Augsburg Claims 10th NCAA Division III Wrestling Crown
DUBUQUE, Iowa - The NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships have come to a close at the Five Flags Center in Dubuque, Iowa.
Augsburg College (135.5) won the 2007 team title for tenth time in school history. Wartburg College (99.5) finished second, followed by third place UW-LaCrosse (92.5), Luther College (86.0) and The College of New Jersey (46.5) round out the top five.
Augsburg College senior Marcus LeVesseur capped off his flawless career with a 3-0 win over the #6 seed Michael Guenther of The College of New Jersey, ending his career with a record of 155-0.
Returning All-American and top-seeded Matt Pyle of Luther College was voted the Outstanding Wrestler of the 2007 tournament by the coaches following his 149 pound pin of fourth seeded Jason Roush of Mt. St. Joseph in the championship match. Pyle also pinned his first two opponents of the tournament at 2:31 and 0:31 of those respective bouts.
Coach of the Year honors went to Jeff Swenson of Augsburg following their team title, three national champions (141 lbs., 157 lbs., 165 lbs.), two second place finishes (125 lbs., 133 lbs.), one fourth place finish (149 lbs.), two fifth place finishes (174 lbs., 285 lbs.), and one eighth place finish (197 lbs.).
The champions of each weight class were as follows: 125 Pounds – Nate Hansen, Luther College, 133 Pounds – David Morgan, Kings College, 141 Pounds - Quincy Osborn, Augsburg College, 149 Pounds – Matt Pyle, Luther College, 157 Pounds – Jeremy Anderson, Augsburg College, 165 Pounds – Marcus LeVesseur, Augsburg College, 174 Pounds – Josh Chelf, UW-LaCrosse, 184 Pounds – Terrance Madden, Hunter College, 197 Pounds Tyler (T.J.) Miller, Wartburg College, and 285 Pounds – Blake Gillis, Wartburg College.
Complete final brackets and team scores are available at the Loras College web site, www.loras.edu/athletics.
Session III
DUBUQUE, Iowa - Session three of the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships have come to a close at the Five Flags Center in Dubuque, Iowa. The championship matches, along with the third, fifth and seventh-place matches have all been set.
Augsburg College (121.5) continued to lead the team standings, sending five wrestlers (one shy of the championship record of six set by Wartburg) to the championship finals. Wartburg College in currently in second place (87.5) followed closely by UW-LaCrosse (85.5). Luther College (72.0) and the College of New Jersey (46.5) round out the top five.
Three-time national champion Marcus LeVesseur of Augsburg moved one step closer to becoming only the second NCAA wrestler to finish his career undefeated. LeVesseur moved into the finals of 165 pounds by earning a 10-2 major decision over Wartburg’s Jason Knipp. LeVesseur will face the College of New Jersey’s Michael Guenther in the finals. Guenther defeated Shaheim Bradshaw of SUNY-Brockport 8-5 to advance to the finals.
Returning all-American and top-seeded Nate Hanson of Luther advanced to the finals of 125 pounds by pinning Cornell College’s Chris Heilman in 2:49. Augsburg’s Seth Flodeen will face Hanson in the finals. Flodeen downed Brandon McDonough of Johnson and Wales 14-7 in the second semifinal at 125 pounds.
A pair of returning All-Americans will battle for the national title at 133 pounds. Augsburg’s Jafari Vanier, the national runner up last year, defeated Buena Vista’s Jestin Hulegaard 7-6 to reach the championship match. Vanier will face top-seed David Morgan of King’s, who advanced with a 5-2 decision over Jacob Helvey of Wartburg.
At 141 pounds, Augsburg’s Quincy Osborn earned a 15-3 major decision over Springfield’s Mike Gaeta to reach the finals. Delaware Valley’s Ricky LaForge will face Osborn in the finals by earning a 7-4 semifinal win over Rhode Island’s Michael Bonora.
Two returning all-Americans will face each other in the finals of 149 pounds. Mount St. Joseph’s Jason Roush scored a 2-1 win over top-seeded Jared Evans of Augsburg to reach the finals. Roush will take on Luther’s Matt Pyle in the championship match. Pyle defeated Heidelburg’s Joe Pflug 6-2 in the second 149 pound semifinal.
Returning all-American Jeremy Anderson of Augsburg defeated North Central’s Bobby Gingerich 7-3 to reach the finals at 157 pounds. Anderson will take on the College of New Jersey’s Joseph Galante, who advanced with a 2-1 victory over UW-LaCrosse’s Ross Needham.
Top-seed and returning all-American Josh Chelf of UW-LaCrosse pinned Williams’ Jonathon Dolan in 6:15 to head to the championship match at 174 pounds. Olivet’s Kyle Venderhyde defeated Augsburg’s Robert Gotreau 8-5 in the second semifinal at 174.
Cortland State’s Stephon Sair, who won a national title at 174 pounds last season, moved into the championship match at 184 pounds with an 8-2 semifinal win over Wartburg’s Romeo Djoumessi. Hunter’s Terrance Madden, a returning all-American, defeated Jason Lulloff of UW-LaCrosse 4-3 for the right to face Sair in the championship match at 184 pounds.
