AUGSBURG'S NATIONAL TOURNAMENT PAGE
LIVE RESULTS/BRACKETS (TRACKWRESTLING)

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- With two wrestlers remaining in the hunt for national titles, the Augsburg College wrestling team sits in sixth place with 7.0 points after the first session of the NCAA Division III National Championships, held on Friday afternoon at the U.S. Cellular Center.

Two-time defending national champion Chad Johnson (SR, Ferryville, Wis./De Soto HS) opened his quest to become just the third Division III heavyweight to ever win three national titles with a third-period pin of Lance Moore of Cortland State (N.Y.). Johnson surrendered an early takedown, but rallied back to take a 6-3 lead before ending the match with a pin at the 6:37 mark.

With the win, Johnson improves to 32-1 on the season and 137-14 in his Augsburg career. A three-time All-American, Johnson has not lost to a Division III opponent during the past three seasons, and has a 105-3 record since the beginning of his sophomore campaign.

Augsburg's Mike Fuenffinger (JR, Hibbing, Minn.) claimed a 13-3, major-decision win over Michael Mui of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (N.Y.) at 125, scoring back-to-back three-point near-falls in the closing minute of the third period to build a 10-1 lead. Fuenffinger, who finished seventh nationally last season, is now 31-3 on the season and 74-20 in his career.

Six Auggies will have to advance through the wrestlebacks in Friday's second session, which begins at 6 p.m. Known as the "All-American round," the second session will cut the field to eight wrestlers in each weight class, each of which earn All-America honors.

At 197, Matt Hechsel (JR, Apple Valley, Minn.) opened with a dramatic win over Jason Russell of Heidelberg (Ohio), claiming a 6-4 win in the second sudden-victory overtime period of his "pigtail" opening-round match. Hechsel rallied from a 4-0 deficit to tie the match at 4-4, then scored the winning takedown with 13 seconds left in the second overtime. However, Hechsel dropped a 7-3 decision to Austin Oneil of Wabash (Ind.) to fall into the wrestlebacks.

At 133, Chad Bartschenfeld (JR, Amery, Wis.) made his national tournament debut with a 4-3 win over Jaydon Rice of Hunter (N.Y.), building a 3-0 lead and using a 1:22 riding-time advantage for the decisive point. Bartschenfeld dropped his second match of the day by a 7-1 decision to No. 3-seed Alex Gomez of Ithaca (N.Y.).

Justin Bowland (SR, Foley, Minn.) gave the top-seeded wrestler at 165 pounds, Chris Burdge of Centenary (N.J.), a scare, as the two exchanged escapes and went to the first sudden-victory overtime tied at 1-1. But Burdge claimed a takedown with 29 seconds left to produce a 3-1 win.

Marcus Hamer (FY, Kimball, Minn.) also had an exciting match in his national tournament debut, falling 6-5 to Justin Holm of Olivet (Mich.). Hamer rallied from a 4-2, third-period deficit and took a 5-4 lead with a takedown with 17 seconds left in the third period. But Holm turned the tables on Hamer with a reversal with seven seconds left to win the match.

Two Auggies returned to the national tournament after missing most of last season due to injuries, but both dropped to the wrestlebacks with opening-round losses. At 149, Will Keeter (JR, Twin Falls, Idaho) dropped a 10-5 decision to Daniel Mirman of John Carroll (Ohio), and at 184, Tommy Teigen (JR, Ham Lake, Minn./Meadow Creek Christian HS) lost by an 11-2 major decision to Josh Thomson of Messiah (Pa.).

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Team Scores after Friday's first round: 1. Messiah (Pa.) 12.0; 2. Wartburg (Iowa) 11.0; 3. Cortland State (N.Y.) 10.0; 4t. Concordia-Moorhead (Minn.) 8.0; 4t. Wisconsin-Whitewater 8.0; 6. Augsburg (Minn.) 7.0; 7. Wabash (Ind.) 6.5; 8t. Cornell (Iowa) 5.0; 8t. Delaware Valley (Pa.) 5.0; 8t. Wheaton (Ill.) 5.0. Other Minnesota schools: 32t. St. Olaf 1.0; 49t. Saint John's 0.0.

Individual results from Minnesota college wrestlers:
125 -- Mike Fuenffinger (Augsburg) maj. dec. Michael Mui (Merchant Marine) 13-3.
133 -- Chad Bartschenfeld (Augsburg) dec. Jaydon Rice (Hunter) 4-3; Alex Gomez (Ithaca) dec. Bartschenfeld 7-1; Jimmy Nehls (UW-Whitewater) dec. Jacoby Bergeron (Concordia-Moorhead) 7-4.
141 -- Justin Holm (Olivet) dec. Marcus Hamer (Augsburg) 6-5; Matt Holmes (Loras) dec. Ben Henle (Saint John's) 9-2.
149 -- Daniel Mirman (John Carroll) dec. Will Keeter (Augsburg) 10-5; Jacob Long (Concordia-Moorhead) pinned Mark Pinero (Wartburg) 6:09.
157 -- Jorge Lopez (Williams) dec. Kyle LeDuc (Concordia-Moorhead 9-3; Mark Savenok (Wheaton-Ill.) dec. Carl Elmer (St. Olaf) 11-6.
165 -- Chris Burdge (Centenary-N.J.) dec. Justin Bowland (Augsburg) 3-1 (OT-SV1); Dylan Foley (Springfield) dec. Jake Krogstad (Concordia-Moorhead) 5-3.
174 -- Sebastian Gardner (Concordia-Moorhead) dec. James Roach (St. Olaf) 10-5; Anthony Bonaventura (Waynesburg) dec. Gardner 8-3.
184 -- Josh Thomson (Messiah) maj. dec. Tommy Teigen (Augsburg) 11-2; Brian Broderick (College of New Jersey) dec. Christian Harrison (Concordia-Moorhead) 4-2.
197 -- Matt Hechsel (Augsburg) dec. Jason Russell (Heidelberg) 7-3 (OT-SV2); Austin Oneil (Wabash) dec. Hechsel 7-3; Paul Glover (Brockport State) dec. Ryan Michaelis (Saint John's) 6-3.
HWT -- Chad Johnson (Augsburg) pinned Lance Moore (Cortland State) 6:37; Cody Kasprick (Concordia-Moorhead) dec. Mackenzie Green (Trine) 2-1; Kasprick pinned Matan Peleg (Ursinus) 4:37; Zack Gibson (St. Olaf) dec. William Fletcher (Wilkes) 4-0; James Buss (Loras) dec. Gibson 5-2.