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1/26/04
Two national powers meet on the wrestling mat Tuesday night in Minneapolis when No. 1-ranked Division II power North Dakota State (8-0) visits No. 2-ranked Division III stronghold Augsburg College (10-1). Matches begin at 7 p.m. at Si Melby Hall. North Dakota State will be after its 14th straight dual meet victory.
CYBERCAST: There will be an audio cybercast of Tuesday's dual meet by Minnesota Sports Update. Lou Michaels and Alan Armstrong will handle the call with a guest from Augsburg College. Log on to www.minnesotasportsupdate.com to access the cybercast.
NATIONAL CHAMPS MEET: The scheduled bout at 157 pounds between defending NCAA champions Paul Carlson of North Dakota State and Marcus LeVesseur of Augsburg will be the featured matchup Tuesday. LeVesseur is a perfect 69-0 in his second year of collegiate wrestling. He beat Carlson 10-3 in last year's dual meet. Carlson is on a nine-match winning streak since LeVesseur pinned him 1:23 into the championship bout of the St. Cloud State Invite in mid-December.
THE SERIES: This will be the 10th meeting between Augsburg and North Dakota State. The Auggies hold a 5-4 advantage in the all-time series and have won four of the last six meetings.
LAST MEETING: North Dakota State was a 21-12 winner over Augsburg in last year's contest at the Bison Sports Arena. The Bison got an overtime decision from heavyweight Joe Bryce to go ahead for the first time after nine weights, 15-12. Matt Strawser's pin at 125 pounds clinched the NDSU victory. Each team won five bouts. NDSU also edged Augsburg for the St. Cloud State Invite title Dec. 13 by 4 1/2 points.
ABOUT AUGSBURG: The NCAA Division III runner-up a year ago, Augsburg has won eight Division III titles in the last 13 years (1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2002). The Auggies won their 14th straight MIAC dual meet tournament on Saturday at St. Olaf College to improve to 10-1 on the season. Augsburg head coach Jeff Swenson is in his 22nd season with the Auggies and his 25th overall. He has a 290-36 dual meet record at Augsburg.
SUCCESS BY THE NUMBERS: While North Dakota State and Augsburg have charted wrestling success unknown to most opponents, the Bison and Auggies have established themselves as comparable programs by the numbers...
BISON WINNING STREAKS: The Bison have a 13-match overall winning streak intact dating back to last season. North Dakota State is 3-0 on its home mat this year and the Bison have won 15 straight duals at the Bison Sports Arena dating back to the 2000-01 season when Division III power Augsburg defeated NDSU 19-12 in Fargo.
FIVE REMATCHES: There could be five rematches from last year's dual when the Bison and Auggies meet Tuesday. Here are those rematches and last year's score...
STEVENS FIRST TO 20: Sophomore 149-pounder Zach Stevens is the first Bison wrestler to reach 20 wins this year. Stevens has won 11 matches in a row including an 8-0 mark in dual meets. He is 20-5 overall with one win by fall.
PIKE ROLLING: North Dakota State senior Thad Pike has won 11 of his last 12 matches at 174 pounds. The only loss was in overtime to Augsburg's Joe Moon for the championship at the St. Cloud State Invite. Pike is 8-0 in dual meets.
CAREER WIN LIST CHASE: Three senior Bison wrestlers this season will be closing in on NDSU's top 10 list for career victories. Brian Kraemer (89-43), Paul Carlson (88-35) and Mike Fiedler (85-32) are the wrestlers in reach of the top 10 at North Dakota State. Tenth place is 97 wins, belonging to Matt Strawser (1999-2003).
HALFTIME EXHIBITION: U.S. national team members Brandon Paulson and Jesus Wilson will wrestle two exhibition rounds during the halftime break of Tuesday's meet between NDSU and Augsburg. They will feature the two styles of Olympic-caliber wrestling--Greco-Roman and freestyle--in separate three-minute rounds.
Paulson, from Anoka, MN, and a product of the University of Minnesota, is currently ranked No. 1 in the country in Greco-Roman wrestling at 121 pounds and is in his eighth season as a U.S. national team member. He was a silver medalist at the 1996 Olympics.
Wilson, who defected from Cuba in 1994 and wrestled at Upper Iowa University, is currently ranked No. 4 nationally in freestyle at 132 pounds, in his second season on the national team. Wilson won the Pan-Am freestyle title in 2003 and was a two-time NCAA Division III champ at Upper Iowa.
AROUND THE NORTH CENTRAL CONFERENCE:
North Dakota State is in sole possession of first place in the North Central Conference standings with a 2-0 record.
DIVISION II RANKINGS:
North Dakota State has maintained the No. 1 spot all year in the rankings issued by the National Wrestling Coaches Association. Here are the latest rankings, issued Jan. 13...