Auggies compete in Iowa meets
MT. VERNON, Iowa — The Augsburg College wrestling team competed in two events on Saturday, with the Auggie varsity earning three individual titles/co-titles at the Cornell (Iowa) Matman Invitational, and the White Team (junior varsity) earning a second-place and two third-place finishes at the Central (Iowa) Invitational.
With just 11 wrestlers competing in six weight classes, the Auggies finished second in the 10-team Cornell meet with 91.0 points. Eight of the 11 Auggies earned top-five finishes at the meet.
Zach Molitor (SR, Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti HS), ranked No. 2 nationally at 174 pounds, dominated his opponents to win his weight class at the Cornell meet, with pins in his first three matches leading up to a 6-0 triumph in the championship match. Molitor is now 11-1 on the season.
At heavyweight, two Auggie first-year wrestlers shared the title, with Niko Bogojevic (FY, Superior, Wis.) going 3-0 and Chad Johnson (FY, Ferryville, Wis./DeSoto HS) going 2-0 with a pin. Bogojevic is now 20-5 on the season, while Johnson is 12-7.
Orlando Ponce (JR, Hialeah, Fla./Hialeah-Miami Lakes HS), ranked No. 2 nationally at 165, went 3-1 on the day to place second, with his lone loss a 3-1, overtime defeat to No. 5-ranked Josh Terrell of Dubuque (Iowa). Ponce had a pin in his opening match and is now 9-2 on the season.
Cody Hansen (SO, Albert Lea, Minn.), ranked No. 10 nationally at 141, went 3-1 to finish second, with a 15-0, second-period technical fall and two pins, as he improved to 14-5 on the year.
Also at the Cornell meet, Boyd Suparat (SO, North Branch, Minn.) placed third and Mike Orange (SO, Southfield, Mich.) placed fourth at 133, and Brandon Bahr (JR, Bemidji, Minn.) placed fifth at 174.
At the Central Invitational, Pat Fletcher (JR, Shelton, Neb.) placed second at heavyweight, while Alex Johnson (JR, Foxhome, Minn./Breckenridge HS) placed third at 133 and Nathan Lexvold (JR, Kenyon, Minn./Kenyon-Wanamingo HS) placed third at 141.
Augsburg returns to action with a dual meet against Waldorf (Iowa) on Tuesday (1/18) at Si Melby Hall. White Team action begins at 6 p.m., with varsity action following at 7:30 p.m.
Central Invitational
Augsburg Individual Results:
125 – Jesse Hylton 2-2, Ky Olsen 1-2
133 – Alex Johnson 4-1 (3rd), Cody Madsen 1-2
141 – Nathan Lexvold 5-1 (3rd), Will Keeter 3-2, Ryan Cook 1-2
157 – Tommy Teigen 2-2
165 – Justin Bowland 1-2
174 – Josh Jacobson 3-2, Jackson Mboma 2-2, Spencer Flodeen 0-2
184 – Alex Krautkremer 2-2
HWT – Patrick Fletcher 3-1 (2nd), Nick Creamier 2-2
Central Invitational Results/Backets
Cornell Matman Invitational
Augsburg Individual Results:
133 – Boyd Suparat 6-1 (3rd), Mike Orange 5-2 (4th)
141 – Cody Hansen 3-1 (2nd)
157 – Jon Priess 2-2, Jordan Campa 2-2, Tony Castro 1-2
165 – Orlando Ponce 3-1 (2nd)
174 – Zach Molitor 4-0 (1st), Brandon Bahr 5-2 (5th)
HWT – Niko Bogojevic 3-0 (co-1st), Chad Johnson 2-0 (co-1st)