ROANOKE, Va. — With two Auggies advancing to individual title matches, the Augsburg University men’s wrestling team clinched its 14th national championship in school history, taking a 36-point lead into the final round at the NCAA Division III National Championships on Saturday at the Berglund Center.
TOP 10 TEAM SCORES AFTER SATURDAY’S THIRD SESSION: 1. Augsburg (Minn.) 98.0; 2. Baldwin-Wallace (Ohio) 62.0; 3. North Central (Ill.) 59.5; 4. Wartburg (Iowa) 58.5; 5. Wisconsin-La Crosse 57.0; 6. Stevens Tech (N.J.) 49.5; 7. Johnson & Wales (R.I.) 48.0; 8. Dubuque (Iowa) 41.5; 9. U.S. Coast Guard Academy (Conn.) 40.5; 10. Wisconsin-Eau Claire 33.0.
With seven All-Americans, including national finalists Sam Stuhl (JR, Ellsworth, Wis./Ellsworth HS) at 141 pounds and Tyler Shilson (SR, Maple Grove, Minn./Centennial HS) at 157 pounds, the Auggies finished the third session with 98.0 points, a 36-point lead over second-place Baldwin-Wallace (Ohio)’s 62.0. North Central (Ill.) is third with 59.5, Wartburg (Iowa) is fourth with 58.5, and Wisconsin-La Crosse is fifth with 57.0. Each of the top four teams entering the 10 weight class title bouts later on Saturday have two finalists each. The most team points any individual can score in the final round is six.
A third-place finisher at 157 pounds at each ot the last two national tournaments and the No. 4 seed this year, Shilson advanced to his first national title match with a 13-0, major decision victory over top-seed David Hollingsworth of Wartburg (Iowa) in the semifinals — his second win over Hollingsworth in their four career meetings. The win, his third major decision in the tournament, was a milestone for Shilson, as he earned his 100th collegiate career victory — 100-33 overall, 72-9 in his three seasons at Augsburg.
Shilson will face No. 2-seed Nolan Hertel of Wisconsin-La Crosse in the national title match. Shilson is 3-2 in his collegiate career against Hertel, 1-2 this season. The two last met in the finals of the NCAA Division III Upper Midwest Regional on Feb. 25, with Hertel winning 3-2.
Unseeded 141-pounder Sam Stuhl earned a spot in the national finals with a 6-3 win over Jacob Reed of Ohio Northern in the semifinals. The key point in the match came late in the first period, when Stuhl converted a takedown and a two-point near-fall, taking a 6-1 lead. Stuhl, who transferred from North Dakota State in the middle of the 2021-22 season, earned All-American honors for the first time this season with a 36-5 record. He is now 56-10 in his Augsburg career and 70-22 in his collegiate career.
Stuhl will face Ethan Harsted of Wheaton (Ill.), also an unseeded wrestler, in the 141-pound national title match. The two met in the semifinals of the NCAA Upper Midwest Regional on Feb. 25, with Harsted scoring a 6-5 win.
Tyler Kim (JR, Burnsville, Minn./Apple Valley HS), now a three-time All-American at 285 pounds, was pinned in his semifinal match by top-seed Jack Heldt of Wabash (Ind.), but came back with two first-period pins to finish in third place. The No. 4-seeded 285-pounder, he claimed a 1:44 pin of fifth-seeded Jake Peavey of Southern Maine, then claimed a 1:50 pin of Darryl Aiello of Dubuque (Iowa) in the third-place match.
Kim, who finished fourth at 285 at last year’s NCAA tournament and second at the 2021 National Wrestling Coaches Association national meet, scored three pins and a major decision in his tournament run. He finished the season at 38-2 with 20 pins, two technical falls and three major decisions, and is now 107-21 in his college career.
At 184 pounds, three-time All-American Bentley Schwanebeck-Ostermann (JR, Loyal, Wis./Marshfield HS) finished in fourth place, going 1-2 on Saturday. The No. 6-seeded 184-pounder dropped a 10-5 decision to No. 2-seed Shane Liegel of Loras (Iowa) in the semifinals, but bounced back with a 15-4, major decision win over David McCullough of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy (Conn.) in the wrestlebacks, pulling away from a 4-1 first-period deficit with a two takedowns and two 4-point near-falls. He dropped his third-place match by a 7-1 decision to No. 5-seed Donovan Corn of Luther (Iowa).
