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January 17-18, 2004
Each team claimed five victories in the dual, but Bart Mehlert's first-period pin at 149 pounds proved to be the deciding points, as No. 2-ranked Wartburg College (Iowa) edged No. 1-ranked Augsburg College 20-17 in the championship match of the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III National Duals on Sunday afternoon at Cleveland State University.
Augsburg reached the final by going 3-0 on the first day of the National Duals on Saturday, beating No. 16 Ohio Northern 46-3, No. 8 Simpson (Iowa) 37-3 and No. 4 Wisconsin-La Crosse 20-13. Augsburg is now 7-1 in dual meets this season.
Against teams from Divisions II and III, Augsburg is now 184-11 since 1989-90, losing just six matches since the 1995-96 season. Against Division III opponents, Augsburg is now 206-16 since the 1979-80 season and 130-6 since 1989-90.
Of those six losses to Division III teams in the last 15 seasons, four have been to Wartburg, which has won its last three duals in a row over the Auggies. Augsburg is 8-4 all-time against Wartburg. The teams battle again in a dual meet on Jan. 30 in Waverly, Iowa.
Augsburg's Marcus LeVesseur (So., Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS) set a new school record for consecutive victories, going 4-0 on the weekend to improve to 66-0 as a collegiate wrestler. LeVesseur claimed a 15-5 major-decision win over Wartburg's Dustin Bliven, the No. 3-ranked wrestler at 157, in Sunday's dual.
The defending NCAA Division III national champion at 157 oounds and current top-ranked wrestler in the weight class, LeVesseur had a pin and two major decisions to improve to 22-0 on the year. LeVesseur has yet to lose a collegiate match. His 66-match streak is now the longest winning streak in school history, breaking Henry Gerten's 64-match streak from 1996-98. Nick Slack won 60 matches in a row from 2000-01.
Matt Shankey (Jr., Apple Valley, Minn.), a transfer from the Division I University of Iowa, remained unbeaten at 12-0 on the season with four victories at 125 pounds, including winning all three matches on Saturday by major decision. Shankey, currently ranked No. 3 nationally at 125, outscored his four opponents 45-10 on the weekend.
Mark Matzek (Jr., Ellsworth, Wis.), currently ranked No. 3 nationally at 133 pounds, claimed a 5-3 victory over Wartburg's Ozzie Saxson, who entered the weekend as the top-ranked wrestler nationally in the weight class. Matzek, now 20-2 on the season, won all four of his matches, including one by pin.
Joe Moon (Jr., Ellendale, Minn./New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva HS), ranked second nationally at 174, went 4-0 in the tournament, including a 14-3, major-decision win over Wartburg's Nathan Specht in Sunday's dual.
Jamell Tidwell (Jr., Burnsville, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS), the nation's top-ranked wrestler at 141 pounds, suffered his second loss of the season with a 2-0 loss to defending 141-pound national champion Wil Kelly of Wartburg. Tidwell, now 27-2 on the season, is now 104-10 in his three-year career at Augsburg.
Heavyweight Mark Simmonds (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn./Edison HS), ranked No. 4 nationally, went 3-1 over the weekend to improve to 22-6 on the season, including a 4-1 win over Wartburg's Blake Gillis, ranked No. 5. Simmonds faced three nationally-ranked wrestlers on the weekend, beating Simpson's Brett Christensen, ranked No. 8 nationally, 5-2; while losing to Wisconsin-La Crosse's Ryan Allen, the top-ranked heavyweight nationally, 7-3.
Among other divisions in Cleveland, top-ranked North Dakota State won the Division II National Duals title with a criteria victory over No. 2 Central Oklahoma; the teams tied 15-15, with NDSU winning on the seventh criteria category (most near-fall points). The University of Minnesota finished seventh in the Division I National Duals with a 22-15 victory over Penn on Sunday. Minnesota went 3-2 on the weekend in the Division I bracket.
Augsburg returns to action next Saturday (1/24) at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Team Duals at St. Olaf. Action begins at 10 a.m.