CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (3/7/09) -- Augsburg College will have one wrestler competing for an individual national title tonight and has clinched a second-place national finish as a team, in competition on Saturday at the NCAA Division III wrestling national championships at the U.S. Cellular Center.
With just the 10 national title bouts remaining tonight (7 p.m.), Augsburg stands with 100.0 team points, behind defending national champion Wartburg (Iowa), which has clinched the national title with 109.5 points. Wartburg has three wrestlers competing in title bouts tonight, and the maximum number of points a wrestler can earn for his team in a title bout is six. Wisconsin-La Crosse, with two individuals competing in national title bouts, has 79.0 points for third place, and Coe is in fourth with 78.5 points, with no wrestlers in the finals.
Augsburg 197-pounder
Jared Massey (JR, Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial HS) will compete for his first national title tonight, facing Ryan Malo of Williams (Mass.) in the finals. In the semifinals on Saturday, Massey rode out the entire second period as part of a 2:13 riding-time effort, then scored an escape and takedown in the third period to claim a 4-1 win over Karl Voeck of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Massey is in his first season of collegiate wrestling after a four-year absence from the sport. A two-time Minnesota state high school champion (2002-03) at Centennial High School, he competed at Division I Wisconsin in the 2003-04 season. Massey is now 29-1 on the season with 16 pins and two major decisions.
Jason Adams (JR, Coon Rapids, Minn.) completed a strong season with a third-place finish at 157 pounds, earning his second All-American honors after finishing second at 141 last year. Adams dropped his semifinal match 6-2 to Jason Brew of Olivet (Mich.), but scored an 8-0, major-decision win over Dan Dicolo of The College of New Jersey in the consolation semifinals, then rallied from an early 1-0 deficit with two takedowns and an escape to collect a 5-1 win over Luke Miller of Ohio Northern in the third-place match.
Adams, whose father Bob Adams was a three-time All-American and a 1983 national champion at Augsburg, finished his junior season 39-6, and is 90-20 on his career.
Seth Flodeen (SR, Cannon Falls, Minn.) finished his collegiate career with his third All-American finish, placing fourth at 125 pounds. In wrestleback action on Saturday, Flodeen opened with two pins -- a 5:15 pin over Tyler Erdman of Elizabethtown (Pa.) and a 1:41 pin of Clayton Rush of Coe (Iowa) in a rematch of last season's national title match at 125, which Flodeen also won by a first-period pin. In the third-place match, Flodeen gave up a two-point near-fall early in the second period and was unable to rally back, falling 5-3 to Mark Kist of Wartburg.
Flodeen, who was a national titlist last season and national runner-up in 2007, finished this season 24-7 and his Auggie career at 102-34.
Augsburg had three fifth-place finishers -- 133-pounder
Travis Lang (SR, Bismarck, N.D.), 149-pounder
Willy Holst (SR, Prescott, Wis.) and heavyweight
Andy Witzel (JR, Fulda, Minn.).
Zach Molitor (SO, Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti HS) finished sixth for the Auggies at 174 pounds.
In wrestlebacks, Lang claimed a 2:29 pin of Chad Winowich of Ithaca (N.Y.), but dropped a 7-5, overtime decision to Coe's Brandon Ball in the consolation semifinals. In the fifth-place match, Lang scored his 24th pin of the season -- and 32nd bonus-point decision of the season -- with a 1:04 pin of Corey Brown of Thiel (Pa.). Lang, who transferred last season from Division I Minnesota, finished this season at 35-3 and his collegiate career at 109-26. In two seasons at Augsburg, Lang was 73-7.
At 149, Holst dropped a 3-1 decision to Wisconsin-La Crosse's Matt Mauseth in the championship semifinals, then suffered a 7-5 loss to Blaine Woszczak of Ithaca (N.Y.) in the consolation semifinals. In the fifth-place match, Holst collected three takedowns and 4:58 of riding time for an 8-0, major-decision win over Andrew Gardella of Case Western Reserve (Ohio). Also a transfer from Minnesota, Holst finished his second Auggie season at 28-3 and his collegiate career at 74-11. In two seasons at Augsburg, he was 64-6.
