AUGSBURG'S NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PAGE
NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKETS/RESULTS

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The Augsburg College wrestling team has three of its wrestlers in national championship contention, after the opening session of the NCAA Division III National Championships on Friday morning at the U.S. Cellular Center.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Augsburg stands in fifth place after the opening session with 9.0 points. Top-ranked Wartburg (Iowa) leads with 17.5 points, with Messiah (Pa.) second with 12.5 points, Luther (Iowa) third with 11.0 points and Wabash (Ind.) fourth with 9.5 points.
• Defending heavyweight national champion Donny Longendyke (JR, Vadnais Heights, Minn./White Bear Lake HS) opened his tournament run with a 2:30 pin of Clay Broze of Wisconsin-La Crosse, his third bonus-point win over Broze this season.
• In improving to 37-2 on the season, Longendyke claimed his 22nd pin of his junior campaign. Of his 37 wins, 28 are bonus-point victories (22 pins, one technical fall, five major decisions). Longendyke is now 81-4 in his two Augsburg seasons and 121-15 in his collegiate career.
• Eric Hensel (JR, Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South HS), who had four pins en route to a fifth-place national finish at 165 pounds last season, opened his 2016 tournament run with another pin, a 1:29 match-ender over Aaron Banko of Heidelberg (Pa.).
• Improving to 25-6 on the season, Hensel recorded his 17th pin -- his 11th first-period pin of the year. Hensel is now 47-20 as an Auggie and 63-32 in his college career.
• At 149, the lone senior on the Augsburg roster, Rashad Kennedy (SR, Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Henry Sibley HS), was taken to overtime in his opening bout, but scored a takedown five seconds into the second sudden-victory session to score a 6-4 win over Ben Williamson of North Central (Ill.).
• Competing in his first national tournament, Kennedy is now 23-4 on the season and 89-52 in his Augsburg career.
• Sam Bennyhoff (FY, Mound, Minn./Mound-Westonka HS) opened with a 10-6 triumph over Michael Triplett of Loras (Iowa) in a "pigtail" match, but dropped a 7-6, sudden-victory overtime decision to No. 5-seed Tyler Keane of Springfield (Mass.) at 133 pounds. Bennyhoff had rallied from a 4-1, second-period deficit, tying the match at 6-6 with a takedown with four seconds left in regulation.
• At 157, Grant Parker (JR, Onalaska, Wis.) rallied from a 6-1 deficit after two periods to tie his "pigtail" match with Brett Beltz of Thiel (Pa.) at 7-7, with a reversal, takedown and two-point near-fall, then scored a takedown and two-point near-fall in sudden-victory overtime for an 11-7 triumph. But Parker then dropped a 13-5 major decision to Josh Tardy of North Central (Ill.) to fall into the wrestlebacks.
• Logan Hortop (JR, Faribault, Minn.) suffered an 11-1, major-decision loss to Matt Seabold of Central (Iowa), sending Hortop to the wrestlebacks in his first national tournament. Hortop is now 23-20 on the season.
• Competing in his first national tourney, Aaron Wilson (FY, Oak Grove, Minn./Trinity-River Ridge HS) was edged 9-6 by Chris Williams of Millikin (Ill.) in his opening match, dropping to the wrestlebacks with a 16-19 record.
• Two Auggies saw their seasons end after the first session with two losses. At 125, James Goman (JR, Lakeville, Minn./Trinity-River Ridge HS), competing in his first national tournament, ended his season at 18-21 wtih two losses, falling 12-3 to top-seed Lucas Malmberg of Messiah (Pa.) in a "pigtail" match, then dropping a 4-2 decision to Brenden Velez of Delaware Valley (Pa.). Goman is now 55-44 in his Auggie career.
• At 184, Sebastian Larson (SO, River Falls, Wis.) opened with a 10-1, major-decision loss to No. 6-seed Carlos Toribio of Ithaca (N.Y.), dropping to a wrestleback "pigtail" match against Ricky Briggs of Concordia-Moorhead. In their third meeting this season, Briggs scored his second win over Larson, with an 8-5 victory in a back-and-forth bout. Larson finished his sophomore campaign at 24-16, and is 40-26 in his Auggie career.
• Friday's second round, scheduled to start at 6 p.m., is the "All-America Round," which eliminates the field to the top eight wrestlers in each weight class, all of which earn All-America honors.

FRIDAY'S SESSION 1 RESULTS
TOP 10 TEAM SCORES: 1. Wartburg (Iowa) 17.5; 2. Messiah (Pa.) 12.5; 3. Luther (Iowa) 11.0; 4. Wabash (Ind.) 9.5; 5. Augsburg (Minn.) 9.0; 6t. Coe (Iowa) 6.0; 6t. Elmhurst (Ill.) 6.0; 6t. Stevens Tech (N.J.) 6.0; 9t. Alma (Mich.) 5.5; 9t. York (Pa.) 5.5. Other Minnesota colleges: 21. Concordia-Moorhead 3.0; 35t. Saint John's 1.0; 49t. St. Olaf 0.0.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Augsburg and Minnesota colleges):
125 -- Lucas Malmberg (Messiah) maj. dec. James Goman (Augsbug) 12-3; Jakob Stageberg (Concordia-Moorhead) maj. dec. Brenden Velez (Delaware Valley) 13-4; Velez dec. Goman 4-2 (Goman eliminated).
133 -- Sam Bennyhoff (Augsburg) dec. Michael Triplett (Loras) 10-6; Devin Broukal (Wabash) dec. Gabe Foltz (Concordia-Moorhead) 4-0; Nathan Pike (New York Univ.) pinned Michael Pleski (Saint John's) 2:21; Tyler Keane (Springfield) dec. Bennyhoff 7-6 (OT-SV1).
141 -- Chris Williams (Millikin) dec. Aaron Wilson (Augsburg) 9-6; Ben Henle (Saint John's) dec. Ryan Budzek (College of New Jersey) 7-0.
149 -- Rashad Kennedy (Augsburg) dec. Ben Williamson (North Central) 6-4 (OT-SV2).
157 -- Grant Parker (Augsburg) dec. Brett Beltz (Thiel) 11-7 (OT-SV1); Logan Meister (Ferrum) dec. Ben Cousins (Concordia-Moorhead) 3-1 (OT-SV1); Josh Tardy (North Central) maj. dec. Parker 13-5.
165 -- Eric Hensel (Augsburg) pinned Aaron Banko (Heidelberg) 1:29; Farai Sewera (Coe) pinned Teddy Erickson (Saint John's) 0:51; Cole Sladek (Concordia-Moorhead) dec. Erickson 8-5 (Erickson eliminated); Nolan Barger (Lycoming) pinned Sladek 0:31.
174 -- Ryan Harrington (Coe) maj. dec. Jake Johnson (Concordia-Moorhead) 8-0; Garrett Chase (Baldwin-Wallace) dec. Garrett Beaman (St. Olaf) 5-4.
184 -- Carlos Toribio (Ithaca) maj. dec. Sebastian Larson (Augsburg) 10-1; Jeff Palmeri (Brockport State) tech. fall Ricky Briggs (Concordia-Moorhead) 16-0 at 5:43; Briggs dec. Larson 8-5 (Larson eliminated).
197 -- Matt Seabold (Central) maj. dec. Logan Hortop (Augsburg) 11-1.
HWT -- Donny Longendyke (Augsburg) pinned Clay Broze (Wis.-La Crosse) 2:30; Tyler Maher (Stevens Tech) dec. Zachary Gibson (St. Olaf) 4-1.