From Don Stoner/Augsburg Sports Information
Top 10 team standings
1. Augsburg (Minn.) 162.0;
2. Wartburg (Iowa) 104.5;
3. Luther (Iowa) 100.0;
4. Wisconsin-La Crosse 72.0;
5. Brockport State (N.Y.) 48.5;
6. Simpson (Iowa) 38.5;
7. Delaware Valley (Pa.) 36.0;
8. Elmhurst (Ill.) 30.0;
9. College of New Jersey 27.5;
10t. Ithaca (N.Y.) 26.5;
10t. Wisconsin-Stevens Point 26.5.
NORTHFIELD, Minn. (3/5/05) — Tying national records with 10 All-Americans, six wrestlers in national championship finals and four wrestlers repeating as individual national champions, the Augsburg College wrestling team claimed its ninth NCAA Division III national championship in the last 15 seasons wtih a dominating performance Saturday at St. Olaf College’s Tostrud Fieldhouse.
Augsburg put together the second-highest point total for any championship team in Division III history, accumulating 162.0 points, outdistancing second-place Wartburg (Iowa) with 104.5 points and breaking Wartburg’s two-year hold on the national crown. The point total is the most ever for an Augsburg team at the national championship tournament.
Luther (Iowa) finished third with 100.0 points, while Wisconsin-La Crosse placed fourth with 72.0 points and Brockport State (N.Y.) placed fifth with 48.5 points.
Augsburg claimed 10 All-Americans, a first in program history and the second such occurence in Division III history. Wartburg accomplished the feat in 2003. Augsburg head coach Jeff Swenson has guided 143 All-Americans in his 23 years of coaching (1980-84, 1986-present).
“We handed out these little cards that said ’10 keys to having 10 All-Americans,’ and there was 10 keys on it. One of them was: ’10 individual efforts equals a national championship team’ and that’s what we got this weekend, “Swenson said. “We’ve had our goal be many many times to bring 10 All-Americans, and that’s what we did. Of course, Wartburg did it two years ago, but we had yet to do it; so this is, without a doubt, one of our top nationals ever. “
Marcus LeVesseur (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS) became just the eighth wrestler in Division III history, and the first in Augsburg history, to win three consecutive national titles, as he extended his consecutive-match winning streak to 124 straight victories with a 7-0 triumph over Ryan LeBeau of Luther (Iowa) in the 157-pound national title match. LeVesseur scored takedowns in the first and second periods, then built 2:36 of riding time to claim the crown.
LeVesseur extended his collegiate unbeaten streak to 124, the second-longest winning streak in college wrestling history behind the 159 of Cael Sanderson at Iowa State (1998-2002). LeVesseur has yet to lose a college wrestling match. LeVesseur finished his junior season with a 40-0 record.
“This one is a little more special because actually, I’m going to win a team title to back up my own title, so that’s a great thing, “LeVesseur said.
Augsburg’s four repeat national champions all finished their seasons unbeaten, bringing the Auggies’ all-time national championship total to 39 in school history — and a record 35 in Division III competition.
“Not only did they repeat, but they were undefeated champions — almost unheard of at any level for a guy to do something like that — and to have a team that had four guys to repeat and go undefeated in that year, just it’s mind boggling, “Swenson said. “This will be in the storybooks long after I’m done coaching. “
Three-time All-American Mark Matzek (Sr., Ellsworth, Wis.) scored a key takedown with 1:05 left in the second period, then held off a late shot by Brockport State’s Tony D’Ambra to earn his second straight national title, finishing his final campaign at 34-0 and his career at 129-21.
Matt Shankey (Sr., Apple Valley, Minn.) scored three takedowns and built 4:02 of riding time to dominate his 125-pound national championship match, beating Tom Prairie of Williams (Mass.) 7-2 to repeat as titlist. Shankey finished his senior season 23-0 and 50-1 in his two seasons at Augsburg. He finished 78-16 in his collegiate career, after wrestling at Division I Iowa his first two seasons.
“(It’s) unbelievable. I’ve never been part of anything like this, “Shankey said. “I went to Apple Valley High School and we were real good there, but this feels unbelievable. My teammates are the best teammates. Obviously, all 10 of them are All-Americans. It feels real good. The team title means as much to me as the title I just won. If I do my part to win the tournment, that’s my contribution. “
Joe Moon (Sr., Ellendale, Minn./New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva HS), who returned to Augsburg for his final semester of his collegiate career, finished 16-0 this season with a 6-1 victory over Chris Healy of Wabash (Ind.) in the 174-pound championship match. Moon led 2-1 midway through the third period, but fought off a shot from Healy and then scored a takedown and two-point near-fall in the final 15 seconds of the match. A three-time All-American, Moon finished 16-0 this season and 121-14 in his career.
