ROANOKE, Va. — Going 9-1 in the opening round with four pins, a technical fall and two major decisions, the Augsburg University men’s wrestling team stands in first place after the opening round of the NCAA Division III National Championships at the Berglund Center.
TOP 10 TEAM SCORES AFTER ROUND 1: 1. Augsburg (Minn.) 20.0; 2t. Baldwin-Wallace (Ohio) 11.5; 2t. Wisconsin-La Crosse 11.5; 4. North Central (Ill.) 11.0; 5. Wartburg (Iowa) 10.0; 6. Stevens Tech (N.J.) 8.5; 7. U.S. Coast Guard Academy (Conn.) 7.5; 8. Coe (Iowa) 7.0; 9. Wabash (Ind.) 6.5; 10t. Johnson & Wales (R.I.) 6.0; 10t. SUNY-Cortland (N.Y.) 6.0
Seven of the eight Augsburg wrestlers opened their tournaments with victories, moving into Friday night’s quarterfinal round, while one Auggie remains alive in the wrestlebacks after an opening loss and a pigtail consolation win. Augsburg leads the team race with 20.0 points after the first round.
Fourth-seeded 285-pounder Tyler Kim (JR, Burnsville, Minn./Apple Valley HS) claimed a 65-second pin of Peter Wersinger of the College of New Jersey in his opening bout, his 18th pin of the season and 12th of two minutes or less. Kim scored a takedown 37 seconds into the match and quickly converted it into a pin, improving to 35-1 on the season and 104-21 in his career with his 49th career fall. Kim will face Daniel Skold of Augustana (Ill.) in Friday’s quarterfinals, aiming to secure his third straight All-American honor.
Seventh-seeded 165-pounder Cooper Willis (FY, Kansasville, Wis./Union Grove HS) made his national tournament debut in style, scoring two wins in the opening round. In a pigtail match, he built a 5-0 lead and scored a 6:11 pin of Zach Needles of Messiah (Pa.), then in a tight match with Michael Angers of Castleton (Vt.), Massie used a second-period escape, third-period reversal and 1:02 riding time to secure a spot in the quarterfinals with a 4-0 win. He will face second-seeded Matt Lackman of Alvernia (Pa.) in the quarterfinals.
At 149 pounds, Charlie Stuhl (SO, Ellsworth, Wis./Ellsworth HS) improved to 30-4 with his fifth pin of the year, a 6:17 match-ender over Chris Perry of Trinity (Conn.). He claimed a reversal in the first period and takedown in the second period, then converted an escape and takedown into a third-period pin. Making his second national tournament appearance, the No. 7-seed Stuhl will face No. 2-seed Hayden Brown of Johnson & Wales (R.I.) in the quarterfinals.
Seth Goetzinger pins an opponent during a 2022-23 Augsburg men’s wrestling meet.• Seth Goetzinger (SO, Chatfield, Minn./Chatfield HS), the No. 7-seeded 174-pounder, converted a reversal into a second-period, 4:39 pin of Jacob Sherzer of Cornell (Iowa) in his opening match of his first national tournament, improving to 26-7 on the season with his 15th pin. Goetzinger will face No. 2-seed Zane Mulder of Wartburg (Iowa) in the quarterfinals.
Tyler Shilson (SR, Maple Grove, Minn./Centennial HS), seeded fourth at 157 pounds, was dominant in his 17-7, major decision win over Jake Deguire of Springfield (Mass.), scoring three takedowns, three reversals, a four-point near-fall and 1:50 of riding time to earn his 22nd bonus-point win of the season (six pins, 13 technical falls, three major decisions). Shilson, who will face fifth-seeded Ryan Luth of Washington & Lee (Va.) in the quarterfinals, is now 70-9 in his three seasons at Augsburg and 98-33 in his collegiate career. He is seeking his third career All-American honor, after finishing third at 157 at the last two national meets.
At 184 pounds, No. 6-seed Bentley Schwanebeck-Ostermann (JR, Loyal, Wis./Marshfield HS) scored a 12-0, major decision win over Jack Ryan of Oneonta State (N.Y.), claiming three takedowns, a near-fall and 3:00 riding time. Schwanebeck-Ostermann is now 29-6 on the season with 18 bonus-point wins (10 pins, three technical falls and four major decisions), and will face unseeded Tristin Westphal of Coe (Iowa) in a bid for his third career All-America honor, after finishing sixth at 197 each of the last two seasons.
Competing in his second straight national tournament at 141 pounds, Sam Stuhl (JR, Ellsworth, Wis./Ellsworth HS) converted a takedown into a four-point near-fall late in the first period, scoring a 7-2 win over sixth-seeded Xavier Pena of Centenary (N.J.). Unseeded at 141, Stuhl is now 34-5 on the season, and will face No. 3-seed Josh Wilson of Greensboro (N.C.) in the quarterfinals, aiming for his first All-American honor.
Unseeded 197-pounder Parker Venz (SO, Farmington, Minn./Farmington HS) suffered the lone loss for the Auggies in the first round, dropping a 15-3 major decision to seventh-seed Camden Farrow of York (Pa.). But Venz bounced back in a huge way in a pigtail consolation match, scoring four 4-point near-falls in the final 1:31 of the first period after an opening takedown to score an 18-0, 3:00 technical fall of Mauro Pellot of Alvernia. Now 28-8 on the year, Venz will have to win twice in the wrestlebacks on Friday night to claim All-American honors in his first national tournament.
UP NEXT
The second session of the national tournament starts at 6 p.m. (Central time) on Friday. The session, known as the “All-American round,” eliminates the field to eight wrestlers in each class, who earn All-American honors.
AUGSBURG FIRST-ROUND RESULTS
- 141: Sam Stuhl (Augsburg) dec. Zavier Pena (Centenary) 7-2.
- 149: Charlie Stuhl (Augsburg) pinned Chris Perry (Trinity-Conn.) 6:17.
- 157: Tyler Shilson (Augsburg) maj. dec. Jake Deguire (Springfield) 17-7.
- 165: Cooper Willis (Augsburg) pinned Zach Needles (Messiah) 6:11; Willis dec. Michael Angers (Castleton) 3-0.
- 174: Seth Goetzinger (Augsburg) pinned Jacob Sherzer (Cornell) 4:39.
- 184: Bentley Schwanebeck-Ostermann (Augsburg) maj. dec. Jack Ryan (Oneonta State) 12-0.
- 197: Camden Farrow (York) maj. dec. Parker Venz (Augsburg) 15-3; Venz tech. fall Mauro Pellot (Alvernia) 18-0 at 3:00.
- 285: Tyler Kim (Augsburg) pinned Peter Wersinger (College of New Jersey) 1:05.
Check out Auggies Wrestling at athletics.augsburg.edu and on Facebook and Twitter.
