ST. PAUL, Minn. (1/29/00) -- Augsburg College, ranked No. 1 in NCAA Division III wrestling, allowed just six team points scored by its opponents in sweeping to its 10th straight Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference team duals championship on Friday and Saturday (1/28-29) at Schoenecker Arena at the University of St. Thomas.

Augsburg topped St. Olaf 47-3 and St. Thomas 52-0 on Friday, then dispatched Carleton 60-0, Concordia-Moorhead 56-0 and St. John's 41-3. Josh Clausen (Sr., Apple Valley, Minn.), who went 4-0 with a pin, technical fall and major-decision win, was voted the tournament's Most Valuable Wrestler on a vote of conference coaches.

In the 10-year history of the MIAC Team Duals, Augsburg has never lost a dual in cruising to 53 victories, extending the school's current streak of dual-meet victories over MIAC opponents to 73 straight matches, dating back to 1986. Since 1975, Augsburg is 172-2 against MIAC opponents. In the MIAC Team Duals, Augsburg has outscored its opponents by a margin of 2,518-106.

Clausen, rated No. 2 in the nation at 197 pounds, improved to 22-1 on the season with his four victories, including an 18-6, major-decision win over St. John's Brandon Novak (Jr., Becker, Minn.), who entered the meet rated third in the nation at 197.

Augsburg's Josh Cagle (Sr., Faribault, Minn.), rated No. 1 at 149 pounds, remained unbeaten, improving to 29-0 on the season with four wins, including three technical falls to raise his season total to 16. He also had a pin in the meet.

St. John's University, which took seventh at last year's national meet and was rated 12th in the nation in the most recent Division III national poll, went 4-1 in its matches, topping St. Thomas 31-12, Concordia-Moorhead 33-18, St. Olaf 29-24 and Carleton 42-10 before its final-match loss to the Auggies.

Jeremy Abfalter (Sr., Foley, Minn.) had the most success for the Johnnies at the event, winning all five matches -- one of just two non-Augsburg wrestlers to do so. An NCAA qualifer last season, Abfalter included a technical fall and pin in his five-victory total to move to 22-5 on the season. Novak, a two-time All-American, went 3-1 with two pins at 197 to improve to 18-1. Chris Gross (Sr., Blaine, Minn.) improved to 26-10 with a 3-2 mark at 174.

St. Olaf College went 3-2 at the meet, paced by Thor Apland (Sr., Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial HS), who joined Abfalter as a 5-0 finisher on the weekend. A two-time NCAA qualifier, the 165-pounder had three pins and two match decisions. Alex Morf (Fr., Mount Vernon, Iowa) went 4-1 at 149 pounds, as did John Holm (Jr., Northfield, Minn.) at 174/184. Junior heavyweight Matt Picchietti (Jr., Wilmette, Ill./Loyola HS) went 3-2.

The University of St. Thomas went 2-3 at the meet, while Concordia-Moorhead went 1-4 and Carleton College was winless in its five matches. Concordia's Rory Olson (So., Wadena, Minn.) had the quickest pin of the weekend, with a 21-second stick of Carleton's Erik Wakamatsu (Fr., Akashi, Japan/Doshisha International) at 165.

The five MIAC schools will meet again at the MIAC Individual Wrestling Championships, set for Feb. 26 at Concordia-Moorhead. That's also the qualifier for the NCAA Championships, set for March 4-5 at Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio.

Friday, Jan. 28 -- 7 p.m.
Augsburg 47, St. Olaf 3
St. John's 31, St. Thomas 12
Concordia 34, Carleton 24

Friday, Jan. 28 -- 8:30 p.m.
Augsburg 52, St. Thomas 0
St. John's 33, Concordia 18
St. Olaf 45, Carleton 12

Saturday, Jan. 29 -- 10 a.m.
Augsburg 60, Carleton 0
St. John's 29, St. Olaf 24
St. Thomas 29, Concordia 27

Saturday, Jan. 29 -- 11 a.m.
Augsburg 56, Concordia 0
St. John's 42, Carleton 10
St. Olaf 36, St. Thomas 18

Saturday, Jan. 29 -- 1 p.m.
Augsburg 41, St. John's 3
St. Olaf 36, Concordia 18
St. Thomas 35, Carleton 21

Referees -- Jerry Rekar, Neal Jensen, Bill Benson
Tournament Champion -- Augsburg
Tournament's Most Valuable Wrestler -- Josh Clausen (197), Augsburg