EWING, N.J. (3/4/06) -- Placing among the top four teams nationally for the 18th season in a row, the Augsburg College wrestling team claimed six All-Americans and finished third at the NCAA Division III wrestling national championships on Saturday evening at The College of New Jersey's Student Recreation Center.

Augsburg placed third at the national meet with 84.5 points, breaking a string of 11 straight seasons of first- or second-place finishes in Division III national competition. Augsburg has won nine national championships in the last 16 seasons.

Wartburg (Iowa) won its fifth team national title with 145.5 points, winning two individual titles and claiming nine All-Americans. Wisconsin-La Crosse finished second with 106.0 points, with two national champions and seven All-Americans. Luther (Iowa) was fourth with 59.5 points, and York (Pa.) was fifth with 51.5 points. St. John's (Minn.) finished 16th with 20.0 points, claiming two All-Americans.

Augsburg associate head coach Sam Barber was named Co-Assistant Coach of the Year by the National Wrestling Coaches Association, sharing the honor with Wartburg assistant coach Dale Malecek.

Three Auggies finished second in their weight classes, with three Auggies finishing fourth, marking the 18th straight year that Augsburg has claimed five or more All-Americans in national wrestling competition.

Ryan Valek * (Sr., Belle Plaine, Minn./Scott West), a three-time All-American at 165 pounds for the Auggies, finished second for the second season in a row in his weight class, falling 6-4 to Wisconsin-Eau Claire's Derek Sikora in a finals matchup of the top two ranked individuals in the nation. Sikora took the lead early in the match with the first of his two takedowns, and also converted an escape and 2:42 of riding time to beat Valek for the second time this season.

Valek advanced to the finals with a 2:34 pin of Tim Maxworthy of Heidelberg (Ohio) in the semifinals. Valek, who finished seventh his sophomore year and second his junior year, finished 41-4 on the season and 133-39 in his career.

Jafari Vanier (So., Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS) had his third overtime match of the tournament in the 133-pound finals, but fell 2-1 in three overtimes to Mike Lopez of Luther (Iowa). After the two completed regulation time and the first one-minute overtime tied at 1-1, Lopez rode out Vanier in the second, 30-second overtime, then claimed an escape in the third, 30-second overtime session to clinch the win.

Vanier, an unseeded wrestler in his first NCAA Division III national tournament, claimed three wins over seeded opponents to reach the finals. In the semifinals earlier Saturday, Vanier scored a takedown with 22 seconds left in the first overtime period to claim a 3-1 win over seventh-seed John Sheets of Manchester (Ind.). Vanier, who finished 19-3 on the year, completed his first season at Augsburg after finishing second at the national junior college championships as a competitor at Iowa Central Community College in 2002.

Jeremy Anderson (So., Thief River Falls, Minn.), a transfer from the University of Minnesota, surrendered four takedowns and a reversal in his championship match at 157 pounds, falling 11-5 to Joe Pflug of Heidelberg (Ohio).

Anderson, who finished 44-3 on the season, reached the finals with a 7-5 victory over Robert Gingerich of North Central (Ill.) in Saturday's semifinal. Anderson jumped out to a 4-1 second-period lead and used a takedown with 1:34 left in the third period to clinch the win.

Brad Tupa * (Sr., Dundas, Minn./Faribault HS), a two-time All-American at 184 pounds, finished fourth for the second straight year with a 6-1 loss to Jason Lulloff of Wisconsin-La Crosse in the third-place match. Tupa finished 21-5 on the season and 74-25 in his Auggie career.

At 149, Jared Evans (Jr., Blue Earth, Minn./Blue Earth Area HS) finished fourth, suffering a 1:21 pin in the third-place match to Jason Roush of Mt. St. Joseph (Ohio). Evans finished 38-8 and is 102-32 in his Auggie career.

At 174, Robbie Gotreau (So., Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson HS) gave up a third-period escape and 1:52 of riding time to Josh Chelf of Wisconsin-La Crosse in the third-place match, falling 2-0 to finish fourth. It was Chelf's second victory over Gotreau in the tournament. Gotreau finished 44-9 on the season and is 68-20 in his Auggie career.

St. John's 157-pounder Jacob Malone finished fourth, falling 2-1 in overtime to Ross Needham of Wisconsin-La Crosse in the third-place match. Johnnie 184-pounder Dan Willaert finished seventh, topping Robert Stubbs of Ithaca (N.Y.) 10-5.

Wrestling -- Augsburg at NCAA Division III National Championships -- Session 4
March 4, 2006 -- The College of New Jersey Student Recreation Center, Ewing, N.J.

Top 10 team standings: 1. Wartburg (Iowa) 145.5; 2. Wisconsin-La Crosse 106.0; 3. Augsburg (Minn.) 84.5; 4. Luther (Iowa) 59.5; 5. York (Pa.) 51.5; 6. Cortland State (N.Y.) 36.5; 7t. Delaware Valley (Pa.) 32.0; 7t. Heidelberg (Ohio) 32.0; 9t. Brockport State (N.Y.) 30.0; 9t. Simpson (Iowa) 30.0. Other Minnesota school: 16. St. John's 20.0.

Saturday's results involving Minnesota wrestlers:
133 -- Jafari Vanier (Augsburg) dec. John Sheets (Manchester) 3-1 (SV-1 OT). Championship match: Mike Lopez (Luther) dec. Vanier 2-1 (TB OT).
149 -- Jared Evans (Augsburg) dec. Sean Connelly (Mt. Union) 5-2; Evans dec. Matt Pyle (Luther) 7-6. Third-place match: Jason Roush (Mt. St. Joseph) pinned Evans 1:21.
157 -- Jeremy Anderson (Augsburg) dec. Robert Gingerich (North Central) 7-5; Jacob Malone (St. John's) dec. Joseph Duca (Ithaca) 3-2; Malone dec. Gingerich 2-1. Championship match: Joe Pflug (Heidelberg) dec. Anderson 11-5. Third-place match: Ross Needham (Wisconsin-La Crosse) dec. Malone 2-1 (TB OT).
165 -- Ryan Valek * (Augsburg) pinned Tim Maxworthy (Heidelberg) 2:34. Championship match: Derek Sikora (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) dec. Valek 6-4.
174 -- Robbie Gotreau (Augsburg) dec. Alan Stacilauskas (Wisconsin-Stevens Point) 7-3; Gotreau dec. Mathias Keib (Ithaca) 6-4 (SV-1 OT). Third-place match: Josh Chelf (Wisconsin-La Crosse) dec. Gotreau 2-0.
184 -- Duane Bastress (York) dec. Brad Tupa * (Augsburg) 11-4; Terry Madden (Hunter) dec. Dan Willaert (St. John's) 13-6; Tupa maj. dec. Madden 10-2. Third-place match: Jason Lulloff (Wisconsin-La Crosse) dec. Tupa 6-1; Seventh-place match: Willaert dec. Robert Stubbs (Ithaca) 10-5.

NWCA Most Outstanding Wrestler: Duane Bastress, York (Pa., 184 pounds).
NWCA Most Pins in Least Time: Jamall Johnson, Delaware Valley (Pa., 197; 3 pins in 5:37).
NWCA National Coach of the Year: Tom Kessell, York (Pa.).
NWCA Co-Assistant Coaches of the Year: Sam Barber, Augsburg (Minn.) and Dave Malecek, Wartburg (Iowa).
NWCA Rookie Coach of the Year: Eric Keller, North Central (Ill.)