior National Finalist
•2021 Junior Pan Am Champ
•Top ranked High School 144 pounder in the US
•Has no fear and will go from zero to 100 in a blink of an eye.

4. How do you feel about your preseason?
This was our third preseason ever as a college program and by far, our best. More girls in the room chasing down the same goals is a recipe for excitement.

5. Talk about some of your team's goals this season. Are there any specific events you're excited about?
We live by the “one match at a time” rule. We do not look past a single practice or a single match. What’s most important is what is directly in front of us. When we keep it this centered, it helps to manage the emotions, so that we can remain focused and relaxed.

6. What are some things you've built into your program that you credit for the success you've had so far?
We are big on believing in yourself. You are the most important person to believe in yourself and once that is done, it’s easier for everyone else to believe in you as well. We really work on instilling confidence in each of the student athletes, whether they are on or off the mat.

7. Who are some of the personalities in the room that are providing leadership and shaping your culture?
Champions of our room that might not have nationally recognized names are people like 2x NWCA Scholar Athlete Kahlea Jolly. She is one of our hometown heroes, helping to set the stage for the next crop of young Minnesota girls thinking about wrestling in college. She has a great attitude and awesome work ethic.

Returning All-American Marlynne Deede will be vocal when needed but also sets the tone with her intensity. If Emily Shilson has something to say, you’d probably want to listen because she lives by the motto “opera non verba” (deeds not words).

And lastly, 2020-2021 walk-on Lay Reid has been an incredible addition to our upper weights. Lay is a quick study with tons of upside. She’s also been known to get things pumping, when needed. If that’s a colorful word or two, we know she has the best intentions.

8. Anything else you'd like to mention?
New head coach Jake Short jumps into the role as Head Coach of the Auggies. He brings with him a treasure chest of high level technique that compliments the foundational work that these girls drill, day in and day out. From his days as a starter for the Minnesota Gophers, along with the work he did during his years with one of the top club teams in the country, Pinnacle Wrestling, he hit the ground running on his first official day. He already had close working relationships with the assistant coaches (Chuck Jacobs and Chad Shilson) so the vibe amongst the staff and wrestlers was productive from the beginning.