FORT WAYNE, Ind. — For the 10th time in 16 years, the Augsburg College wrestling team recorded a top-two finish at the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III National Duals championship match, finishing second in the event, completed on Friday at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
Augsburg, ranked No. 3 in the latest NWCA Division III national poll, advanced to the championship match with a 26-12 win over No. 2-ranked Ithaca (N.Y.) in the semifinals, but fell 31-9 to perennial rival and No. 1-ranked Wartburg (Iowa) in the finals.
Against Ithaca, Augsburg jumped out to a 10-0 lead and eventually won seven of the 10 bouts, including a pin and two major decisions.
Augsburg won the first two bouts against Wartburg, but the Knights won the next five bouts in a row, including three pins and a major decision, to take a commanding 25-6 lead. The Knights won seven of the 10 bouts in the match.
Owen Webster (FY, Shakopee, Minn.), ranked No. 2 nationally at 184 pounds, extended his individual winning streak to 16, scoring an 11-1, major-decision win over Ithaca’s Jake Ashcraft and a 9-4 triumph over Wartburg’s No. 6-ranked Bryan Levsen. Webster, one of two Auggies to win all four of his matches at the National Duals, is now 19-1 on the season with 14 bonus-point wins (five pins, four technical falls, five major decisions).
Victor Gliva (FY, Farmington, Minn.) also claimed two wins on Friday at 125 pounds, a 9-6 win over Ferdinand Mase of Ithaca and a 9-5 win over Wartburg’s No. 5-ranked Arnulfo Olea, to join Webster with a 4-0 effort at the National Duals. Gliva is now 16-4 on the season, with three pins, two technical falls and two major decisions.
No. 5-ranked 133-pounder Sam Bennyhoff (SO, Mound, Minn./Mound-Westonka HS) scored two wins on Friday, recording an 18-5, major-decision win over Ithaca’s No. 7-ranked (at 125) James Kashian, then an 11-9 win over Wartburg’s Connor Campo. Bennyhoff, who went 3-1 at the National Duals, is now 13-4 overall with five major decisions and two technical falls.
Heavyweight Donny Longendyke (SR, Vadnais Heights, Minn./White Bear Lake HS), ranked No. 2 nationally, claimed a third-period pin over Ithaca’s Jake O’Brien, but was upset 4-0 by Wartburg’s No. 3-ranked Lance Evans. The 2015 NCAA Division III national champion and 2015 national runner-up at heavyweight, Longendyke went 3-1 at the National Duals to go to 7-1 on the season with five pins. He is now 90-6 with 51 pins in his Augsburg career and 130-27 with 74 pins in his college career (including his first season at Division I Nebraska).
David Flynn (FY, Jordan, Minn./Scott West), who transferred to Augsburg from Division I North Dakota State at the semester break, went 3-1 at the National Duals at 141 pounds to improve to 15-5 on the season (6-2 at Augsburg). On Friday, Flynn topped Ithaca’s No. 7-ranked (at 133) Bryan Israel 9-6, but suffered a pin at the hands of Wartburg’s No. 6-ranked (at 149) Cross Cannone.
Augsburg’s Ryan Epps (FY, Cannon Falls, Minn.), Lucas Jeske (FY, St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville HS) and Austin Boniface (SR, Wyoming, Minn./Forest Lake HS) all went 2-2 at the National Duals, at 149, 165 and 174 pounds, respectively.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
Augsburg is now 50-15 in National Duals competition since the NWCA split the event into divisional competition in 2002. In 65 NWCA Division III National Duals meets, Augsburg has now outscored its competition by a 1,786-807 margin, an average score of 27.5 to 12.4. In 15 NWCA National Duals appearances overall (since 1992), Augsburg is now 55-24.
In 16 appearances in the NWCA Division III National Duals, Augsburg has won the title five times and finished second five times. Wartburg has now won the event title seven straight years and 11 times overall.
