College Wrestling -- North Dakota State 19, Augsburg 17
MINNEAPOLIS (11/24/99) -- Steve Saxlund (Jr., Pipestone, Minn./Pipestone-Jasper HS) scored a 6-3 victory in the final match of the evening Wednesday, lifting North Dakota State to a 19-17 dual-meet victory over host Augsburg College in a nonconference wrestling meet at Si Melby Hall.
Saxlund's match win, combined with an early forfeit by Augsburg, proved to be the difference in the match, as Augsburg won five matches and North Dakota State claimed four in head-to-head competition.
Saxlund, at 184 pounds, topped Augsburg's
Nik Lewandowski (Jr., Hastings, Minn.) in a matchup of two multiple All-Americans, both of whom have been in a national championship match in their respective divisions the last two seasons. Saxlund won a Division II national title in 1998 and finished second at last year; while Lewandowski has finished second in the nation in his weight classes the past two seasons.
North Dakota State entered Wednesday's match as the No. 4-rated team in the first NCAA Division II national poll. Augsburg, which has won five NCAA Division III national championships in the 1990s and finished second by 1.5 points to Wartburg in last season's national meet, is expected to be rated No. 1 in the nation when the first Division III poll is released next week.
Augsburg was forced to forfeit the 125-pound weight class -- and six match points -- to NDSU's Matt Strawser (Fr., Wadena, Minn./Wadena-Deer Creek HS) when Auggie wrestler
Darin Bertram (So., Herman, Minn./Herman-Norcross HS) was unable to compete due to an illness.
In addition to Saxlund's victory, NDSU's match wins came from Jake Thielbar (So., Faribault, Minn.), who upset Augsburg's
Brian Jones (Sr., Austin, Minn.) 4-2 at 141 pounds; Wayne Mooney (Sr., Greenbush, Minn.), who notched a 17-4 major-decision win at 157; and Grady Wolf (So., Bismarck, N.D.), who scored a 9-2 win at 165.
Mooney and Saxlund are each rated No. 2 their respective weight classes in the first Division II national individual polls, while Thielbar is rated seventh in Division II at 141.
Augsburg's
John Marchette (Sr., Canton, Ohio/North Canton Hoover HS), the defending Division III national champion at 133 pounds, knocked off NDSU's Kris Nelson (Sr., Lisbon, N.D.), the No. 4-rated wrestler in Division II, 5-3. At 174, Augsburg's
Nick Slack (So., Belle Plaine, Minn.) scored a 2-1, two-overtime win over NDSU's Todd Fuller (So., Maple Lake, Minn.), in one of the most exciting matches of the evening.
Josh Cagle scored the lone technical fall of the night, a 15-0, 5:30 match win at 149. Other Augsburg match victories came from
Josh Clausen (Sr., Apple Valley, Minn.), a 13-6 winner at 197; and
Ben Bauer (Jr., Faribault, Minn.), a 4-1 winner at heavyweight.
Augsburg, now 0-1 overall in dual meets, next competes at the Wisconsin-River Falls Open on Dec. 4, and returns to Si Melby Hall for a home dual meet with Southwest State on Dec. 7 at 7 p.m.
North Dakota State, now 1-1 in dual meets, next competes at the Las Vegas Tournament Dec. 3-4 in Las Vegas, Nev. The Bison return to dual-meet action on Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. with a North Central Conference meet at St. Cloud State University.
NORTH DAKOTA STATE 19, AUGSBURG 17
Action begins at 197 pounds
197 -- Josh Clausen (AUG, 5-0) dec. Nick Severson (3-2) 13-6 (Augsburg 3-0).
HWT -- Ben Bauer (AUG, 5-0) dec. Dave Clymer (0-2) 4-1 (Augsburg 6-0).
125 -- Matt Strawser (NDSU, 2-3) wins by forfeit (Tied 6-6).
133 -- John Marchette (AUG, 5-0) dec. Kris Nelson (2-3) 5-3 (Augsburg 9-6).
141 -- Jake Thielbar (NDSU, 3-2) dec. Brian Jones (3-2) 4-1 (Tied 9-9).
149 -- Josh Cagle (AUG, 4-0) tech. fall. Lance Wurm (2-4) 15-0 at 5:30 (Augsburg 14-9).
157 -- Wayne Mooney (NDSU, 5-1) maj. dec. Jeremy Jirele (4-1) 17-4 (Augsburg 14-13).
165 -- Grady Wolf (NDSU, 4-2) dec. Justin Baker (2-2) 9-2 (NDSU 16-14).
174 -- Nick Slack (AUG, 1-0) dec. Todd Fuller (4-2), 2-1 in two overtimes (Augsburg 17-16).
184 -- Steve Saxlund (NDSU, 3-2) dec. Nik Lewandowski (3-2) 6-3 (NDSU 19-17).
