MINNEAPOLIS (12/13/03) -- Augsburg College's Marcus LeVesseur * (So., Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS) earned tournament Most Valuable Wrestler honors with a dominating performance at 157 pounds, leading the Auggies to a second-place team finish at the St. Cloud State Invitational wrestling tournament at Halenbeck Hall on Saturday.

LeVesseur, the defending NCAA Division III national champion at 157, won three matches -- two by fall and one by technical fall -- to claim the title in his weight class, one of five individual champions Augsburg claimed on the afternoon, the most of any school in the 13-team meet.

As a team, Augsburg finished second to Division II power North Dakota State, which had three individual champions, by a 152-to-147.5 margin. In head-to-head bouts between the Auggies and Bison, Augsburg won five matches (all in championship finals) compared to NDSU's two (one in a championship final, the other in a semifinal).

Augsburg, last year's Division III national runner-up, is currently ranked No. 1 in the Division III national rankings, while North Dakota State is ranked No. 1 in the Division II national poll. The Bison, who finished fourth nationally last year, are in their final season in Division II before moving up to Division I next year. The Bison and Auggies will lock horns in a dual meet on Jan. 27 at Augsburg.

LeVesseur scored a 20-2, third-period technical-fall win in his first match, then dispatched his last two victims by first-period pins, including a 1:23 pin of NDSU's Paul Carlson, the top-ranked wrestler in Division II at 157 and last year's Division II national champion, in the championship match.

LeVesseur has yet to lose a collegiate match; he is now 57-0 in his first two seasons in an Auggie singlet and 13-0 this year. His 57-match streak is the third-longest winning streak in school history, behind Nick Slack's 60 (2000-01) and Henry Gerten's 64 (1996-98).

Augsburg's Joe Moon * (Jr., Ellendale, Minn./New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva HS), ranked second nationally at 174 pounds, remained unbeaten at 16-0 on the year with three victories, including a 4-3, overtime tiebreaker victory over Thad Pike of North Dakota State, the top-ranked wrestler at 174 in Division II, in the championship match.

Matt Shankey (Jr., Apple Valley, Minn.), a transfer from the Division I University of Iowa, made his Augsburg debut a promising one, as he breezed through the 125-pound weight class, winning the title with a third-period 16-1 technical-fall, a 14-4 major-decision win, and a 10-4 victory in the championship match over Matt Vos of St. John's, currently ranked No. 1 in Division III. Shankey had missed the first month of the season due to an injury.

Jamell Tidwell * (Jr., Burnsville, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS), ranked second nationally at 141 pounds, remained unbeaten at 16-0 on the year with three victories to claim the title in his weight class, including a 5-2 win over North Dakota State's Mathias Bitz, ranked eighth in Division II, in the title match. Tidwell, Augsburg's most prolific wrestler in terms of wins in the last three seasons, improved to 93-8 in his Auggie career.

Mark Matzek (Jr., Ellsworth, Wis.), currently ranked No. 3 nationally at 133 pounds, improved to 13-1 on the season with the championship in his weight class, which included a 3-2 win over North Dakota State's Lucas Christiansen in the championship match. Christiansen is currently ranked seventh nationally in Division II.

Matzek, who finished fourth nationally last year at 133, is locked in a battle for the position with teammate and fellow All-American Greg Brendemuehl (So., Medford, Minn.), who finished sixth at 125 last year and is moving up a weight class this season.

Tyler Marr (Jr., Wyoming, Minn./Forest Lake HS), in his first season at Augsburg after transferring from the University of Minnesota, finished second at 165 pounds, losing 5-2 in the championship match to Mike Fielder of NDSU, the No. 2-ranked wrestler in Division II. Marr is now 10-5 this season.

Justin Sorensen (So., Owatonna, Minn.), ranked fourth in Division III rankings at 197, was upset 3-1 in the championship match by Nate Buys of Minnesota West Community College. Sorensen, who went 3-1 at the meet, now 15-2 on the season.

Mark Simmonds (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn./Edison HS), a transfer from Southwest Minnesota State currently ranked sixth in Division III at heavyweight, finished second with a 4-3, overtime tiebreaker loss to Baron Blanchard of Northern State (S.D.) in the title match. Blanchard is currently ranked third in Division II. Simmonds had two wins entering the final, a second-period 17-1 technical fall and 5-1 victory.

Dustin Dahlblom (Fr., Stillwater, Minn.), ranked eighth nationally at 149 pounds, finished fourth at the meet, going 3-2 to move to 14-4 on the year. Clint Hodgdon * (Jr., Ostrander, Minn./LeRoy-Ostrander HS), ranked eighth nationally at 184, finished fifth, going 2-2 to move to 12-4 on the season.

Augsburg takes two weeks off for finals and the holidays before returning to action at the Orange Bowl Sunshine Open, Dec. 29-30 in Lakeland, Fla.

Augsburg at St. Cloud State Invitational
December 13, 2003, Halenbeck Hall, St. Cloud, Minn.
Team Results: 1. North Dakota State 152; 2. Augsburg 147.5; 3. Minnesota State-Moorhead 97.5; 4. St. John's 65.5, 5. Northern State (S.D.) 42.5; 6. Southwest Minnesota State 41.5; 7. University of Mary (N.D.) 41.0; 8t. Dickinson State (N.D.) 36.0; 8t. Ridgewater Community College 36.0; 10. Jamestown (N.D.) 32.5; 11. St. Cloud State 20.0; 12. Minnesota West Community College 16.0; 13. Concordia-Moorhead 3.5.
Tournament Most Valuable Wrestler: Marcus LeVesseur *, Augsburg, 157.

Championship Matches and Augsburg Individual Results:
125 -- Matt Shankey (Augsburg) dec. Matt Vos (St. John's) 10-4; Shankey 3-0.
133 -- Mark Matzek (Augsburg) dec. Lucas Christiansen (North Dakota State) 3-2; Matzek 3-0.
141 -- Jamell Tidwell * (Augsburg) dec. Mathias Bitz (North Dakota State) 5-2; Tidwell 3-0.
149 -- Zach Stevens (North Dakota State) dec. Mike Champagne (Mary) 5-3; Dustin Dahlblom 3-2, 4th place.
157 -- Marcus LeVesseur * (Augsburg) pinned Paul Carlson (North Dakota State) 1:23; LeVesseur 3-0.
165 -- Mike Fieldler (North Dakota State) dec. Tyler Marr (Augsburg) 5-2; Marr 2-1.
174 -- Joe Moon * (Augsburg) dec. Thad Pike 4-3 (OT TB); Moon 3-0.
184 -- Matt Herman (North Dakota State) dec. Dan Willaert (St. John's) 7-5; Clint Hodgdon * 2-2, 5th place.
197 -- Nate Buys (Minnesota West CC) dec. Justin Sorensen (Augsburg) 3-1; Sorensen 3-1.
HWT -- Baron Blanchard (Northern State) dec. Mark Simmonds (Augsburg) 4-3 (OT TB); Simmonds 2-1.