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Small-college wrestling showdown this Thursday
Augsburg vs. Wartburg wrestling preview in full (including match-by-match preview) is available online:
http://www.augsburg.edu/athletics/wrestling/0405statistics/020205wartburgpreview.html
MINNEAPOLIS (2/3/05) -- One of the biggest small-college wrestling dual meets of the year will happen on Thursday (2/3), when the top two-ranked teams in Division III, No. 1 Augsburg and No. 2 Wartburg (Iowa), will face off at 7 p.m. at Augsburg's Si Melby Hall.
A large crowd is expected to pack Si Melby Hall for the dual meet in an all- time series that Augsburg leads 9-5. The mat will be placed on a raised platform stage, the first time that special staging has been used for a wrestling dual meet at Augsburg.
Tickets are $6 for adults and $3 for students, and are available at the door. Augsburg students, faculty and staff get in free (with ID). Gates will open at 5:30 p.m. For team and group ticket information, contact Sam Barber at 612-330- 1116 or at barbers@augsburg.edu. There will be NO general advance ticket sales; all tickets will be available at the door.
Thursday's dual will also feature several special events. Brock Lesnar, a two- time national champion heavyweight at the University of Minnesota and former pro wrestling superstar, will provide guest commentary throughout the match. Prior to the match, local sports author Ross Bernstein will sign copies of his new book, "Grappling Glory: Celebrating a Century of Minnesota Wrestling and Rassling." There will be prize giveaways throughout the match, and the Augsburg Silver Stars dance team will perform at halftime.
Augsburg (12-1 in dual meets) and Wartburg (23-2) have dominated small-college wrestling in the last decade. At least one of the two schools has finished among the top two teams nationally in the Division III team race every year since 1990. Wartburg has won the last two national titles, topping Augsburg each time.
Augsburg has won eight Division III national titles (1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002) while finishing second seven times (1984, 1990, 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2004). Wartburg has won national titles four times (1996, 1999, 2003, 2004), while finishing second six times (1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002).
This year's dual is shaping up to be one of the most evenly matched in the series. Earlier this season, in the finals of the Division III National Duals on Jan. 22 in Cleveland, Augsburg topped Wartburg 18-15, with each team winning five individual matches. The Augsburg win broke a 44-match winning streak for Wartburg over Division III competition, dating to the 2002-03 season.
The three-point difference in the match was provided by Augsburg's top-ranked 157-pounder Marcus LeVesseur (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS), who pinned second-ranked Cory Connell (Sr., Iowa City, Iowa/City HS) in 2:09.
LeVesseur, now 26-0 on the season, continues to improve upon his consecutive- match winning streak. The streak is now at 110 straight matches, the second- longest streak in college wrestling history, behind the the 159 straight wins by Cael Sanderson of Iowa State from 1998-2002. LeVesseur has yet to lose a collegiate wrestling match.
Other potential No. 1-vs.-No. 2 matchups expected in the match will come at 125, where Augsburg's No. 1 and defending national champion Matt Shankey (Sr., Apple Valley, Minn.) will face Wartburg's No. 2 Justin McClintock (Sr., Fort Dodge, Iowa/Eagle Grove HS); and at 141, where Wartburg's No. 1-ranked and defending national champion Dustin Hinschberger (Jr., Belle Plaine, Iowa) will face Augsburg's No. 2-ranked Jamell Tidwell (Sr., Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy HS).
Eight of the 10 matchups in Thursday's meet will be between two nationally- ranked wrestlers. In addition to LeVesseur and Shankey, Augsburg's Mark Matzek (Sr., Ellsworth, Wis.) is also top-ranked at 133 pounds. Matzek is 24-0 and has won 32 straight matches.
The meet will also feature two coaches who are reaching career milestones. Augsburg head coach Jeff Swenson, in his 23rd season at Augsburg (1980-84, 1986-present) reached the 300-win milestone on Sunday, when the Auggies topped Dana (Neb.). He is now 300-40 on his college coaching career. Wartburg head coach Jim Miller, in his 14th season, is now 249-28-1 in his dual-meet coaching career, just one win from the 250 mark.
Full match-by-match preview is available online: http://www.augsburg.edu/athletics/wrestling/0405statistics/020205wartburgpreview.html