Feb. 25, 2003
The SJU wrestling team competed at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Saturday, Feb. 22, at Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill. and finished third out of 16 teams. SJU had one individual champion, one third place, three fourth place and one sixth place finisher. The Johnnies had 77 team points, compared to 173 points for Augsburg and 102 points for Augustana. Fellow MIAC member, Augsburg, qualified all 10 wrestlers for nationals. St. Olaf had one NCAA qualifier.
SJU freshman Dan Fiecke, Winsted, won the 197-pound weight class to advance to the NCAA Championships. Fiecke, the tournament's number six seed, pinned Robert Wahl of Elmhurst in the first round, then decisioned number three seed Dennis Kline of Concordia 5-0 in the quarterfinals. He decisioned number seven seed Sean Barnes of the University of Chicago in the semifinals before topping number one seed Matt Huset of the Milwaukee School of Engineering 2-1 in the final. Fiecke's record is now 18-14 on the season.
Junior Ryan Weinandt, Wabasha, the number four seed, finished third at heavyweight for the Johnnies. Senior Chuck Griffith, Morris, the number five seed, finished fourth at 133-pounds; Sophomore Nate Lefebvre, Elk River, the number four seed, finished fourth at 141 pounds and sophomore Brian Vetter, Center City, the fifth seed, finished fourth at 149 pounds. Senior Tim Anderson, Zimmerman, finished sixth at 157 pounds.
Fiecke will compete at 197-pounds at the NCAA Championships on Friday and Saturday, March 7-8, at Ohio Northern in Ada, Ohio. At the national level, SJU has now qualified athletes to the NCAA Championships 18 of the past 19 seasons, including 18 All-Americans.