Against opponents from Divisions II and III, Augsburg is now 311-48-1 in dual meets since the 1989-90 season. Augsburg has lost just 44 matches to non-Division I opponents since the 1995-96 season. Against strictly NCAA Division III opponents, Augsburg is 302-47-1 since the 1979-80 season. Since the 1989-90 season, Augsburg is 227-37-1 against Division III opponents.
NWCA Multi-Divisional National Duals Results
UP NEXT
Augsburg competes at the Cornell (Iowa) Matman Open next Saturday (1/14) at 9 a.m.
Semifinals
No. 3 Augsburg (8-0) 26, No. 2 Ithaca (N.Y., 4-1) 12
125 — Victor Gliva (AUG, 15-4) dec. Ferdinand Mase (ITH, 16-7) 9-6 (Augsburg 3-0)
133 — No. 5 Sam Bennyhoff (AUG, 12-4) maj. dec. No. 7 (125) James Kashian (ITH, 17-6) 18-5 (Augsburg 7-0)
141 — David Flynn (AUG, 15-4) dec. No. 7 (133) Bryan Israel (ITH, 5-3) 9-6 (Augsburg 10-0)
149 — No. 2 Sam Schneider (ITH, 17-1) dec. Ryan Epps (AUG, 14-2) 13-11 (Augsburg 10-3)
157 — No. 3 Grant Parker (AUG, 16-5) dec. Jawan Jones (ITH, 11-9) 3-1 (Augsburg 13-3)
165 — No. 4 Nick Velez (ITH, 15-4) maj. dec. Lucas Jeske (AUG, 7-1) 15-3 (Augsburg 13-7)
174 — Austin Boniface (AUG, 13-6) dec. Jaison White (10-8) 4-3 (Augsburg 16-7)
184 — No. 2 Owen Webster (AUG, 18-1) maj. dec. Jake Ashcraft (ITH, 14-8) 11-1 (Augsburg 20-7)
197 — No. 6 Carlos Toribio (ITH, 12-4) tech. fall Logan Hortop (AUG, 6-9) 16-0 at 7:00 (Augsburg 20-12)
HWT — No. 2 Donny Longendyke (AUG, 7-0) pinned Jake O’Brien (ITH, 13-5) 6:59 (Augsburg 26-12)
Championship Match
No. 1 Wartburg (Iowa, 12-0) 31, No. 3 Augsburg (8-1) 9
125 — Victor Gliva (AUG, 16-4) dec. No. 5 Arnulfo Olea (WAR, 17-4) 9-5 (Augsburg 3-0)
133 — No. 5 Sam Bennyhoff (AUG, 13-4) dec. Connor Campo (WAR, 2-7) 11-9 (Augsburg 6-0)
141 — No. 6 (149) Cross Cannone (WAR, 16-4) pinned David Flynn (AUG, 15-5) 2:50 (TIED 6-6)
149 — Kenny Martin (WAR, 3-0) maj. dec. Ryan Epps (AUG, 14-3) 15-4 (Wartburg 10-6)
157 — No. 1 Logan Thomsen (WAR, 21-1) dec. No. 3 Grant Parker (AUG, 16-6) 6-1 (Wartburg 13-6)
165 — Andrew Steiert (WAR, 3-0) pinned Lucas Jeske (AUG, 7-2) 2:33 (Wartburg 19-6)
174 — No. 2 Eric DeVos (WAR, 9-0) pinned Austin Boniface (AUG, 13-7) 1:33 (Wartburg 25-6)
184 — No. 2 Owen Webster (AUG, 19-1) dec. No. 6 Bryan Levsen (WAR, 14-4) 9-4 (Wartburg 25-9)
197 — No. 5 Kyle Fank (WAR, 19-2) dec. Sebastian Larson (AUG, 5-7) 6-2 (Wartburg 28-9)
HWT — No. 3 Lance Evans (WAR, 15-0) dec. No. 2 Donny Longendyke (AUG, 7-1) 4-0 (Wartburg 31-9)