ROANOKE, Va. — With seven wrestlers earning All-American honors, the Augsburg University men’s wrestling team built a 22.5-point lead in the championship race after the first day of the NCAA Division III National Championships at the Berglund Center.
TOP 10 TEAM SCORES AFTER FIRST DAY: 1. Augsburg (Minn.) 62.5; 2t. Baldwin-Wallace (Ohio) 40.0; 2t. Wartburg (Iowa) 40.0; 4. North Central (Minn.) 38.0; 5. Wisconsin-La Crosse 35.5; 6. Stevens Tech (N.J.) 34.0; 7. U.S. Coast Guard Academy (Conn.) 27.0; 8. Johnson & Wales (R.I.) 26.0; 9. Coe (Iowa) 23.0; 10. Dubuque (Iowa) 21.5.
Seven of the eight Augsburg national tournament competitors earned All-American honors on Friday, with four remaining in the hunt for individual national titles. Three Auggies will compete in wrestlebacks with a chance to finish as high as third.
After the first day, Augsburg has 62.5 team points, holding a 22.5-point lead over both Baldwin-Wallace (Ohio) and perennial rival Wartburg (Iowa), who have 40.0 points each. Augsburg wrestlers went 16-5 on the day, with five pins, one technical fall and four major decisions.
Fourth-seeded 285-pounder Tyler Kim (JR, Burnsville, Minn./Apple Valley HS) earned his third All-American honor with a dominating day, scoring a 65-second pin over 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 — and claiming a 9-1, major decision win over Daniel Skold of Augustana (Ill.) in the quarterfinals. Against Skold, Kim claimed three takedowns, a reversal, and built an incredible 6:04 riding time in the win. Kim, who finished fourth at 285 at last year’s NCAA tournament and second at the 2021 National Wrestling Coaches Association national meet, is now 36-1 on the season with 18 pins, two technical falls and three major decisions, and is 105-21 in his college career.
Tyler Shilson (SR, Maple Grove, Minn./Centennial HS), seeded No. 4 at 157 pounds, also earned All-American honors for the third time, opening with a 17-7, major decision win over Jake Deguire of Springfield (Mass.) and scoring an 8-0, major decision win over fifth-seed Ryan Luth of Washington and Lee (Va.) in the quarterfinals. Against Luth, Shilson broke a scoreless tie with a back roll from the down position, quickly turning a reversal into a four-point near-fall. He scored another takedown in the third period to clinch the major decision and his third career win over Luth. Shilson is now 28-4 this season with six pins, 13 technical falls and four major decisions, and is now 71-9 in his three seasons at Augsburg and 99-33 in his overall collegiate career. Shilson finished third at 157 at the last two national meets.
At 184 pounds, No. 6-seed Bentley Schwanebeck-Ostermann (JR, Loyal, Wis./Marshfield HS) earned All-American honors for the third time. He opened with a 12-0, major decision win over Jack Ryan of Oneonta State (N.Y.), then rallied from a 2-0 first-period deficit with two escapes, a takedown and 2:38 of riding time to claim a 5-2 quarterfinal win over Tristin Westphal of Coe (Iowa). Schwanebeck-Ostermann, who finished sixth at 197 pounds at the last two national tournaments, is now 30-6 with 10 pins, three technical falls and five major decisions this season, and is now 81-26 in his Auggie career.
Sam Stuhl (JR, Ellsworth, Wis./Ellsworth HS) earned his first All-American honor in his second national tournament appearance at 141 pounds. Starting as an unseeded wrestler, he opened his tournament with a 7-2 win over sixth-seeded Xavier Pena of Centenary (N.J.), then used a second-period takedown and 3:10 of riding time to score a 4-1 win over No. 3-seed Josh Wilson of Greensboro (N.C.) in the quarterfinals. Stuhl, who transferred from North Dakota State in the middle of the 2021-22 season, is now 35-5 this season, 55-10 in his Augsburg career and 69-22 in his collegiate career.
At 149 pounds, younger brother Charlie Stuhl (SO, Ellsworth, Wis./Ellsworth HS) also claimed his first All-American honor by rallying in the wrestlebacks. He opened with his fifth pin of the year, a 6:17 match-ender over Chris Perry of Trinity (Conn.), but the seventh-seeded Stuhl lost to No. 2-seed Hayden Brown of Johnson & Wales (R.I.) by a 5-1 decision in the quarterfinals. Stuhl then used a takedown late in the first period and an escape in the second period to claim a 3-1 win over Eli Sims of Brockport State in the consolation round. Stuhl is now 31-5 on the season and 66-20 in his collegiate career.
