CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (3/6/09) -- Winning seven of eight bouts, including five by bonus-point decisions, the Augsburg College wrestling team built an early lead after the first session of the NCAA Division III wrestling national championships on Friday afternoon at the U.S. Cellular Center.

Auggie wrestlers opened the championships with two pins, a technical fall and two major decisions among their seven wins. Through the first round, Augsburg has 17.5, ahead of second-place Delaware Valley (Pa.) with 15.0 points and all six of its qualifiers remaining alive in the championship bracket. Coe (Iowa) and defending national champion Wartburg (Iowa) are tied for third with 12.5 points each, and Wisconsin-La Crosse is in fifth with 11.0 points.

Tonight's second round, which begins at 6 p.m., will eliminate the field to the final eight in each weight class, who will earn All-American honors. Augsburg has had at least five All-Americans every season since 1989. Augsburg is in search of its 11th national championship in the past 19 seasons.

At 125, defending national champion Seth Flodeen (JR, Cannon Falls, Minn.) opened his tournament with a dominant performance, scoring a second-period pin over Wisconsin-La Crosse's Lloyd McKinney in his first match. Flodeen built a 6-0 lead into the second period on the strength of a takedown, two-point near-fall and reversal, then claimed the pin at the 4:37 mark. Flodeen is now 21-5 on the season with his 11th pin of the year.

At 197, Jared Massey (JR, Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial HS) scored his 16th pin of the year and improved to 27-1 with a second-period pin over Joseph Silverman of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Massey scored a takedown 10 seconds into the bout and rode out the entire first period, then claimed a reversal four seconds into the second period, en route to the 3:52 pin.

In his first national tournament appearance, Augsburg's Tony Valek (FY, Belle Plaine, Minn./Scott West) opened his tournament with a strong effort, taking advantage of three takedowns and three near-falls to score a 17-2, technical-fall victory over Kevin Donahue of Cornell (Iowa) at 141 pounds.

At 133, Augsburg's Travis Lang (SR, Bismarck, N.D.) continued his dominant season, recording his 29th bonus-point victory of the season with a 17-5, major-decision win over Tony Lawler of Heidelberg (Ohio). Now 32-1 on the season, Lang has recorded 21 pins, two technical falls, five major decisions and one forfeit. Lang used three takedowns, a reversal and three near-falls to claim the win over Lawler.

At 149, Augsburg's Willy Holst (SR, Prescott, Wis.) improved to 26-1 on the season with a 15-3, major-decision win over Frank Cammisa of Bridgewater State (Conn.). Holst used three takedowns, a reversal and two near-falls to score the victory, his 16th bonus-point win of the year.

In one of the most exciting matches of the first session, Augsburg's Jason Adams (JR, Coon Rapids, Minn.), last year's national runner-up at 141, made his tourney debut at 157 pounds and scored a 7-6, come-from-behind win over Heidelberg's Zach Mizer. Leading 2-1 late in the first period, Mizer quickly scored an escape, takedown and three-point near-fall to take a 6-2 lead. In the third period, Adams scored an escape with 50 seconds left, then claimed the win with a takedown with 11 seconds remaining in the match. Adams is now 36-5 on the season.

The lone Auggie loss of the first session came at 165 pounds, when Orlando Ponce (SO, Hialeah, Fla./Hialeah-Miami Lakes HS) lost 8-5 to Michael Morin of Southern Maine. Ponce gave up a takedown with two seconds left in the second period, giving Morin the lead for good.

Heavyweight Andy Witzel (JR, Fulda, Minn.) received a bye to the second round, and will wrestle for his first All-America honor tonight.

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2009 NCAA Division III National Championships -- Top-10 Standings after Session 1:
1. Augsburg (Minn.) 17.5; 2. Delaware Valley (Pa.) 15.0; 3t. Coe (Iowa) 12.5; 3t. Wartburg (Iowa) 12.5; 5. Wisconsin-La Crosse 11.0; 6. Ithaca (N.Y.) 6.0; 7t. Cornell (Iowa) 5.0; 7t. Dubuque (Iowa) 5.0; 9. Olivet (Mich.) 4.0; 10t. John Carroll (Ohio) 3.0; 10t. Lycoming (Pa.) 3.0; 10. Maranatha Baptist Bible (Wis.) 3.0; 10t. Rhode Island College 3.0; 10t. Wisconsin-Whitewater 3.0; 10t. Williams (Mass.) 3.0. Other Minnesota schools: 18t. St. John's 2.0; 30t. Concordia-Moorhead 1.0.

Friday's Augsburg/St. John's/Concordia-Moorhead first-round results at NCAA Division III National Championships:
125 -- Seth Flodeen (Augsburg) pinned Lloyd McKinney (Wis.-La Crosse) 4:37.
133 -- Travis Lang (Augsburg) maj. dec. Tony Lawler (Heidelberg) 17-5; Mogi Baatar (St. John's) receives a bye.
141 -- Tony Valek (Augsburg) tech. fall Kevin Donahue (Cornell) 17-2 at 7:00; Minga Batsuka (St. John's) dec. Nick Garber (Waynesburg) 14-9.
149 -- Willy Holst (Augsburg) maj. dec. Frank Cammisa (Bridgewater State) 15-3.
157 -- Jason Adams (Augsburg) dec. Zach Mizer (Heidelberg) 7-6; Craig Gin (Messiah) dec. Matt Baarson (St. John's) 5-2.
165 -- Michael Morin (Southern Maine) dec. Orlando Ponce (Augsburg) 8-5.
174 -- Zach Molitor (Augsburg) dec. Sam Engelland (Wis.-Oshkosh) 2-1
184 -- Dustin Baxter (St. John's) dec. Scott Kelley (College of New Jersey) 6-2; Phil Moenkedick (Concordia-Moorhead) dec. Seth Rehn (Coe) 6-0.
197 -- Jared Massey (Augsburg) pinned Joseph Silverman (Massachusetts Inst. of Tech.) 3:52; Corbin Semple (Waynesburg) dec. Anthony Neumann (Concordia-Moorhead) 7-2.
HWT -- Andy Witzel (Augsburg) receives a bye.