Top-ranked Augsburg claims
40-0 wrestling victory over Moorhead State

MINNEAPOLIS ­ Augsburg College, the top-ranked team in the NCAA Division III preseason national wrestling poll, scored a 40-0 dual-meet victory over Division II foe Moorhead State on Wednesday night at Augsburg's Si Melby Hall.

Falls from *Josh Cagle (Jr., Faribault, Minn.) at 149 pounds and *Justin Baker (Jr., Kerkhoven, Minn.) at 157 capped the match, while *Brian Jones (Jr., Alexandria, Minn.), picked up a technical-fall, 15-0 win at 141.

It was Augsburg's third-straight dual-meet victory over the Dragons dating back to the 1991-92 season, and the first time the Auggies have shut out the Dragons. It was Augsburg's 11th shutout victory in dual meets over the past two seasons. Augsburg is 28-3 in dual meets since the 1996-97 season.

Augsburg , the two-time defending NCAA Division III national champions, is now 1-0 on the season in dual meets. Augsburg competes at the Wisconsin-River Falls Open on Dec. 5, and faces Southwest State in its next dual meet on Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. in Marshall, Minn.

Augsburg 40, Moorhead State 0
Order of matches (new draw system according to NCAA rules):
133 - Brad Fisher (A) dec. Scott Larson 12-8 (Augsburg 3-0)
165 - *Nick Slack (A) dec. Jeff Deibel 10-4 (Augsburg 6-0)
174 - *Jim Peterson (A) maj. dec. Travis Nagel 11-2 (Augsburg 10-0)
184 - *Nik Lewandowski (A) dec. Sonny Ranz 6-5 (Augsburg 13-0)
197 - Shane Wevley (A) dec. Dave Roberts 4-1 (Augsburg 16-0)
HWT - *Ben Bauer (A) maj. dec. Lee Shepersky 9-0 (Augsburg 20-0)
125 - *Darin Bertram (A) dec. Tom Grafstrom 8-2 (Augsburg 23-0)
141 - *Brian Jones (A) tech. fall Brad Weigandt 15-0 at 6:53 (Augsburg 28-0)
149 - *Josh Cagle (A) pinned Dwight Ballou 3:43 (Augsburg 34-0)
157 - *Justin Baker (A) pinned Ashkan Morvari 2:25 (Augsburg 40-0).
Augsburg rated No. 1 again
in Division III national wrestling poll

Augsburg opens its 50th season of wrestling as the top-ranked team in the nation in the preseason Adidas-Brute Division III team rankings, released on Wednesday. Augsburg has not surrendered the No. 1 ranking in Division III for the past three seasons.

Augsburg is first in its pursuit of its third consecutive and sixth overall national championship, while Wartburg (Iowa), which has finished second to the Auggies the past two seasons, is rated second. John Carroll (Ohio) is third, Wisconsin-La Crosse is fourth and Brockport State (N.Y.) is fifth. St. John's (Minn.) is rated 21st in the national poll, conducted by a panel of Division III wrestling coaches from across the nation.

*Jim Peterson (Sr., Eyota, Minn., Dover-Eyota HS, 174) and *Nik Lewandowski (So., Hastings, Minn., 184) are the top-rated wrestlers in the country in their weight classes, while *Josh Cagle (So., Faribault, Minn., 149) is second. *Ben Bauer (So., Faribault, Minn.) is rated third at heavyweight, Shane Wevley (Jr., Elbow Lake, Minn./West Central Area HS) is fourth at 197, *Darin Bertram (Fr., Herman, Minn., Herman-Norcross HS) is fifth at 125 and *Brian Jones (Jr., Alexandria, Minn.) is sixth at 141.