DICKINSON N.D. (1/11/03) -- Augsburg College won six of 10 weight class titles en route to the team championship at the Dickinson State University Classic on Saturday.

Augsburg's Marcus LeVesseur (Fr., Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS) earned the meet's Outstanding Wrestler honors by cruising to the title at 157 pounds. Now 21-0 on the season, LeVesseur had an easy time at the meet, claiming pins in his first two matches and a major-decision (11-1) win in the semifinals

LeVesseur, currently ranked No. 4 in the nation in the latest Division III national polls, topped Montana State-Northern's Bobby Mantle, ranked seventh in the NAIA national rankings, by a 20-5, technical-fall win in the championship match.

Augsburg, the three-time defending NCAA Division III national champions and current No. 3-ranked team in the Division III national rankings, claimed 129 points to win the team title. Augsburg edged Montana State-Northern, the No. 2-ranked team in the NAIA national polls, which had 124 points. Dickinson State (N.D.), ranked 11th in the NAIA polls, was third with 64.5 points.

Ricky Crone * (Sr., Apple Valley, Minn.), ranked third in Division III at 184, had a 17-second pin in the semifinal match, en route to his weight-class championship. Crone decisioned Montana State-Northern's Mike Lester, ranked fifth in the NAIA, 5-3 in the title match.

Mike Flanagan (Sr., St. Paul, Minn./St. Thomas Academy HS), ranked fourth nationally at heavyweight, had pins of 34 and 40 seconds en route to going 4-0 and winning his weight class.

Joe Moon * (So., Ellendale, Minn./New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva HS), ranked fifth in Division III at 174, had a 16-1, technical-fall win and an 8-0, major-decision win in the championship match over Montana State-Northern's Kyle Fisher, ranked sixth in the NAIA.

Bryan Miller (Sr., Virginia Beach, Va./Kempsville HS), a 2001 All-American who returned to the Auggies at the semester after missing last season, won his first title of the year with three victories at 125 pounds. He had a technical fall and pin among his three wins. Miller defeated Montana State-Northern's Andy Thompson, ranked sixth in the NAIA national rankings at 125, in the title match.

Ryan Stroud (So., Park Falls, Wis.) had a first-period pin in going 3-0 to win the title at 149 pounds.

Mark Matzek (So., Ellsworth, Wis.) placed second for Augsburg at 133. He pinned Dickinson State's Micah Mathieson, ranked 14th in the NAIA, in 5:57 in the semifinal match. Matzek went 2-1 on the day, losing 14-10 to Montana State-Northern's Caleb Schaeffer, ranked second in the NAIA, in the final match.

Clarke Athman (Fr., St. Cloud, Minn./Athman Home School) finished second at 149. He went 3-1 on the day, beating Montana State-Northern's Dustyn Azure, ranked second in the NAIA, 13-10 in an early-round match.

Jamell Tidwell (So., Burnsville, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS), ranked fourth nationally at 141, finished third at 141 pounds. He had Augsburg's quickest pin of the day, a 12-second pin, but suffered a default loss in the semifinals. He ended up 3-1 on the day, improving to 28-2 on the season.

Jared Evans (Fr., Blue Earth, Minn./Blue Earth Area HS) also finished third for Augsburg at 133.

Placing fourth for Augsburg was Kirk Rall (Fr., West St. Paul, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) at 157, Rich Miller (So., Anoka, Minn.) at 184 and Justin Sorensen (Fr., Owatonna, Minn.) at 197..

Augsburg will compete at the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III National Duals tournament at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, next Saturday and Sunday (1/18-19).

College Wrestling -- Dickinson State (N.D.) University Classic
January 11, 2003 at Dickinson, N.D.
Team scores -- 1. Augsburg 129; 2. Montana State-Northern 124; 3. Dickinson State (N.D.) 64.5; 4. Jamestown (N.D.) 44; 5. Mary (N.D.) 37.5; 6. Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) 17.5; 7. Itasca Community College (Minn.) 15; 8. Concordia-Moorhead 12.5; 9. Minnesota State-Moorhead 7.5; 10. Northwest Community College (N.D.) 4.5; 11. Chadron State (Neb.) 0.