AUGSBURG NATIONAL TOURNAMENT PAGE
TOURNAMENT RESULTS/BRACKETS/PPV VIDEO
CLEVELAND NATIONAL TOURNAMENT PAGE

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Two Augsburg University wrestlers won individual titles on Saturday evening, lifting the Auggies to a second-place team finish at the NCAA Division III National Championships at the Cleveland Public Auditorium.

THE BASICS
FINAL TOP 10 TEAM SCORES: 1. Wartburg (Iowa) 136.5, 2. Augsburg (Minn.) 82.0, 3.  Ithaca (N.Y.) 79.0, 4. Stevens Tech (N.J.) 55.0; 5. Wabash (Ind.) 44.0; 6. Johnson & Wales (R.I.) 43.5, 7. Wisconsin-La Crosse 42.5, 8. Messiah (Pa.) 38.0, 9. Wisconsin-Whitewater 35.0, 10t. Mount Union (Ohio) 34.5, 10t. Oneonta State (N.Y.) 34.5.
LOCATION: Public Auditorium, Cleveland, Ohio

HOW IT HAPPENED
• With five All-Americans, Augsburg finished in second place in the team race with 82.0 points, edging past third-place Ithaca's 79.0 points. Wartburg (Iowa) won its fourth straight national title with 136.5 points.
• Lucas Jeske (SO, St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville HS) claimed the national championship and earned the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler award for Augsburg at 165 pounds, thoroughly dominating his bout with Nick Velez of Ithaca in a 15-0, 7:00 technical fall. Jeske was able to convert three takedowns, a two-point near-fall and a four-point near-fall, building 2:38 of riding time in the victory. Earlier on Saturday, Jeske claimed his third pin of the weekend, with a 1:43 win over Anthony Arroyo of Baldwin-Wallace (Ohio). A third-place national finisher last year at 165, Jeske finished 39-1 on the season and is 65-9 in his career.
• Ryan Epps (SO, Cannon Falls, Minn./Cannon Falls HS) finished his season in dramatic fashion, scoring a takedown on a single-leg drive with 33 seconds left in the first sudden-death overtime period, winning the 157-pound national title with a 3-1 win over Logan Thomsen of Wartburg. Both wrestlers were successful in fighting off numerous shots by their opponent throughout the match, and it entered overtime tied 1-1. Epps finished the season with a 26-match winning streak, finishing 41-1 in his second national tournament campaign. He is 76-8 in his career.
• Sam Bennyhoff (JR, Mound, Minn./Mound-Westonka HS) earned national runner-up honors at 133 pounds, dropping a 12-5 decision to Wartburg's Brock Rathbun in the title match. Bennyhoff took an early 2-0 lead, but Rathbun was able to convert three takedowns and a near-fall to clinch the win, building 2:40 of riding time. Earlier in the day, Bennyhoff scored a 15-3 major decision win over Joao Vicente of Johnson & Wales (R.I.) in the semifinals. An All-American for the first time, Bennyhoff finished 35-6 on the season and is 93-22 in his career.
 • Competing in his first national tournament, Alex Wilson (JR, Oak Grove, Minn./St. Francis HS) finished with a fifth-place national finish at 149 pounds to earn All-American honors. Wilson finished his junior season at 35-7 on the season and is 93-31 in his career.
• Also competing in his first national tournament, Tanner Vassar (SO, Maple Lake, Minn./Maple Lake HS) finished in seventh place at 174 pounds to earn All-American honors. Vassar finished his sophomore season at 35-10 and is 67-20 in his career.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
• Augsburg has finished among the top two teams in national wrestling competition 25 times since 1975, winning national titles 12 times in NCAA Division III competition and earning runner-up honors 13 times (12 in Division III, once in NAIA). 
• Augsburg has now won 52 individual national championships in wrestling, including 48 NCAA Division III national titles, tied with Wartburg for the most in Division III history.
• Augsburg has now earned 242 wrestling All-Americans in program history (206 in NCAA competition, 36 in NAIA). This is the 28th time since Augsburg became a Division III member in 1983 that the Auggies have had five or more wrestling All-Americans. Augsburg has had at least two All-Americans every year since 1988 and at least one All-American in national competition (NAIA 1968-1983, NCAA 1983-present) every year since 1977 -- now a 42-year streak.
• Jeske's honor marks the sixth time an Augsburg wrestler has earned Most Outstanding Wrestler honors at the NCAA Division III National Championships. Also earning the honor for Augsburg: Gary Kroells (1993), Tom Layte (1995), Josh Cagle (2000), Joe Moon (2004) and Mike Fuenffinger (2015).

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AUGSBURG SECOND-DAY RESULTS
• 133: Sam Bennyhoff (Augsburg) maj. dec. Joao Vicente (Johnson & Wales) 15-3. National championship match: Brock Rathbun (Wartburg) dec. Bennyhoff 12-5.
• 149: Cross Cannone (Wartburg) maj. dec. Alex Wilson (Augsburg) 8-0; Evan Drill (NYU) dec. Wilson 7-4. Fifth-place match: Wilson medical forfeit over Sean Peacock (Brockport State).
• 157: Ryan Epps (Augsburg) dec. Cole Erickson (Coe) 3-1. National championship match: Epps dec. Logan Thomsen (Wartburg) 3-1 (OT-SV1).
• 165: Lucas Jeske (Augsburg) pinned Anthony Arroyo (Baldwin-Wallace) 1:43. National championship match: Jeske tech. fall Nick Velez (Ithaca) 15-0 at 7:00.
• 174: Darden Schurg (Wabash) pinned Tanner Vassar (Augsburg) 2:16. Seventh-place match: Vassar dec. Jake Voss (Coe) 8-3.