Knights top Auggies in ‘Battle of the Burgs’
MINNEAPOLIS — In the annual “Battle of the Burgs” dual meet between two of the most dominant small-college men’s wrestling programs in the country, top-ranked Wartburg College won eight of 10 bouts in a 24-8 victory over no. 4-ranked Augsburg University on Thursday evening at Augsburg’s Si Melby Hall.
Augsburg, ranked No. 4 in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III tournament national ranking and no. 8 in the NWCA’s Division III dual-meet rankings, trailed Wartburg, ranked No. 1 in the tournament rankings and No. 6 in the dual-meet rankings, 15-0 after the first five bouts of the dual. Augsburg gained wins at 165 pounds and 285 pounds in the second half of the meet.
At 165 pounds, Matt Rogge (FY, Eastman, Wis./Prairie du Chien HS) rallied from a 2-0 first-period deficit with an escape and takedown in the second period, and a four-point near-fall halfway through the third period to claim Augsburg’s first win of the dual, an 8-2 triumph over Wartburg’s Matthew Doyle. Rogge is now 21-12 on the season.
At 285 pounds, Augsburg’s No. 7-ranked Tyler Kim (JR, Burnsville, Minn./Apple Valley HS) closed the dual in dominant fashion, using two takedowns and three 4-point near-falls to dispatch Damari Dancy by a 16-1, third-period technical fall. Kim is now 29-5 on the season with 20 bonus-point victories (14 pins, two technical falls, four major decisions).
At 184, No. 11-ranked Nick Rogge (SR, Eastman, Wis./Prairie du Chien HS) nearly pulled off a major upset, taking a 6-2 lead over top-ranked Kyle Briggs a minute into the bout, converting a reversal into a four-point near-fall. But Briggs got an escape and takedown in the closing seconds of the first period, then pulled away with an escape and two takedowns down the stretch to top Rogge by an 11-6 decision.
Wartburg won the three other meetings of ranked wrestlers in the match, with No. 8-ranked 141-pounder Zayren Terukina upsetting No. 3-ranked Sam Stuhl (JR, Ellsworth, Wis./Ellsworth HS) 9-2, No. 10-ranked 157-pounder David Hollingsworth topping No. 2-ranked Tyler Shilson (JR, Maple Grove, Minn./Centennial HS) 12-8, and No. 4-ranked 174-pounder Zane Mulder beating No. 2-ranked Solomon Nielsen (SR, Luverne, Minn./Luverne HS) 8-4.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
Wartburg now leads the all-time series with Augsburg by a 23-16 margin, and has won the last five meetings in a row between the two schools.
The annual “Battle of the Burgs” dual meet features the two teams that have dominated NCAA Division III wrestling over the last three decades. Since 1995, every Division III national title has rested at either Augsburg or Wartburg, with defending national champion Augsburg winning 13 titles since 1991 and Wartburg winning 14 titles since 1996. With the NCAA Division III National Tournament not being held in either 2020 or 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Augsburg will enter the 2022 championships as the “defending” national champion, having won the last NCAA tournament in 2019.
UP NEXT
Augsburg returns to action on Sunday (1/30) at 2 p.m., with a dual meet at Wisconsin-La Crosse. The Eagles are ranked No. 6 in the NWCA’s tournament team rankings and No. 3 in the dual-meet rankings.
Thursday, January 27, 2022 – Si Melby Hall, Minneapolis, Minn.
Officials: Gabe Mooney, Spencer Beech
Attendance: 383
No. 1/6 Wartburg (Iowa) 24, No. 4/8 Augsburg (Minn.) 8
125 — No. 9 Brady Kyner (WAR, 5-0) dec. Derek Steele (AUG, 19-5) 7-5 (WARTBURG 3-0)
133 — No. 3 Joe Pins (WAR, 19-3) dec. Austin Gabbert (AUG, 14-10) 6-2 (WARTBURG 6-0)
141 — No. 8 Zayren Terukina (WAR, 18-2) dec. No. 3 Sam Stuhl (AUG, 15-4) 9-2 (WARTBURG 9-0)
149 — No. 2 Kris Rumph (WAR, 19-2) dec. Kaden Reetz (AUG, 22-9) 12-6 (WARTBURG 12-0)
157 — No. 10 David Hollingsworth (WAR, 15-3) dec. No. 2 Tyler Shilson (AUG, 23-2) 12-8 (WARTBURG 15-0)
165 — Matt Rogge (AUG, 20-12) dec. Matthew Doyle (WAR, 14-6) 8-2 (WARTBURG 15-3)
174 — No. 4 Zane Mulder (WAR, 16-0) dec. No. 2 Solomon Nielsen (AUG, 23-3) 8-4 (WARTBURG 18-3)
184 — No. 1 Kyle Briggs (WAR, 9-0) dec. No. 11 Nick Rogge (AUG, 19-3) 11-6 (WARTBURG 21-3)
197 — Kyle Woods (WAR, 8-4) dec. No. 10 Bentley Schwanebeck-Ostermann (AUG, 14-4) 10-4 (WARTBURG 24-3)
285 — No. 7 Tyler Kim (AUG, 29-5) tech. fall Damari Dancy (WAR, 12-6) 16-1 at 6:55 (WARTBURG 24-8)
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