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January 15, 2004
Augsburg College will attempt to win its second National Wrestling Coaches Associa-tion Division III National Duals championship this weekend as the top seed at the tournament, held at Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio.
The Auggies, last year's NCAA Division III national runner-up and winners of eight of the last 13 national champi-onships, are currently the top-ranked team in the latest Division III national poll, ahead of defending national cham-pion Wartburg (Iowa) and third-ranked Delaware Valley (Pa.). Seven of the top 10 teams in the latest national rankings, and 13 of the top 30, are competing in the 16-team Division III bracket.
The NWCA National Duals is in the third year of a new format, where all three NCAA divisions compete in sepa-rate 16-team tournaments at one site. A total of 90 dual meets will be held in two days, comprising 16 teams each in Division I, Division II and Division III. In the old format, the defending Division II, Division III and NAIA national champions were invited to compete in the 16-team Division I National Duals.
After the first two years of the multi-division National Duals were held at Ohio State University, the tournament was moved north to Cleveland State, where the tournament will be held at the CSU Convocation Center and Woodling Gym. For the first time, a separate 10-team high school and four-team women's tournament will also be held, starting on Friday.
Augsburg's first match is against No. 16-seed Ohio Northern (unranked in the latest Division III national poll) on Saturday at 9 a.m. The second round will be held at 1 p.m., with semifinals set for 8:30 p.m. Championship match is at 3 p.m. on Sunday. Augsburg will provide continuous updates on its website at www.augsburg.edu/athletics/wrestling/ throughout the weekend tournament.
Augsburg is currently 4-0 in dual meets this season. Against teams from Divisions II and III, Augsburg is 181-10 since 1989-90 (losing just five matches since the 1995-96 season). Against Division III opponents, Augsburg is 203-15 since the 1979-80 season and 127-5 since 1989-90.
Last season, Augsburg finished second to Wartburg in the National Duals, losing 19-13 to the Knights in the champi-onship match, the second straight year Augsburg and Wartburg met in the finals. Augsburg easily won its first three matches on the first day of the tournament, outscoring its opponents 101-13.
Augsburg and Wartburg have been the powers of small-college wrestling over the past decade. Either Augsburg or Wartburg, or both teams, have finished in the top two in the NCAA Division III national championship race every year since 1990. Augsburg has won eight of the last 13 Division III national titles (1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002), while Wartburg won national titles in 1996, 1999 and 2003, finishing second six times.
Augsburg has eight individuals ranked in the latest Division III national rankings, released on Jan. 11 -- Marcus LeVesseur (So., Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS) is ranked No. 1 at 157 pounds; Jamell Tidwell (Jr., Burnsville, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS) is ranked No. 1 at 141; Joe Moon (Jr., Ellendale, Minn./New Richland-Hartland- Ellendale-Geneva HS) is ranked No. 2 at 174; Matt Shankey (Jr., Apple Valley, Minn.) is ranked No. 3 at 125; Mark Matzek (Jr., Ellsworth, Wis.) is ranked No. 3 at 133; Justin Sorensen (So., Owatonna, Minn.) is ranked No. 3 at 197; Mark Simmonds (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn./Edison HS) is ranked No. 4 at heavyweight; and Dustin Dahlblom (Fr., Stillwater, Minn.) is ranked No. 8 at 149.