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LeVesseur named The Mat.com Athlete of the Week
http://www.augsburg.edu/athletics/sportsnews/011305levesseur.html
MINNEAPOLIS (1/13/05) -- Augsburg College wrestler Marcus LeVesseur (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS) was named Athlete of the Week on Thursday by The Mat.com, a wrestling website operated by USA Wrestling.
LeVesseur, now 16-0 on the season, extended his three-season collegiate unbeaten streak to 100 straight matches with five victories in the last week -- four wins at the Oregon Classic Duals last Friday in Redmond, Ore., and a 15-3, major-decision win over Augustana (S.D.) wrestler Austin Scarset in Augsburg's 22-13 dual-meet loss on Tuesday. Of his 16 wins this season, nine have come by pin, with eight pins under two minutes in length.
LeVesseur, a two-time defending NCAA Division III national champion and current top-ranked wrestler nationally at 157 pounds, reached a significant milestone with his 100th straight victory, tying American wrestling legend Dan Gable for the second-longest consecutive-match winning streak in college wrestling history.
LeVesseur has yet to lose a collegiate wrestling match in his three seasons of competition at Augsburg. The all-time record for college wrestling consecutive victories is 159, set by Iowa State's Cael Sanderson from 1998-2002. Sanderson is the only college wrestler ever to win four consecutive national titles without losing a match in his career. Carlton Haselrig of Pitt-Johnstown (Pa., 1985-89) claimed 122 straight matches without a defeat in his career, with one tie (121-0-1).
Competing in three seasons at Iowa State University from 1967-70 (freshmen were ineligible to compete on the varsity level in his era), Gable won 100 straight matches, with his lone loss coming in his final college match. According to published reports, Iowa State officially lists Gable's winning streak at 100 straight matches, though the record total has varied, depending on wrestling historian and media sources, from 98 to 116 straight matches.
Wednesday's honor is the latest of many for LeVesseur. In May, LeVesseur earned Outstanding Wrestler honors while winning five matches over NCAA Division I wrestlers to claim the 74-kilogram (163-pound) weight class at the USA Wrestling University National Freestyle Championships in Chicago. In June, LeVesseur placed 10th at the FISU World University Wrestling Championships, held in Lodz, Poland.
In the fall, LeVesseur expanded his Auggie talents to the gridiron, earning All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football first-team honors in his first season as Augsburg's starting quarterback. LeVesseur broke all of the school's single-season rushing records in 2004, setting new marks for yardage (1,024), carries (256) and rushing touchdowns (10), while leading the MIAC in total offense.
Each week, TheMat.com selects an Athlete of the Week, based upon performance within wrestling for that week. The selection committee considers athletes from any level of wrestling, from youth programs through the senior level.
Augsburg, ranked No. 1 in the latest Division III wrestling national polls, returns to action on Saturday (1/15) at 10 a.m. at the Wisconsin-Oshkosh Invitational. The Auggies will compete next weekend (1/21-22) at the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III National Duals in Cleveland, Ohio.