Seventh-seeded 165-pounder Cooper Willis (FY, Kansasville, Wis./Union Grove HS) also bounced back from a quarterfinal loss to earn All-American honors in the wrestleback. He scored a 6:11 pin of Zach Needles of Messiah (Pa.) in a pigtail match, then edged Michael Angers of Castleton (Vt.) 3-0. He dropped a 5-0 quarterfinal decision to second-seeded Matt Lackman of Alvernia (Pa.), but used a first-period takedown, a second-period reversal and 4:12 of riding time to top Tristan Massie of Wisconsin-Eau Claire 6-3, his second win over Massie this season. Willis is now 29-8 in his first collegiate campaign.
Seth Goetzinger (SO, Chatfield, Minn./Chatfield HS), the No. 7-seeded 174-pounder competing in his first national tournament, earned All-American honors in remarkable fashion. He opened with a 4:39 pin of Jacob Sherzer of Cornell (Iowa), but dropped an 8-2 decision to No. 2-seed Zane Mulder of Wartburg (Iowa) in the quarterfinals. In his wrestleback match against No. 8-seed Colby Morris of Waynesburg (Ohio), he was taken down with 1:17 left in the first period but quickly got a reversal and a pin 11 seconds later, improving to 27-8 on the year with 16 pins, a technical fall and three major decisions. He is now 41-14 in his career.
Unseeded 197-pounder Parker Venz (SO, Farmington, Minn./Farmington HS) was eliminated from the tournament with a 1-2 record on Friday. He dropped a 15-3 major decision to seventh-seed Camden Farrow of York (Pa.), but bounced back with an 18-0, 3:00 technical fall of Mauro Pellot of Alvernia. In the evening session, he suffered a 1:34 pin by Dylan Farr of Johnson & Wales (R.I.), ending his season at 28-9. He is now 46-20 in his collegiate career.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
Augsburg has now 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 now 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
Action continues at the NCAA Division III National Championships on Saturday (3/11) starting at 9 a.m. (Central time) with championship semifinals, consolation action and placing matches for third, fifth and seventh places. The ten national championship matches are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. (Central time).
AUGSBURG INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
- 141: Sam Stuhl (Augsburg) dec. Zavier Pena (Centenary) 7-2; Stuhl dec. Josh Wilson (Greensboro) 4-1.
- 149: Charlie Stuhl (Augsburg) pinned Chris Perry (Trinity-Conn.) 6:17; Hayden Brown (Johnson & Wales) dec. Stuhl 6-1; Stuhl dec. Eli Sims (SUNY-Brockport) 3-1.
- 157: Tyler Shilson (Augsburg) maj. dec. Jake Deguire (Springfield) 17-7; Shilson maj. dec. Ryan Luth (Washington & Lee) 8-0.
- 165: Cooper Willis (Augsburg) pinned Zach Needles (Messiah) 6:11; Willis dec. Michael Angers (Castleton) 3-0; Matt Lackman (Alvernia) dec. Willis 6-0; Willis dec. Tristan Massie (UW-Eau Claire) 6-3.
- 174: Seth Goetzinger (Augsburg) pinned Jacob Sherzer (Cornell) 4:39; Zane Mulder (Wartburg) dec. Goetzinger 8-2; Goetzinger pinned Colby Morris (Waynesburg) 1:54.
- 184: Bentley Schwanebeck-Ostermann (Augsburg) maj. dec. Jack Ryan (Oneonta State) 12-0; Schwanebeck-Ostermann dec. Tristin Westphal (Coe) 5-2.
- 197: Camden Farrow (York) maj. dec. Parker Venz (Augsburg) 15-3; Venz tech. fall Mauro Pellot (Alvernia) 18-0 at 3:00; Dylan Harr (Johnson & Wales) pinned Venz 1:34 (Venz eliminated).
- 285: Tyler Kim (Augsburg) pinned Peter Wersinger (College of New Jersey) 1:05; Kim maj. dec. Daniel Skold (Augustana-Ill.) 9-1.
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