March 1, 2006
Augsburg notes for NCAA Division III National Championships
Augsburg College will attempt to win its 10th NCAA Division III wrestling national championship in a 16-season span this weekend, entering the national championship tournament at The College of New Jersey in Ewing, N.J., as the No. 3-ranked team in the national polls.
The Auggies, the defending NCAA Division III national champions and winners of nine of the last 15 national championships, enters the weekend tournament ranked third behind top-ranked and defending national runnerup Wartburg (Iowa) and No. 2-ranked Wisconsin-La Crosse.
Augsburg has qualified eight wrestlers to compete in the national tournament, while Wartburg has nine wrestlers qualified and Wisconsin-La Crosse has qualified wrestlers in all 10 weight classes. No. 4-ranked Luther(Iowa) and No. 5-ranked Brockport State (N.Y.) have qualified six wrestlers apiece.
The Division III national tournament will be held at the Student Recreation Center at The College of New Jersey in Ewing, N.J., a suburb of Trenton, N.J. TCNJ is hosting the Division III national tournament for the fourth time overall, and the first time since 1999. Friday’s two sessions (11 a.m. and 6 p.m., Eastern time) eliminate the field to the final eight in each weight class, which earn All-American honors. Saturday’s 10:30 a.m.(Eastern) session includes championship semifinals and wrestlebacks, with placing matches scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. (Eastern). Championship finals begin at 7 p.m. (Eastern).
Augsburg will provide continuous updates on its website at www.augsburg.edu/athletics/wrestling/ during the tournament. TCNJ’s tourney website can be accessed through its athletics site, www.tcnjathletics.com/. Augsburg is one of only six NCAA schools -- and the only Division III school -- to have won eight or more wrestling team national championships. In Division I, Oklahoma State has won 33 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. In NAIA history, two schools have won eight national titles -- Adams State(Colo.) and Central State (Okla.).
Augsburg and Wartburg have been the powers of small-college wrestling over the past decade. Either Augsburg or Wartburg, or both teams, have finished among the top two in the NCAA Division III national championship race every year since 1990. Augsburg has won nine of the last 15 Division III national titles (1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005), while Wartburg won national titles in 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2004, finishing second seven times.
Augsburg has five individuals nationally ranked -- Ryan Valek (Sr., Belle Plaine, Minn./Scott West) is ranked No. 2 at 165 pounds and has a 39-3 record; Jeremy Anderson (So., Thief River Falls, Minn.) is ranked No. 2 at 157 and is 41-2; Jared Evans (Jr., Blue Earth, Minn./Blue Earth Area HS) is ranked No. 4 at 149 and is 34-6; Brad Tupa(Sr., Dundas, Minn./Faribault HS) is ranked No. 5 at 184 and is 18-3; and Robbie Gotreau (So., Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson HS) is ranked No. 7 at 174 and is 40-7.
Also competing at the national tournament for Augsburg: Jafari Vanier (So., Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS), 16-2 at 133 pounds; Josh Hansen (Jr., Albert Lea, Minn.), 32-8 at 141; and Andrew Neumann (Jr., Somerset, Wis.), 25-8 at heavyweight.