MINNEAPOLIS (1/25/08) -- Winning six bouts, including the last two of
the match to break a 15-15 tie, the Augsburg College wrestling team
scored a 22-15 victory over the University of Nebraska-Omaha in a
battle of small-college wrestling powers on Friday night at Augsburg's
Si Melby Hall.
Augsburg, the defending NCAA Division III national champions and
winners of 10 of the last 17 national titles, is now 8-1 in dual meets
this season. The Auggies are ranked No. 3 in the latest National
Wrestling Coaches Association Division III national rankings.
Nebraska-Omaha, currently ranked No. 2 in the Division II national
rankings, is now 3-2 on the season.
Augsburg now has a 3-1 edge in the series against the Mavericks; the
teams have battled the last four seasons, with each of the three
previous victories coming by the visiting team. Against teams from
Divisions II and III, Augsburg is now 226-18 since the 1989-90 season,
losing just 13 matches to non-Division I opponents since the 1995-96
season.
In the highlight match of the evening, Augsburg's Willy Holst (SO,
Prescott, Wis.), ranked No. 2 in Division III at 149 pounds, improved
to 22-2 on the season with an 8-4 win over Nebraska-Omaha's Todd
Meneely (JR, Omaha, Neb./Skutt Catholic HS), ranked No. 1 in Division
II. Meneely is now 11-2 on the year. Holst scored three takedowns and
had a 6-1 lead after two periods, holding off a comeback by Meneely in
the third period while also collecting 3:44 of riding time.
Tied at 15-15 after eight bouts, Augsburg scored two wins from ranked
wrestlers to claim the match victory -- a 6-0 decision by No. 4-ranked
Seth Flodeen (JR, Cannon Falls, Minn.) at 125 pounds and a 12-4,
major-decision triumph by No. 4-ranked Travis Lang (JR, Bismarck, N.D.)
at 133. Flodeen claimed two takedowns and accumulated 4:57 of riding
time in his win, while Lang collected three takedowns, a reversal and
three-point near-fall, while building 3:40 of riding time.
Augsburg won four of the first five bouts in the match, including one
by forfeit, to take a 15-3 lead into the halftime break. In addition to
Holst's victory at 149, Lucas Murray (FY, Anoka, Minn.) claimed an 11-4
win at 141, as did Beau Hansen (FY, Albert Lea, Minn.) at 157. George
Lynaugh (SR, Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley HS) scored a forfeit win
at 174.
The lone win for the Mavericks in the first half of the match came from
No. 3-ranked Aaron Denson (FY, Omaha, Neb./Millard South HS) at 165, as
he scored a reversal and riding-time point in the third period to claim
a 5-2 win over Augsburg's Brandon Klukow (JR, Albert Lea, Minn.).
In the second half of the match, the Mavericks claimed three victories
in a row to square the match at 15-15 -- a 5-3 win by No. 3-ranked
Brent Pankoke (SO, Beaver Crossing, Neb./Centennial HS) over No.
8-ranked Robbie Gotreau (SR, Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson HS) at 184, a
2:14 pin by No. 2-ranked Jacob Marrs (SO, Oak Hill, Kan./Clay Center
HS) over Wallace O'Connor (SR, Oshkosh, Wis./Oshkosh West HS) at 197,
and a 2-1 win on a third-period escape by No. 8-ranked Tony Lewis (JR,
Ulysses, Kan.) over Augsburg's Andy Witzel (SO, Fulda, Minn.) at
heavyweight.
Both teams return to action with road dual meets against ranked
opponents in their own divisions this weekend. Augsburg travels to face
No. 2-ranked Wisconsin-La Crosse in a dual on Sunday (1/27) at 2 p.m.,
while Nebraska-Omaha travels to face No. 16-ranked St. Cloud State on
Saturday (1/26) at 2 p.m.
