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No. 2 Auggies aim for ninth NCAA Division III title
March 2, 2004
Augsburg NCAA Tournament Notes (PDF File): http://www.augsburg.edu/athletics/wrestling/030204ncaanotes.pdf
With nine qualifiers in individual weight classes, Augsburg College will attempt to win its ninth NCAA Division III wrestling national championship, in competition this weekend at the wrestling national championships in Dubuque, Iowa.
Augsburg, last year's national runner-up and winners of eight of the last 13 national titles, is currently ranked second in the latest Division III national polls. Defending national champion Wartburg (Iowa) is ranked No. 1. Wartburg is the lone school to qualify individuals in all 10 weight classes to the national championships. Only three other schools have qualified as many as seven wrestlers to the national tournament -- No. 3 Brockport State (N.Y.) and No. 4 College of New Jersey have eight qualifiers each, and No. 8 Luther (Iowa) has seven qualifiers.
The national tournament will be held at the Five Flags Center in Dubuque, hosted by Loras College. Action begins at 11 a.m. on both Friday and Saturday at the ONU Sports Center. Friday's two sessions (11 a.m. and 6 p.m.) eliminate the field to the final eight in each weight class, which earn All-American honors. Saturday's 11 a.m. session includes championship semifinals and wrestlebacks, with championship finals and placing matches scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. Championship finals will begin at 7:30 p.m.
Augsburg will provide continuous updates on its website at www.augsburg.edu/athletics/wrestling/ throughout the weekend tournament.
Augsburg is one of seven NCAA schools -- and the only Division III school -- to have won eight wrestling team national championships. In Division I, Oklahoma State has won 31 team titles, while Iowa has won 20 and Iowa State has won eight. In Division II, California State-Bakersfield and Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo have won eight national titles apiece, while Central Oklahoma has won six national titles.
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. Six of Augsburg's nine qualifiers are ranked in the final Division III national rankings, released on Feb. 25.
Defending national champion Marcus LeVesseur (So., Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS) is ranked No. 1 at 157 pounds. Ranked second nationally in their weight classes are Matt Shankey (Jr., Apple Valley, Minn.) at 125, Mark Matzek (Jr., Ellsworth, Wis.) at 133, and Jamell Tidwell (Jr., Burnsville, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS) at 141. Joe Moon (Jr., Ellendale, Minn./New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva HS) and Mark Simmonds (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn./Edison HS) are ranked third nationally at 174 and heavyweight, respectively.
Also qualifying for the national championships from Augsburg are Dustin Dahlblom (Fr., Stillwater, Minn.) at 149, Ryan Valek (So., Belle Plaine, Minn.) at 165 and Joe Cullen (Jr., Coon Rapids, Minn.) at 197.
The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference has a total of 12 wrestlers at the national championship meet. Joining the nine Auggies are three wrestlers from No. 20 St. John's -- top-ranked 125-pounder Matt Vos, 133- pounder Matt Lefebvre and 197-pounder Dan Fiecke.