CORALVILLE, Iowa — The Augsburg University men’s wrestling team had two national runners-up and earned five National Wrestling Coaches Association All-American honors at the NWCA Division III Coaches Association National Championships, concluded on Saturday at the Xtream Arena.
Auggie 174-pounder Solomon Nielsen (SR, Luverne, Minn./Luverne HS) and 285-pounder Tyler Kim (SO, Burnsville, Minn./Apple Valley HS) finished second nationally in their weight classes, while 157-pounder Tyler Shilson (JR, Maple Grove, Minn./Centennial HS) placed third, Nick Rogge (JR, Eastman, Wis./Prairie du Chien HS) placed fifth at 184 and Bentley Schwanebeck-Ostermann (SO, Loyal, Wis./Marshfield HS) placed sixth at 197.
Kim, the No. 8-seed at heavyweight, topped the Nos. 9, 1 and 4 seeds in his weight class to reach the final, where he was edged 4-3 by No. 6-seed Wyatt Wriedt of Loras (Iowa). Kim held a 2-0 lead, but surrendered a takedown with 13 seconds left in the second period. Wriedt then took the lead for good with an escape five seconds into the third period.
Kim reached the final with a 6-4 overtime win over No. 4-seed Jordon Brandon of Wartburg (Iowa), converting the match-winning takedown with eight seconds left in the first one-minute sudden-victory overtime session.
A first-time All-American, Kim finished with a 7-3 record this season, and is 31-12 in his college career.
Nielsen, seeded No. 2 at 174, had four wins, including a pin, to reach the final, but lost by an 8-0 major decision to top-seed Kyle Briggs of Wartburg. Nielsen was unable to gain an advantage on Briggs, who converted three takedowns and built 6:07 of riding time in the title match.
Nielsen reached the final with a 10-6 victory over No. 3-seed Jacob Krakow of Loras. Nielsen built a 5-1 lead in the second period, and used four takedowns in the match to claim the victory.
A two-time NWCA Division III All-American, Nielsen finished the season 9-1 and is 89-19 in his college career.
No. 3-ranked Shilson placed third at 157 pounds, earning his first collegiate All-America honor in come-from-behind fashion. Trailing No. 12-seeded Anthony Ulaszek of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy (Conn.) 6-0 after a takedown and four-point near-fall in the third-place match, Shilson turned the tables in dramatic fashion, using a reversal, three takedowns and three 4-point near-falls to secure a 23-7, 5:44 technical fall win.
Shilson lost his semifinal match 7-6 to No. 2 seed David Hollingsworth of Wartburg (Iowa), but bounced back with an 8-1 win over Jack O’Donnell of Concordia-Wisconsin in the wrestlebacks to reach the third-place match.
A transfer from Division I Tennessee-Chattanooga, Shilson finished his first season as an Auggie at 10-1 with two pins and six technical falls, and is now 38-25 in his collegiate career.
At 184 pounds, No. 4-ranked Rogge finished in fifth place at the national meet. In the fifth-place match, Rogge quickly turned a takedown into a dominating position, pinning No. 5-seed Ryan Schott of Coe (Iowa) in 1:11.
Earlier in the day on Saturday, Rogge fell 11-6 to top-ranked Paul Detwiler of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in the semifinals, then lost 9-6 to No. 7-ranked Brock Montford of North Central (Iowa) in the consolation round. Rogge finished the season at 11-2 with five pins, four technical falls and a major decision, and is now 65-16 in his Auggie career.
No. 8-ranked Schwanebeck-Ostermann finished in sixth place at 197 pounds, as he was edged in three close matches on Saturday — a 4-1 loss to No. 4-ranked Gabriel Zierden of Concordia-Moorhead in the semifinals, 4-3 to No. 2-ranked Logan Hagerbaumer of Millikin (Ill.) on a takedown with three seconds left, and 3-2 to top-ranked Jonathan Wagner of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in the fifth-place match.
Schwanebeck-Ostermann finished his sophomore season with an 11-3 record, including a pin, two technical falls and three major decisions. He is now 31-12 in his Augsburg career.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
Augsburg’s men’s wrestling program has now earned 264 All-American honors (38 NAIA, 213 NCAA Division III, 13 NWCA) in program history. The Auggies have had at least one All-American in national competition every season since 1977, and have now had three or more All-Americans at 41 different national tournaments since 1974.
After the cancellation of NCAA Division III winter sports championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NWCA’s Division III Coaches Association set up its own national tournament for Division III schools. No team results were kept at the tournament, which only awarded individual titlists.
NWCA Division III Coaches Association National Championships Results
2021 NWCA DIVISION III COACHES ASSOCIATION NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
March 13, 2021 – Xtream Arena, Coralville, Iowa
No team scores kept
DAY 2 RESULTS
- 157 — No. 2 David Hollingsworth (Wartburg) dec. No. 3 Tyler Shilson (Augsburg) 7-6; Shilson dec. No. 9 Jack O’Donnell (Concordia-Wisconsin) 8-1; Third-Place Match: Shilson tech. fall No. 12 Anthony Ulsazek (U.S. Coast Guard Academy) 23-7 at 5:44.
- 174 — No. 2 Solomon Nielsen (Augsburg) dec. No. 3 Jacob Krakow (Loras) 10-6; National Championship Match: No. 1 Kyle Briggs (Wartburg) maj. dec. Nielsen 8-0.
- 184 — No. 1 Paul Detwiler (U.S. Coast Guard Academy) dec. No. 4 Nick Rogge (Augsburg) 11-6; No. 7 Brock Montford (North Central) dec. Rogge 9-6; Fifth-Place Match: Rogge pinned No. 5 Ryan Schott (Coe) 1:11.
- 197 — No. 4 Gabriel Zierden (Concordia-Moorhead) dec. No. 8 Bentley Schwanebeck-Ostermann (Augsburg) 4-1; No. 2 Logan Hagerbaumer (Millikin) dec. Schwanebeck-Ostermann 4-3; Fifth-Place Match: No. 1 Jonathan Wagner (U.S. Coast Guard Academy) dec. Schwanebeck-Ostermann 3-2.
- 285 — No. 8 Tyler Kim (Augsburg) dec. No. 4 Jordon Brandon (Wartburg) 6-4 (OT-SV1); National Championship Match: No. 6 Wyatt Wriedt (Loras) dec. Kim 4-3.
Check out Auggies Wrestling at athletics.augsburg.edu and on Facebook and Twitter.