“I’m glad I came back — glad I’m not sitting in the stands, “Moon said. “It’s tough coming back. It’s tough defending a title, coming back on short time like this, but I’m glad I did it. “
Augsburg’s Jamell Tidwell (Sr., Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy HS), a three-time All-American at 141 pounds, fell for the second straight year in the national title match to Dustin Hinschberger of Wartburg, losing 4-1. Hinschberger scored a first-period takedown, scored an escape in the second period and built 1:54 of riding time to repeat as national titlist. Tidwell, who qualified for four national tournaments while finishing third his sophomore year and second his junior and senior seasons, finished 34-5 on the season and 155-17 in his career.
Ryan Valek (Jr., Belle Plaine, Minn.), a two-time All-American, reached the national finals at 165 pounds but fell 6-4 in the national title match to Garrett South of Luther (Iowa). Tied 3-3 after two periods, South scored a reversal midway through the third period for the eventual margin of victory. Valek, who finished seventh last season at 165, ended his junior campaign at 34-6 and is 92-35 in his career.
Mark Simmonds (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn./Edison HS), a two-time All-American, ended his career with a fourth-place finish at heavyweight, falling in the third-place match 5-3 to Mike Blair of Trinity (Conn.). Simmonds, who wrestled for two seasons at Augsburg after transferring from Division II Southwest State, finished 102-50 in his career. At Augsburg, he finished 32-9 on the season, 68-18 the last two seasons.
Brad Tupa (Jr., Dundas, Minn./Faribault HS) finished fourth at 184, after the first-time All-American won twice on Saturday before losing 4-3 to Matt Sassolino of Elmhurst (Ill.) in the third-place match. A reversal and two-point near-fall late in the second period provided the difference in the match. Tupa finished 30-7 on the season and is 59-19 in his career.
Justin Sorensen (Jr., Owatonna, Minn.) finished sixth at 197 pounds, as the two-time national qualifier reached All-American status for the first time, falling 9-6 to Jim Swanson of Wisconsin-La Crosse in the fifth-place match, losing to Swanson for the second time in the tournament. Sorenson finished 28-12 this season and is now 92-36 in his career.
Jared Evans (So., Blue Earth, Minn./Blue Earth Area HS), a first-time All-American, finished in seventh place at 149, as his opponent, Mike Kemble of Thiel (Pa.), defaulted in the seventh-place match. Evans lost 5-2 to Wartburg’s Jacob Naig in the consolation quarterfinals and finished his first national tournament season at 24-7. His career record is now 65-24.
Augsburg at NCAA Division III National Championships — FINAL
March 5, 2005 — St. Olaf College Tostrud Fieldhouse, Northfield, Minn.
Saturday’s results involving Augsburg wrestlers:
125 — Matt Shankey dec. Justin McClintock (Wartburg) 5-1. National championship match: Shankey dec. Tom Prairie (Williams) 7-2.
133 — Mark Matzek dec. Jestin Hulegaard (Buena Vista) 11-4. National championship match: Matzek dec. Tony D’Ambra (Brockport State) 4-1.
141 — Jamell Tidwell dec. Jeff Patzke (Luther) 9-7 (OT). National championship match: Dustin Hinschberger (Wartburg) dec. Tidwell 4-1.
149 — Jacob Naig (Wartburg) dec. Jared Evans 5-2. Seventh-place match: Evans by default over Mike Kemble (Thiel). National championship match: Matt Pyle (Luther) dec. Clint Manny (Simpson) 8-1.
157 — Marcus LeVesseur pinned Rick Lamas (Elmhurst) 2:30. National championship match: LeVesseur dec. Ryan LeBeau (Luther) 7-0.
165 — Ryan Valek dec. Nick Ammerman (Wis.-La Crosse) 7-6. National championship match: Garrett South (Luther) dec. Valek 6-4.
174 — Joe Moon dec. Tony Howard (McDaniel) 7-0. National championship match: Moon dec. Chris Healy (Wabash) 6-1.
184 — Brad Tupa tech. fall Mike Troutman (Ursinus) 16-0 at 3:07; Tupa maj. dec. Danny Adams (Luther) 18-4. Third-place match: Matt Sassolino (Elmhurst) dec. Tupa 4-3. National championship match: Duane Bastress (York) dec. Ryan Summers (John Carroll) 10-7.
197 — Justin Sorensen pinned Devin Carman (Baldwin-Wallace) 2:59; Will Weiss (Brockport) dec. Sorensen 7-5 (OT). Fifth-place match: Jim Swanson (Wis.-La Crosse) dec. Sorensen 9-6. National championship match: Akeem Carter (Augsburg) dec. Jamall Johnson (Delaware Valley) 5-0.
HWT — Ryan Allen (Wis.-La Crosse) dec. Mark Simmonds 5-3; Simmonds dec. Mike Hayes (Wis.-Stevens Point) 7-4. Third-place match: Mike Blair (Trinity) dec. Simmonds 5-3. National championship match: Ryan Allen (Wis.-La Crosse) dec. Blake Gillis (Wartburg) 7-2
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