ORANGE CITY, Iowa (1/21/06) -- Claiming four individual champions, the Augsburg College wrestling team finished in second place at the 17-team Northwestern College (Iowa) Red Raider Invitational on Saturday at the Bultman Center.
Dana (Neb.), the No. 4-ranked team in the latest NAIA national rankings and recent winners of the NAIA division at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals, won the tournament with 162.0 points. Dana sent 12 wrestlers with competitors in all 10 weight classes. Augsburg, currently ranked No. 2 in the latest NCAA Division III national rankings, sent 12 wrestlers in nine weight classes and placed second with 146.5. Seven of the top 20-ranked teams in the NAIA national rankings were in competition at the Northwestern meet.
Ryan Valek * (Sr., Belle Plaine, Minn./Scott West), the top-ranked wrestler nationally in Division III at 165 pounds, went 4-0 to claim his weight-class title, improving to 30-2 in the process. He scored major-decision wins in both the semifinals and finals.
Jeremy Anderson (So., Thief River Falls, Minn.), ranked No. 5 nationally at 157, improved to 30-0 on the season with three victories, two by major decision, to share the title at 157 pounds with teammate
Tim Matzek (So., Ellsworth, Wis.), who also went 3-0 in the tournament. Matzek claimed a pin among his three wins.
Seth Flodeen (Fr., Cannon Falls, Minn.) improved to 22-11 on the season with four victories to claim the 125-pound title, including an 8-2 win over Craig Trampe of Dana, ranked No. 5 in the NAIA at 125, in the finals.
Jafari Vanier (So., Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS) went 2-1 to place second at 133. He pinned the No. 2-ranked wrestler in the NAIA, Mike Miller of Bacone (Okla.), in the semifinals before falling 7-0 to Jestin Hulegaard of Buena Vista (Iowa), ranked No. 3 in the NCAA Division III national rankings, in the finals.
Josh Hansen (Jr., Albert Lea, Minn.) went 3-1 to place third at 141 pounds, moving to 25-4 on the season in the process. At 149,
Jared Evans (Jr., Blue Earth, Minn./Blue Earth Area HS), ranked No. 3 nationally, rallied from an early loss to go 5-1 on the day, placing fifth, while teammate
Jacob Roberts (Fr., Jordan, Minn./Scott West) placed fourth with a 3-2 day.
Brad Tupa * (Sr., Dundas, Minn./Faribault HS), ranked No. 4 nationally at 184 pounds, and
Wally O'Connor (So., Oshkosh, Wis./Oshkosh West HS), ranked No. 8 nationally at 197, placed sixth respectively in their weight classes.
Augsburg returns to action on Friday (1/27), hosting Nebraska-Omaha, the two-time defending NCAA Division II national champions and current top-ranked team in the division, in a dual meet at 7 p.m. at Si Melby Hall.
Wrestling -- Augsburg at Northwestern College Red Raider Invitational
January 21, 2006 -- Orange City, Iowa.
Team standings: 1. Dana (Neb.) 162.0; 2. Augsburg 146.5; 3. Waldorf (Iowa) 74.0; 4. Wartburg (Iowa) 63.0; 5t. Northwestern (Iowa) 62.0; 5t. Bacone (Okla.) 62.0; 7. Buena Vista (Iowa) 54.5; 8. Newman (Kan.) 52.5; 9. William Penn (Iowa) 51.5; 10. Missouri Valley (Mo.) 50.0; 11. Morningside (Iowa) 42.0; 12. Jamestown (N.D.) 41.5; 13. Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) 40.0; 14. St. Olaf 15.5; 15. Briar Cliff (Iowa) 11.5; 16. York (Neb.) 7.5; 17. Northwestern JV 0.5.
Augsburg Individual Results:
125 -- Seth Flodeen 4-0, champion.
133 -- Jafari Vanier 2-1, 2nd place.
141 -- Josh Hansen 3-1, 3rd place.
149 -- Jacob Roberts 3-2, 4th place; Jared Evans 5-1, 5th place.
157 -- Jeremy Anderson 3-0, co-champion; Tim Matzek 3-0, co-champion.
165 -- Ryan Valek * 4-0, champion.
174 -- Robbie Gotreau 2-2; George Lynaugh 1-2.
184 -- Brad Tupa * 2-3, 6th place.
197 -- Wally O'Connor 1-3, 6th place.
HWT -- No wrestlers.