Returning All-American Tyler Miller of Wartburg moved into the finals at 197 pounds with a 10-2 major victory over Wabash’s Keith Garrard. Ben Strandberg of Buena Vista scored a 12-6 win over Muhlenberg’s Matthew Loesch in the second semifinal at 197 pounds.
Wartburg’s Blake Gillis, the national runner-up at 285 pounds in 2006, earned a return trip to the championship match by pinning Oneonta State’s Trevor Hiffa in 1:59. Baldwin Wallace’s Bryan Kmetz defeated Hunter’s Arkadiv Levitin 3-0 to also advance to the finals of 285 pounds.
Complete updated brackets and team scores are available at the Loras College web site, www.loras.edu/athletics.
Session II Recap
Dubuque, Iowa – The first and second sessions of the Division III Wrestling Championships have concluded at the Five Flags Center in Dubuque, Iowa. Each of the weight classes has completed championship quarterfinals as well as consolation rounds 3 and 4.
In the team competition, Augsburg College grabbed the lead with 75.5 points after day one. Wartburg College is 13 points behind (62.5) followed by UW-LaCrosse (51.5). Luther College (47.0) and the College of New Jersey (32.5) round out the top five. Augsburg College senior Marcus LeVesseur (165 pounds) remained unbeaten for his career by pinning Loras College’s Dave Early at 1:21 of their first round match. He advanced to the semifinals by scoring a 23-7 technical fall over Zach Bogardus of SUNY-Cortland. In the 125 pound weight class the top four seeds all advanced to the semi finals. Top-seeded returning All-American Nate Hanson of Luther advanced to the semifinals with an 11-2 major decision over York College’s Kyle Flickinger and a fall (2:54) over Manchester’s Eracieo Vallejo.
Returning All-American David Morgan of King’s College defeated Jordan Kolinski of UW-LaCrosse to move to the semifinals at 133 pounds. All four of the top seeds advanced to the semifinals at 133 pounds.
Heidelburg’s Joe Pflug will attempt to win his second straight national championship on day two of the tournament. Pflug, who won the title at 157 pounds in 2006, advanced to the semifinals at 149 pounds with a 10-6 quarterfinal win SUNY-Brockport’s Don Octon.
Returning All-Americans Jeremy Anderson of Augsburg and Bobby Gingerich of North Central College will face each other in the first semifinal at 157 pounds. Returning All-American Ross Needham of UW-LaCrosse also advanced to the semifinals of 157 pounds by scoring a fall over Wesleyan University’s Daniel DeLalla.
Top-seeded Josh Chelf of UW-LaCrosse scored a 12-0 major decision over Eric VanPatten of SUNY-Brockport and then pinned Paul Meirick of Luther in 1:50 to move to the semifinals of 174 pounds.
Cortland State’s Stephon Sair, who won a national title at 174 pounds last season, moved into the semifinals at 184 pounds with a 6-3 quarterfinal win over Ryan Summers of John Carroll. UW-LaCrosse’s Jason Lulloff, the top-seed and a returning All-American, also moved into the semifinals of 184 pounds.
Returning All-American Tyler Miller of Wartburg posted a pair of wins to move into the semifinals of 197 pounds. Miller scored a technical fall over Kings’ Jason Reilly and then earned a quarterfinal 15-2 major win over UW-Whitewater’s Mike Schmidt.
Wartburg’s Blake Gillis, the national runner-up at 285 pounds in 2006, cruised into the semifinals with a 16-0 technical fall over Plymouth State’s Shaun Wilbert and a 16-3 major decision over Ryan Bowers of Heidelburg.
Augsburg has nine wrestlers headed to the tournament’s second day of competition, including seven in the championship round. Wartburg and UW-LaCrosse each have six wrestlers competing in the second day. Wartburg has five wrestlers advancing in the championship bracket while UW-LaCrosse has three.
Complete updated brackets and team scores are available at the Loras College web site, www.loras.edu/athletics.
Session I Recap
Dubuque, Iowa – The first session of the Division III Wrestling Championships have concluded at the Five Flags Center in Dubuque, Iowa. Each of the weight classes has completed Preliminary Rounds 1 and 2, as well as Consolation Rounds 1 and 2.
In the team competition, Wartburg College has the early lead with a total score of 19, followed by other double-digit scorers Luther College (16.5), Augsburg College (14.5), UW-LaCrosse (12), and The College of New Jersey (11).
Marcus LeVesseur, Augsburg College senior, remained unbeaten by pinning Loras College’s Dave Early at 1:21 of their first round match. In the 125 pound weight class Brian Clement of Coe College remained in the Championship Bracket with a pin of #7 Jake Oster. At 133, Justin Seifried of Ithaca advanced with a win over #5 Adam Johnson of North Central. At 141, Myanganbayar Batsukh of St. Johns provided the largest upset over #3 seed Paul LeBlanc of SUNY Cortland 10-9. The 184 pound weight class saw the most seeded competitors fall. Elliot Smith (#5, Springfield), Jay Figgins (#6, Loras), and George Lynaugh (#7, Augsburg) each lost their opening matches.
Complete updated brackets and team scores are available at the Loras College web site, www.loras.edu/athletics.
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