CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET
TEAM STANDINGS

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The top-ranked Augsburg College wrestling team scored victories in all nine of its opening-round matches on Friday morning, standing in second place after the first session of the NCAA Division III National Championships at the U.S. Cellular Center.

With eight of its nine qualified wrestlers in action in the morning session, Augsburg wrestlers claimed nine victories, with 174-pounder Zach Molitor (JR, Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti HS) having to wrestle twice.

Augsburg accumulated 14 points in the first round to stand in a second-place tie with No. 2-ranked Wartburg (Iowa), five points behind first-round leader Coe (Iowa) with 19 points. The Kohawks claimed five bonus-point wins (three pins, two major decisions) in the opening round, compared to just one bonus-point decision for the Auggies. Delaware Valley (Pa.) and Wisconsin-La Crosse are tied for fourth with 13 points.

Augsburg has all nine of its wrestlers still in championship contention, the most of any school. Coe, Wisconsin-La Crosse and Wartburg have six wrestlers in championship contention, while Delaware Valley has five remaining in championship contention.

Friday's second round, the “All-American round,” begins at 6 p.m., as the field will be reduced to the eight All-Americans at each weight class.

Molitor, the No. 2 seed at 174, opened the Auggie action with a 5-0 win over Dan Daddino of Delaware Valley (Pa.) in a pigtail match, then scored his third victory of the season over Wartburg's Dylan Azinger with a 4-1 triumph.

Molitor, now 29-3 on the season, converted a takedown with one minute to go in the second period and accumulated 1:10 of riding time to score the win over Azinger. Molitor's previous wins over Azinger provided the margins of victory in the Auggies' two dual-meet wins over the Knights this season – an 18-15 win on Jan. 10 and a 16-15 win on Feb. 4.

Defending national champion Jared Massey (JR, Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial HS) opened defense of his 197-pound title with a 3-1 win over Zach Pizarro of Wilkes (Pa.), collecting a takedown with 1:37 left in the third period and fighting off a takedown attempt in the closing seconds. Massey improved to 26-0 on the season with the win – 56-1 in his two seasons at Augsburg.

Tony Valek (SO, Belle Plaine, Minn./Scott West) scored the lone bonus-point win of the morning session for the Auggies, an 8-0, major-decision win over Andrew Johnston of Wisconsin-Eau Claire at 149 pounds. Valek converted three takedowns and accumulated 3:07 of riding time to pick up the win. The No. 2 seed in the field, Valek is now 31-4 on the season and is unbeaten against Division III competition (18-0) this year.

Jafari Vanier (SR, Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS) made his return to national competition a positive one, with a 15-9 win over Kevin Bokoski of Luther at 141 pounds, scoring six takedowns en route to the win. A three-time national runner-up (twice in Division III, once in junior college at Iowa Central CC), Vanier returned to the Auggie lineup this season after a two-year absence.

Jason Adams (SR, Coon Rapids, Minn.) improved to 42-4 on the season with a 3-1 win over William Horwath of Ithaca in his 157-pound opener. A two-time All-American, Adams has now won 23 of his last 25 matches. Orlando Ponce# (JR, Hialeah, Fla./Hialeah-Miami Lakes HS) had a strong debut in his second trip to the national championships with an 8-2 win over Joey Favia of the Stevens Institute of Technology (N.J.) at 165, using three takedowns and 1:40 of riding time to improve to 28-10 on the season.

Josh Roberts (FY, Grand Forks, N.D./Grand Forks Central HS) opened his first trip to the national tournament with an 8-4 win over Zach Mueller of Wisconsin-Oshkosh at 125, improving to 25-8 on the season. Paul Bjorkstrand (SR, Burnsville, Minn.) used two takedowns and two near-falls to score a 10-6 win over Nick Garber of Waynesburg (Pa.) in his 133-pound opener, improving to 37-7 on the season.

Auggie heavyweight Andy Witzel (SR, Fulda, Minn.) received a first-round bye and will see his first action in the quarterfinals tonight.

Among other Minnesota schools, Concordia-Moorhead and St. John's are tied in 10th place with four points, with the Cobbers winning two of their three first-round matches and the Johnnies winning all three of their matches. Both of St. Olaf's wrestlers lost their opening matches and will compete in wrestleback competition tonight.

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Top 10 Team Scores After First Round:
1. Coe (Iowa) 19; 2t. Augsburg (Minn.) 14; 2t. Wartburg (Iowa) 14; 4t. Delaware Valley (Pa.) 13; 4t. Wisconsin-La Crosse 13; 6. Elmhurst (Ill.) 6; 7. Ohio Northern 5.5; 8t. Heidelberg (Ohio) 5; 8t. Luther (Iowa) 5; 10t. Bridgewater State (Mass.) 4; 10t. Concordia-Moorhead (Minn.) 4; 10t. Elizabethtown (N.J.) 4; 10t. Ithaca (N.Y.) 4; 10t. Merchant Marine (N.Y.) 4; 10t. North Central (Ill.) 4; 10t. St. John's (Minn.) 4; 10t. Wesleyan (Ohio) 4.

Friday's first-round results – Augsburg and other Minnesota college wrestlers:
125 – Josh Roberts (Augsburg) dec. Zach Mueller (Wisconsin-Oshkosh) 8-4.
133 – Paul Bjorkstrand (Augsburg) dec. Nick Garber (Waynesburg) 10-6; Mogi Baatar (St. John's) dec. Paul Marcello (Johns Hopkins) 5-2.
141 – Jafari Vanier (Augsburg) dec. Kevin Bokoski (Luther) 15-9; Minga Batsukh (St. John's) dec. Ryan Bridge (Stevens Inst. of Tech.) 16-12; Matt Kelly (Wartburg) dec. Ben Anderson (Concordia-Moorhead) 2-1.
149 – Tony Valek (Augsburg) maj. dec. Andrew Johnston (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) 8-0; Justin Berns (Concordia-Moorhead) dec. Jacob Groth (Wartburg) 8-4.
157 – Jason Adams (Augsburg) dec. William Horwath (Ithaca) 3-1; Zach Mizer (Heidelberg) maj. dec. Justin Skillings (St. Olaf) 12-4.
165 – Orlando Ponce (Augsburg) dec. Joey Favia (Stevens Inst. of Tech.) 8-2; Matt Baarson (St. John's) dec. Trent Zempel (Messiah) 3-0; Carrington Banks (Wartburg) dec. Josef Waples (St. Olaf) 9-2.
174 – Zach Molitor (Augsburg) dec. Dan Daddino (Delaware Valley) 5-0; Molitor dec. Dylan Azinger (Wartburg) 4-1; Ross Dankers (Concordia-Moorhead) dec. Colin Lenhardt (Johnson and Wales) 6-2.
184 – Phil Moenkedick (Concordia-Moorhead) has first-round bye.
197 – Jared Massey (Augsburg) dec. Zach Pizzaro (Wilkes) 3-1.
HWT – Andy Witzel (Augsburg) has first-round bye.