Schwanebeck-Ostermann, who finished sixth at 197 pounds at the last two national tournaments, finished the season 31-8 with 10 pins, three technical falls and six major decisions. He is now 82-28 in his Auggie career.
Seventh-seeded 165-pounder Cooper Willis (FY, Kansasville, Wis./Union Grove HS) went 2-1 on Saturday to finish in fifth place. He scored a second-period escape and rode the entire third period to claim a 2-0 win over No. 4-seed Nathan Fuller of Wartburg, but dropped a 7-4 decision to No. 5-seed Nicholas Sacco of The College of New Jersey to drop to the fifth-place match. Against Cooper Pontelandolfo of New York University, he scored a second-period takedown and rode on top for the entire second period to claim a 3-1 win. Willis finished his first collegiate campaign at 31-9.
Competing in his first national tournament, No. 7-seeded 174-pounder Seth Goetzinger (SO, Chatfield, Minn./Chatfield HS) finished in seventh place. He dropped an 8-4 decision to No. 3-seed Seth Brossard of Wisconsin-La Crosse in his first match on Saturday, then earned a medical forfeit in the seventh-place match. Goetzinger finished the season 28-9 on the year with 16 pins, a technical fall and three major decisions. He is now 42-15 in his career.
At 149 pounds, seventh-seeded Charlie Stuhl (SO, Ellsworth, Wis./Ellsworth HS) finished in eighth place, dropping a 7-3 decision to No. 3-seed Thomas Monn of McDaniel (Md.) and a 5-3 decision to Chase Parrott of Springfield (Mass.) in the seventh-place match. Competing in his first national tournament, Stuhl finished this season 31-7. He is now 66-22 in his collegiate career.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
Augsburg has now won 14 NCAA Division III national titles in school history (1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2015, 2019), the second-most team titles in Division III, behind Wartburg’s 15. Either Augsburg or Wartburg has won every Division III national title since 1995.
Augsburg has finished among the top two teams in men’s wrestling national competition 28 times since 1975, and has finished among the top 20 teams nationally every year since 1971.
Augsburg has had at least one All-American in national competition every year since 1977 — 47 straight years. Augsburg has now earned 275 men’s wrestling All-Americans in school history (224 in NCAA competition. 38 in NAIA, 13 by the NWCA in 2020 and 2021).
Augsburg has earned at least two All-Americans every year since 1988, has had at least five All-Americans in 31 of the last 34 seasons, and has now earned seven or more All-Americans 14 times in NCAA Division III competition (since 1983).
UP NEXT
The 10 national championship matches are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. (Central time), concluding the tournament.
SATURDAY’S AUGSBURG INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
- 141: Sam Stuhl (Augsburg) dec. Jacob Reed (Ohio Northern) 6-3. National Championship Match: Stuhl vs. Ethan Harsted (Wheaton).
- 149: Thomas Monn (McDaniel) dec. Charlie Stuhl (Augsburg) 7-3. Seventh-Place Match: Chase Parrott (Springfield) dec. Stuhl 5-3.
- 157: Tyler Shilson (Augsburg) maj. dec. David Hollingsworth (Wartburg) 13-0. National Championship Match: Shilson vs. Nolan Hertel (Wisconsin-La Crosse).
- 165: Cooper Willis (Augsburg) dec. Nathan Fuller (Wartburg) 2-0; Fifth-Place Match: Nicholas Sacco (College of New Jersey) dec. Willis 7-4.
- 174: Seth Brossard (UW-La Crosse) dec. Seth Goetzinger (Augsburg) 8-4. Seventh-Place Match: Goetzinger med. forfeit Anson Dewar (Muhlenberg).
- 184: Shane Liegel (Loras) dec. Bentley Schwanebeck-Ostermann (Augsburg) 10-5; Schwanebeck-Ostermann maj. dec. David McCullough (U.S. Coast Guard Academy) 15-4. Third-Place Match: Donovan Corn (Luther) dec. Schwanebeck-Ostermann 7-1.
- 285: Jack Heldt (Wabash) pinned Tyler Kim (Augsburg) 2:46; Kim pinned Jake Peavey (Southern Maine) 1:44. Third-Place Match: Kim pinned Darryl Aiello (Dubuque) 1:50.
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