LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The top-ranked Augsburg University men’s wrestling team suffered a 24-15 loss to No. 2-ranked Wartburg College (Iowa) in the finals of the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III National Duals championships, after advancing to the finals with a 22-10 win over No. 4-seed Loras College (Iowa) on Saturday at Freedom Hall.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The top-ranked team in the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III national rankings, Augsburg won seven of the 10 bouts against Loras in the semifinals, but could only record three wins in the title match against the Knights.
No. 6-ranked 149-pounder Aaron Wilson (SR, Oak Grove, Minn./St. Francis HS) completed an impressive 4-0 weekend for the Auggies with a 14-1 major-decision win over Loras’ Brock Parker and a 1:58 pin of Wartburg’s Zayren Terukina. Wilson is now 18-1 on the season with 16 bonus-point wins (seven pins, eight technical falls and one major decision).
No. 2-ranked 184-pounder Tanner Vassar (SR, Maple Lake, Minn./Maple Lake HS) scored a 4-3 victory over Wartburg’s Kyle Briggs, the No. 1-ranked 184-pounder nationally, following a 5-2 win over No. 8-ranked Shane Liegel of Loras. The lone unbeaten wrestler on the Auggie roster, Vassar is now 18-0 on the season. He and Wilson were the only Auggies to go 4-0 on the weekend.
Two-time defending 157-pound national champion Ryan Epps (SR, Cannon Falls, Minn./Cannon Falls HS) suffered an 8-4 upset loss to Loras’ No. 5-ranked Brandon Murray, but rebounded with a 4:03 pin of Wartburg’s No. 10-ranked Martine Sandoval. The split moved Epps’ record to 18-1 on the year and 131-12 in his career.
Lucas Jeske (SR, St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville HS), the defending back-to-back national champion at 165 pounds, picked up his 90th career win with a 4-1 win over Loras’ No. 4-ranked Eddie Smith, but suffered just the fourth pin against him in his college career with a third-period loss to Wartburg’s Matt Forsyth.
Victor Gliva (SR, Farmington, Minn./Farmington HS), ranked No. 2 nationally at 133, scored a 4-0 win over Loras, but dropped a 6-4 decision to Wartburg’s top-ranked Kristian Rumph in the finals.
Defending 141-pound national champion David Flynn (SR, Jordan, Minn./Jordan HS (Scott West)) also went 1-1 on the day, with a 6-2 win over Loras and a 3-1 loss to Wartburg’s No. 2-ranked Brady Fritz — one of three No. 1-vs.-No. 2 meetings in the Wartburg dual.
Top-ranked 197-pounder Lance Benick (JR, Scandia, Minn./Totino-Grace HS) clinched the victory for the Auggies against Loras with a dramatic 4-2 overtime win, but dropped a 5-1 decision to Wartburg’s No. 4-ranked Kobe Woods.
Heavyweight Tyler Kim (FY, Burnsville, Minn./Apple Valley HS) picked up a win in his only match of the day, a 9-5 triumph over Loras’ Wyatt Wriedt. Kim is now 13-4 on the year.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
This marked the 12th meeting in the finals between Augsburg and Wartburg in the 19-year history of the NWCA Division III National Duals. The teams are now tied 6-6 in those meetings. The two teams have split all 19 titles since 2002, with Wartburg winning 12 titles and Augsburg winning seven.
Augsburg is now 61-16 all-time in Division III National Duals competition since it started in the 2001-02 season. Including five other appearances in NWCA Division I National Duals competition prior to 2002, when the Division II, Division III and NAIA defending national champions were invited to participate, Augsburg is now 66-25.
NWCA Multi-Divisional National Duals Brackets/Results on TrackWrestling.com
UP NEXT
Augsburg returns to action next Saturday (1/18) at 9 a.m., competing at the Cornell (Iowa) Mike Duroe Open.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: No. 1 Augsburg 22, No. 4 Loras (Iowa) 10; No. 2 Wartburg (Iowa) 24, No. 1 Augsburg 15
LOCATION: Kentucky Expo Center, Louisville, Ky.
RECORD: Augsburg 6-1 overall
Championship Match
No. 2 Wartburg (Iowa, 10-0) 24, No. 1 Augsburg (6-1) 15
125 — No. 5 Brady Kyner (WAR) dec. Justin Stauffacher (AUG, 12-6) 9-2 (Wartburg 3-0)
133 — No. 1 Kristian Rumph (WAR) dec. No. 2 Victor Gliva (AUG, 16-2) 6-4 (Wartburg 6-0)
141 — No. 2 Brady Fritz (WAR) dec. No. 1 David Flynn (AUG, 8-2) 3-1 (Wartburg 9-0)
149 — No. 6 Aaron Wilson (AUG, 18-1) pinned Zayren Terukina (WAR) 1:58 (Wartburg 9-6)
157 — No. 1 Ryan Epps (AUG, 18-1) pinned No 10 Martine Sandoval (WAR) 4:03 (Augsburg 12-9)
165 — Max Forsyth (WAR) pnned No. 1 Lucas Jeske (AUG, 4-1) 5:55 (Wartburg 15-12)
174 — Paul Calo (WAR) dec. Nick Rogge (AUG, 13-2) 6-2 (Wartburg 18-12)
184 — No. 2 Tanner Vassar (AUG, 18-0) dec. No. 1 Kyle Briggs (WAR) 4-3 (Wartburg 18-15)
197 — No. 4 Kobe Woods (WAR) dec. No. 1 Lance Benick (AUG, 2-2) 5-1 (Wartburg 21-15)
HWT — Jordan Brandon (WAR) dec. Zach Muller (AUG, 4-4) 7-4 (Wartburg 24-15)
Semifinals
No. 1 Augsburg (6-0) 22, No. 4 Loras (Iowa, 6-1) 10
125 — Matt Randone (LOR) dec. Justin Stauffacher (AUG, 12-5) 2-1 (Loras 3-0)
133 — No. 2 Victor Gliva (AUG, 16-1) dec. Brice Everson (LOR) 4-0 (TIED 3-3)
141 — No. 1 David Flynn (AUG, 8-1) dec. Mason McMillen (LOR) 6-2 (Augsburg 6-3)
149 — No. 6 Aaron Wilson (AUG, 17-1) maj. dec. Brock Parker (LOR) 14-1 (Augsburg 10-3)
157 — No. 5 Brandon Murray (LOR) dec. No. 1 Ryan Epps (AUG, 17-1) 8-4 (Augsburg 10-6)
165 — No. 1 Lucas Jeske (AUG, 4-0) dec. No. 4 Eddie Smith (LOR) 4-1 (Augsburg 13-6)
174 — No. 4 Jacob Krakow (LOR) maj. dec. No. 7 Solomon Nielsen (AUG, 13-2) 14-3 (Augsburg 13-10)
184 — No. 2 Tanner Vassar (AUG, 17-0) dec. No. 8 Shane Liegel (LOR) 5-2 (Augsburg 16-10)
197 — No. 1 Lance Benick (AUG, 2-1) dec. Brady Vogel (LOR) 4-2 (OT-SV1) (Augsburg 19-10)
HWT — Tyler Kim (AUG, 13-4) dec. Wyatt Wriedt (LOR) 9-5 (Augsburg 22-10)
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