MEQUON, Wis. (2/21/09) -- The Augsburg College wrestling team
will advance nine wrestlers to the NCAA Division III national
tournament, after winning the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional on
Saturday at Concordia University-Wisconsin.
Augsburg, the top-ranked team in Division III wrestling, won the team
title at the regional for the seventh straight year with 159 points,
outdistancing second-place Concordia-Moorhead's 117.5 points. The
Cobbers are ranked No. 8 nationally. No. 6-ranked North Central (Ill.)
was third with 105, No. 17-ranked St. John's was fourth with 98.5, and
No. 13-ranked Elmhurst (Ill.) was fifth with 95.5.
Four Auggies won regional titles -- top-ranked 149-pounder Willy Holst
(SR, Prescott, Wis.), No. 4-ranked 157-pounder Jason Adams (JR, Coon
Rapids, Minn.), No. 7-ranked 174-pounder Zach Molitor (SO, Cambridge,
Minn./Cambridge-Isanti HS) and No. 2-ranked 197-pounder Jared Massey
(JR, Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial HS).
Advancing to the national tournament as regional runners-up for
Augsburg were No. 5-ranked 125-pounder Seth Flodeen (SR, Cannon Falls,
Minn.), No. 1-ranked 133-pounder Travis Lang (SR, Bismarck, N.D.) and
No. 7-ranked heavyweight Andy Witzel (JR, Fulda, Minn.). Augsburg No.
4-ranked 141-pounder Tony Valek (FY, Belle Plaine, Minn./Scott West)
placed third, but qualified for nationals by winning a "true second"
match, while Witzel also won a "true second" match to secure his
nationals spot.
Also advancing to the national tournament for the Auggies was
165-pounder Orlando Ponce (SO, Hialeah, Fla./Hialeah-Miami Lakes HS),
who finished third in his weight class but qualified for nationals as a
"wild card" entrant.
The Division III national tournament will be held March 6-7 in Cedar
Rapids, Iowa. Augsburg has won 10 national titles in the last 18
seasons.
Team Scores:
1. Augsburg (Minn.) 159
2. Concordia-Moorhead (Minn.) 117.5
3. North Central (Ill.) 105
4. St. John's (Minn.) 98.5
5. Elmhurst (Ill.) 95.5
6. Univ. of Chicago (Ill.) 74
7. Lakeland (Wis.) 69
8. Wheaton (Ill.) 32.5
9t. Concordia-Wisconsin 25
9t. Milwaukee School of Engineering (Wis.) 25
11. Maranatha Baptist Bible (Wis.) 18.5
12. Augustana (Ill.) 18
13. St. Olaf (Minn.) 16.5
14. Knox (Ill.) 12
15. Pacific (Ore.) 7.
NCAA Division III National Championships Qualifiers:
125 -- Jake Oster, Elmhurst; Seth Flodeen, Augsburg.
133 -- Mogi Baatar, St. John's; Travis Lang, Augsburg.
141 -- Minga Batsukh, St. John's; Tony Valek, Augsburg; Virgil Pope, MSOE.
149 -- Willy Holst, Augsburg; Joey Massman, Concordia-Wisconsin.
157 -- Jason Adams, Augsburg; Jonas Flok, Lakeland; Matt Baarson, St. John's.
165 -- Ben Hoover, Maranatha Baptist; Ben Youel, North Central; Orlando Ponce, Augsburg.
174 -- Zach Molitor, Augsburg; Troy Carlson, Chicago.
184 -- Phil Moenkedick, Concordia-Moorhead; Dustin Baxter, St. John's; Gabe Youel, North Central; Toby Boltz, Wheaton.
197 -- Jared Massey, Augsburg; Anthony Neumann, Concordia-Moorhead.
285 -- Mark Corsello, Elmhurst; Andy Witzel, Augsburg; Adam Sutter, Lakeland.
True-second match results:
125 -- Seth Flodeen (Augsburg) dec. Joe Norton (North Central) 4-0.
133 -- Travis Lang (Augsburg) pinned Ben Hart (Chicago) 1:00.
141 -- Tony Valek (Augsburg) dec. Virgil Pope (MSOE) 7-3.
149 -- Joe Massman (Concordia-Wisconsin) won by default over Justin Berns (Concordia-Moorhead).
184 -- Dustin Baxter (St. John's) dec. Gabe Youel (North Central) 7-5.
197 -- Anthony Neumann (Concordia-Moorhead) dec. Vincent Sapienza (North Central) 4-3.
285 -- Andy Witzel (Augsburg) dec. Adam Sutter (Lakeland) 2-1.
