WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (12/29/02) -- Ricky Crone * (Sr., Apple Valley, Minn.) and Marcus LeVesseur (Fr., Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS) won individual championships for the Augsburg College wrestling team, leading the Auggies to a second-place team finish at the two-day Orange Bowl Sunshine Open, completed Sunday at the South Florida Fairgrounds.

Augsburg, the only Division III team among Division I programs at the 11-school, 26-team tournament, split into three squads. The Maroon squad (varsity) finished second in the competition with 123 points, while the White squad (junior varsity I) finished fourth with 59 points and the Gray squad (junior varsity II) finished seventh with 30.5 points.

The U.S. Naval Academy (Md.) won the tournament with 58 points. Purdue (Ind.) finished third with 121 points. Appalachian State (N.C.) was sixth with 52.5 points.

Crone, ranked third nationally in Division III at 184 pounds, won the title in his weight class, while LeVesseur, a transfer from Division I Minnesota competing in his first Augsburg event, won the title at the 157-pound weight class. LeVesseur had competed as an independent wrestler in open tournaments during the early portion of the wrestling season, while earning his eligibility at Augsburg.

Jamell Tidwell (So., Burnsville, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS), ranked fourth in the latest Division III national rankings at 141 pounds, finished second in his weight class, along with Greg Brendemuehl (Fr., Medford, Minn.) at 125 and Mike Flanagan (Sr., St. Paul, Minn./St. Thomas Academy HS) at heavyweight. Flanagan is ranked fifth in Division III at heavyweight.

Mark Matzek (So., Ellsworth, Wis.) placed third for Augsburg at 133, while Jared Evans (Fr., Blue Earth, Minn./Blue Earth Area HS) placed fourth at 133.

Placing fifth for Augsburg were Matt Jones (So., Lake Crystal, Minn./Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial HS) at 125, Josh Erlandson (So., Ellsworth, Wis.) at 149, Rob Doliber (So., Brooklyn Park, Minn./Robbinsdale Cooper HS) at 165 and Justin Sorensen (Fr., Owatonna, Minn.) at 197. Ryan Stroud (So., Park Falls, Wis.) placed sixth at 149.

Augsburg, ranked third nationally in the most recent Division III national poll, returns to action on Tuesday, Jan. 7, with a 7 p.m. dual meet at Division II Augustana (S.D.). Augustana is currently ranked 15th in the NCAA Division II national rankings.

Augsburg wrestling at Orange Bowl Sunshine Open
Dec. 28-29, 2002 at South Florida Fairgrounds, West Palm Beach, Fla.

Team Results: 1. Navy (Md.) Blue 158.0; 2. Augsburg Maroon 123.0; 3. Purdue (Ind.) Gold 121.0; 4. Augsburg White 59.0; 5. Navy Gold 54.0; 6. Appalachian State (N.C.) Black 52.5; 7. Augsburg Gray 30.5; 8. Navy White 30.0; 9. Davidson (N.C.) Red 28.0; 10t. Purdue Black 22.50; 10t. Cenral Florida 22.5; 12. Cumberland (Tenn.) 17.5; 13. Florida 10.5; 14. Brock Blue (club) 6.5; 15. Appalachian State Gold 40; 16. Navy Marines 3.5; 17. Davidson Solo 2.0; 18. South Florida 1.0; 19. Appalachian White 0.5; Not scoring -- Appalachian Solo, Brock White (club), Davidson Black, 3-Man Army (club), Purdue White, Univ. of New Orleans (La.).