CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The top-ranked Augsburg College wrestling team suffered a 23-13 semifinal loss to No. 4-ranked Wisconsin-La Crosse, but rallied for a 27-11 win over No. 6-ranked Ithaca College (N.Y.) in the third-place match of the National Wrestling Coaches Association/Cliff Keen Division III National Duals, presented by Hibiclens and The Marines, on Sunday at the University of Northern Iowa’s UNI-Dome.
Trailing 11-3 after four bouts to Ithaca, the Auggies (4-2 overall) rallied with six straight victories, including two pins, to close the match and claim third place at the 16-team, two-day event.
In the 10-year history of the NWCA Division III National Duals, Augsburg has won the event five times (2002, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010), placed second three times (2003, 2004, 2006) and placed third twice (2008, 2011). Augsburg is now 35-5 in its history at the Division III National Duals, and 40-14 all-time in National Duals events (prior to 2002, the defending Division III national titlist was among championship teams invited to compete in the Division I National Duals).
Three Auggie ranked wrestlers had perfect performances on Sunday — No. 2-ranked Orlando Ponce (SR, Hialeah, Fla./Hialeah-Miami Lakes HS) at 165, No. 3-ranked Jared Massey (SR, Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial HS) at 197 and No. 7-ranked Brad Baus (JR, Mukwonago, Wis.) at 184.
With two decisions, including a 5-3 win over No. 6-ranked Cory Ferguson of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Ponce completed a 4-0 weekend at the National Duals, improving to 6-1 overall. Massey also had a 4-0 weekend, with two pins on Saturday and a major decision on Sunday, to improve to 6-1 on the season. Baus claimed a second-period pin against Ithaca to finish the weekend 3-1, improving to 19-4 on the season.
Zach Enrico (JR, Minnetonka, Minn./Hopkins HS) claimed his second pin of the season at 157 pounds against Ithaca to spark the Auggie comeback, the first of the Auggies’ six straight wins.
Zach Molitor (SR, Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti HS), ranked No. 2 at 174, saw his six-match unbeaten string snapped in a 4-2 loss to top-ranked Michael Schmitz of Wisconsin-La Crosse, but rallied back with a 2-0 win over Ithaca’s No. 6-ranked David Priest to improve to 7-1 on the season.
No. 2-ranked Tony Valek (JR, Belle Plaine, Minn./Scott West) claimed his 20th win of the season at 149 with a 4-0 win over No. 4-ranked Matt Mauseth of Wisconsin-La Crosse, but was upset 6-4 by No. 5-ranked Blake Wosczak of Ithaca. Valek is now 20-2 on the year.
Auggie heavyweight Niko Bogojevic (FY, Superior, Wis.) improved to 17-5 on the season with a 7-6 win over Ithaca’s No. 4-ranked Matthew Mahon.
Since 1989-90, the Auggies are now 254-23 against opponents from Divisions II and III, losing just 18 matches to non-Division I teams since the 1995-96 campaign. Against strictly Division III opponents, Augsburg is 254-23 in dual meets since the 1979-80 season and 178-14 since the 1989-90 season.
Augsburg returns to action with split-squad competition next Saturday (1/15), with the varsity competing at the Cornell (Iowa) Matman Open and the White Team (JV) competing at the Minnesota West Community and Technical College-Worthington Open.
NO. 4 WISCONSIN-LA CROSSE (8-2) 23, NO. 1 AUGSBURG (3-2) 13
125 — No. 4 Lloyd McKinney (UWL, 12-6) pinned No. 5 Josh Roberts (AUG, 12-4) 2:37 (UW-La Crosse 6-0)
133 — No. 6 Adam Sheley (UWL, 13-2) tech. fall Cody Madsen (AUG, 8-8) 21-4 at 7:00 (UW-La Crosse 11-0)
141 — No. 1 Bebeto Yewah (UWL, 12-1) dec. No. 8 Cody Hansen (AUG, 11-3) 9-3 (UW-La Crosse 14-0)
149 — No. 2 Tony Valek (AUG, 20-1) dec. No. 4 Matt Mauseth (UWL, 10-6) 4-0 (UW-La Crosse 14-3)
157 — Ryan Farwell (UWL, 5-4) dec. Jon Priess (AUG, 10-10) 3-2 (UW La Crosse 17-3)
165 — No. 2 Orlando Ponce (AUG, 5-1) dec. No. 6 Cory Ferguson (UWL, 5-5) 5-3 (UW-La Crosse 17-6)
174 — No. 1 Michael Schmitz (UWL, 10-3) dec. No. 2 Zach Molitor (AUG, 6-1) 4-2 (UW-La Crosse 20-6)
184 — No. 7 Brad Baus (AUG, 18-4) dec. Mitch Artist (UWL, 12-5) 5-0 (UW-La Crosse 20-9)
197 — No. 3 Jared Massey (AUG, 4-0) maj. dec. John Poppie (UWL, 8-7) 11-3 (UW-La Crosse 20-13)
HWT — William Mayer (UWL, 9-5) dec. No. 8 Chad Johnson (AUG, 10-7) 6-3 (UW-La Crosse 23-13)
NO. 1 AUGSBURG (4-2) 27, NO. 6 ITHACA (N.Y., 9-2) 11
125 — No. 5 Josh Roberts (AUG, 13-4) dec. Dominick Giacolone (IC, 9-7) 3-0 (Augsburg 3-0)
133 — No. 5 Seth Ecker (IC, 16-3) tech. fall Cody Madsen (AUG, 8-9) 17-1 at 5:00 (Ithaca 5-3)
141 — Jeremy Stierly (IC, 7-0) dec. No. 8 Cody Hansen (AUG, 11-4) 8-3 (Ithaca 8-3)
149 — No. 5 Blake Wosczak (IC, 19-2) dec. No. 2 Tony Valek (AUG, 20-2) 6-4 (Ithaca 11-3)
157 — Zach Enrico (AUG, 11-8) pinned Evan Connors (IC, 4-3) 6:57 (Ithaca 11-9)
165 — No. 2 Orlando Ponce (AUG, 6-1) dec. Nicholas Sanko (IC, 12-5) 11-5 (Augsburg 12-11)
174 — No. 2 Zach Molitor (AUG, 7-1) dec. No. 6 David Priest (IC, 16-3) 2-0 (Augsburg 15-11)
184 — No. 7 Brad Baus (AUG, 19-4) pinned Josue Mendez (IC, 9-5) 4:10 (Augsburg 21-11)
197 — No. 3 Jared Massey (AUG, 5-0) dec. Shane Bartum (IC, 3-6) 6-1 (Augsburg 24-11)
HWT — Niko Bogojevic (AUG, 17-5) dec. No. 4 Matthew Mahon (IC, 14-4) 7-6 (Augsburg 27-11)