In his first national tournament appearance, Witzel closed his junior season with a fifth-place finish at heavyweight, finishing his season 34-9. He is now 82-35 in his Auggie career. On wrestlebacks on Saturday, Witzel scored a 3-1 win over Brock Glotfelty of McDaniel (Md.), but fell 7-1 to Wartburg's John Helgerson in the consolation semifinals. In the fifth-place match, Witzel scored a takedown with 18 seconds left in the third period to claim a 3-2 win over Adam Sutter of Lakeland (Wis.).
At 174, Molitor closed his first Auggie season after transferring from Division I North Dakota State with a sixth-place finish. Molitor suffered a 6-4 loss to Rocky Mantella of Delaware Valley (Pa.) in the championship semifinals, giving up the go-ahead takedown with 16 seconds left in the third period. In the consolation semifinals, Molitor was pinned in 1:35 by Bryon Grothus of Coe, then fell 4-1 to Kyle Hehrli of Cornell (Iowa) in the fifth-place match. Molitor finished this season at 31-10 and is 45-23 in his collegiate career.
Two other Minnesota collegiate wrestlers will be competing for national titles tonight -- St. John's 141-pounder Minga Batsukh and Concordia-Moorhead 184-pounder Phil Moenkedick. St. John's, which stands in 15th place with 22.0 points, also had another All-American,184-pounder Dustin Baxter, who placed seventh on Saturday. Concordia stands in 18th place with 17.0 points.
2009 NCAA Division III National Championships -- Top-10 Standings after Session 3:
1. Wartburg (Iowa) 109.5, 2. Augsburg (Minn.) 100.0, 3. Wisconsin-La Crosse 79.0, 4. Coe (Iowa) 78.5; 5. Delaware Valley (Pa.) 60.5; 6. Ithaca (N.Y.) 39.0; 7. Cornell (Iowa) 32.0; 8. Williams (Mass.) 30.5; 9. Elmhurst (Ill.) 30.0; 10t. Rochester Institute of Technology (N.Y.) 28.0; 10t. Wisconsin-Whitewater 28.0. Other Minnesota schools -- 15. St. John's 22.0; 18. Concordia-Moorhead 17.0.
Saturday's Augsburg/St. John's/Concordia-Moorhead results at NCAA Division III National Championships:
125 --
Seth Flodeen (Augsburg) pinned Tyler Erdman (Elizabethtown) 5:15; Flodeen pinned Clayton Rush (Coe) 1:41. Third-place match: Mark Kist (Wartburg) dec. Flodeen 5-3.
133 --
Travis Lang (Augsburg) pinned Chad Winowich (Ithaca) 2:29; Brandon Ball (Coe) dec. Lang 7-5. Fifth-place match: Lang pinned Corey Brown (Thiel) 1:04.
141 -- Minga Batsukh (St. John's) dec. Austin Bautista (Wis.-Whitewater) 4-3. National championship match: Batsukh vs. Zach McKray (Wartburg).
149 -- Matt Mauseth (Wis.-La Crosse) dec.
Willy Holst (Augsburg) 3-1; Blaine Woszczak (Ithaca) dec. Holst 7-5. Fifth-place match: Holst maj. dec. Andrew Gardella (Case Western Reserve) 8-0.
157 -- Jason Brew (Olivet) dec.
Jason Adams (Augsburg) 6-2; Adams maj. dec. Dan Dicolo (College of New Jersey) 8-0. Third-place match: Adams dec. Luke Miller (Ohio Northern) 5-1.
174 -- Rocky Mantella (Delaware Valley) dec.
Zach Molitor (Augsburg) 4-3; Byron Grothus (Coe) pinned Molitor 1:35. Fifth-place match: Kyle Kehrli (Cornell) dec. Molitor 4-1.
184 -- Phil Moenkedick (Concordia-Moorhead) maj. dec. Ben Engelland (Wis.-Stevens Point) 8-0; Gabe Youel (North Central) dec. Dustin Baxter (St. John's) 3-1 (OT-SV1). Seventh-place match: Baxter dec. Toby Boltz (Wheaton) 7-4. National championship match: Moenkedick vs. Michael Wilcox (Delaware Valley).
197 --
Jared Massey (Augsburg) dec. Karl Voeck (Wis.-Whitewater) 4-1. National championship match: Massey vs. Ryan Malo (Williams).
HWT --
Andy Witzel (Augsburg) dec. Brock Glotfelty (McDaniel) 3-1; John Helgerson (Wartburg) dec. Witzel 7-1. Fifth-place match: Witzel dec. Adam Sutter (Lakeland) 3-2.