Augsburg at NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional

MEQUON, Wis. (2/21/09) — The Augsburg College wrestling team will advance nine wrestlers to the NCAA Division III national tournament, after winning the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional on Saturday at Concordia University-Wisconsin.

Augsburg, the top-ranked team in Division III wrestling, won the team title at the regional for the seventh straight year with 159 points, outdistancing second-place Concordia-Moorhead’s 117.5 points. The Cobbers are ranked No. 8 nationally. No. 6-ranked North Central (Ill.) was third with 105, No. 17-ranked St. John’s was fourth with 98.5, and No. 13-ranked Elmhurst (Ill.) was fifth with 95.5.

Four Auggies won regional titles — top-ranked 149-pounder Willy Holst (SR, Prescott, Wis.), No. 4-ranked 157-pounder Jason Adams (JR, Coon Rapids, Minn.), No. 7-ranked 174-pounder Zach Molitor (SO, Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti HS) and No. 2-ranked 197-pounder Jared Massey (JR, Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial HS).

Advancing to the national tournament as regional runners-up for Augsburg were No. 5-ranked 125-pounder Seth Flodeen (SR, Cannon Falls, Minn.), No. 1-ranked 133-pounder Travis Lang (SR, Bismarck, N.D.) and No. 7-ranked heavyweight Andy Witzel (JR, Fulda, Minn.). Augsburg No. 4-ranked 141-pounder Tony Valek (FY, Belle Plaine, Minn./Scott West) placed third, but qualified for nationals by winning a “true second” match, while Witzel also won a “true second” match to secure his nationals spot.

Also advancing to the national tournament for the Auggies was 165-pounder Orlando Ponce (SO, Hialeah, Fla./Hialeah-Miami Lakes HS), who finished third in his weight class but qualified for nationals as a “wild card” entrant.

The Division III national tournament will be held March 6-7 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Augsburg has won 10 national titles in the last 18 seasons.

Team Scores: 1. Augsburg (Minn.) 159; 2. Concordia-Moorhead (Minn.) 117.5; 3. North Central (Ill.) 105; 4. St. John’s (Minn.) 98.5; 5. Elmhurst (Ill.) 95.5; 6. Univ. of Chicago (Ill.) 74; 7. Lakeland (Wis.) 69; 8. Wheaton (Ill.) 32.5; 9t. Concordia-Wisconsin 25; 9t. Milwaukee School of Engineering (Wis.) 25; 11. Maranatha Baptist Bible (Wis.) 18.5; 12. Augustana (Ill.) 18; 13. St. Olaf (Minn.) 16.5; 14. Knox (Ill.) 12; 15. Pacific (Ore.) 7.

NCAA Division III National Championships Qualifiers:
125 — Jake Oster, Elmhurst; Seth Flodeen, Augsburg.
133 — Mogi Baatar, St. John’s; Travis Lang, Augsburg.
141 — Minga Batsukh, St. John’s; Tony Valek, Augsburg; Virgil Pope, MSOE.
149 — Willy Holst, Augsburg; Joey Massman, Concordia-Wisconsin.
157 — Jason Adams, Augsburg; Jonas Flok, Lakeland; Matt Baarson, St. John’s.
165 — Ben Hoover, Maranatha Baptist; Ben Youel, North Central; Orlando Ponce, Augsburg.
174 — Zach Molitor, Augsburg; Troy Carlson, Chicago.
184 — Phil Moenkedick, Concordia-Moorhead; Dustin Baxter, St. John’s; Gabe Youel, North Central; Toby Boltz, Wheaton.
197 — Jared Massey, Augsburg; Anthony Neumann, Concordia-Moorhead.
285 — Mark Corsello, Elmhurst; Andy Witzel, Augsburg; Adam Sutter, Lakeland.