ADA, Ohio (3/8/03) -- Augsburg College's Marcus LeVesseur (Fr., Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS) became just the second wrestler in school history to go through an individual season unbeaten, finishing 44-0 to win the 157-pound individual national championship at the NCAA Division III wrestling national championships on Saturday night at the Ohio Northern University Sports Center.

Augsburg finished second as a team in the national title race with 84.5 points, behind Wartburg's (Iowa) record-setting 166.5-point performance. Augsburg had six All-Americans, with two Auggies placing third. Wisconsin-Stevens Point finished third with 71.0 points, claiming two titlists. Montclair State (N.J.) was fourth with 69.0 points.

LeVesseur, who transferred to Augsburg this season after originally enrolling at the Division I University of Minnesota, finished his season 44-0 with a 4-2 triumph over Kevin Bratland of Wartburg (Iowa) in the 157-pound national championship match.

LeVesseur scored a takedown midway through the first period, then gained an escape five seconds into the second period from the down position to earn all the points he needed to earn the championship, his first collegiate title. In the semifinals on Saturday, he claimed an 8-1 win over No. 5-seed Garrett South of Luther (Iowa).

He became just the second Auggie to ever go through a season unbeaten to win a national championship. Henry Gerten accomplished the feat in 1996-97 when he went 44-0 to win the national title at 133 pounds.

With LeVesseur's championship, combined with three victories in the five other Augsburg placing matches, the Auggies finished in second place behind Wartburg, which clinched its first national title since 1999 and third in school history. The Knights scored the most team points in the 30-year history of the Division III championship meet, eclipsing the old championship record of 143, set by Montclair State (N.J.) in 1976.

Wartburg broke a three-season winning streak in national tournaments by the Auggies, who have won eight national titles in the last 13 seasons. Wartburg finished second to Augsburg five times (six overall) in the past decade. Augsburg finished second for the sixth time in school history, its third second-place finish behind Wartburg (previously in 1996 and 1999).

At 141 pounds, Jamell Tidwell (So., Richfield, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS), placed third with an impressive four-win stretch in wrestleback action to finish with a 50-2 overall record. In the third-place match, he scored a reversal and takedown in the first period to build a 4-1 lead, holding on for a 6-4 victory over Kristopher Harrington of Brockport State (N.Y.).

In his other matches on Saturday, Tidwell scored three takedowns and two three-point near-falls to claim a 15-5, major-decision win over Jeff Patzke of Luther (Iowa), then pulled out to a 9-3 lead and held on for a 13-9 win over No. 2 Keith Poloskey of Springfield (Mass.).

Tidwell earned his first All-American honor with the third-place finish in his second trip to the national tournament. Tidwell is now 77-8 in his two seasons at Augsburg.

At 184 pounds, Augsburg's Ricky Crone * (Sr., Apple Valley, Minn.), a two-time All-American, placed third with a 3-2 win over Dennis Gaul of Montclair State (N.J.). Crone built a 3-0 lead in the second period on an escape and takedown, then held on as Gaul scored an escape in the second and an escape to open the third.

Earlier on Saturday, Crone lost his semifinal match to Bradley Marten of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, dropping his second match of the year to the Pointer with a 4-3 defeat. Crone was trying a shot but got caught exposed with 45 seconds left. Marten turned the opportunity into the match-clinching takedown, and though Crone scored an escape in the closing seconds, it wasn't enough. In Crone's wrestleback match, he scored a 4-1 win over Artie Mauser of John Carroll (Ohio), building 3:29 of riding time to a dominating win.

One of just two seniors on the Auggie national tournament roster, Crone scored second-place and third-place national triumphs in his career. He finished this season 39-7 and went 72-10 in his two years at Augsburg.

Joe Moon * (So., Ellendale, Minn./New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva HS), claimed his fifth-place crown at 174 pounds in strong fashion. After losing in his wrestleback match, Moon responded with an 11-0 thrashing of Mark Sturm of Wartburg, his third win over Sturm this season. Moon dominated the match from start to finish, nearly getting a pin at the end of the second period and building 3:18 of riding time.

In the semifinal match Saturday, Moon attempted a second-period cradle, but his opponent, Cody Koenig of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, worked through the cradle and found Moon exposed, quickly moving him to his back and claiming a 4:36 pin. In Moon's wrestleback match, he fell behind early and could not overcome Wisconsin-La Crosse's Jason Lulloff, who claimed a 4-3 win.

Moon, an All-American for the first time in his first trip to the national tournament, finished 38-7 overall and is 66-12 in his two years at Augsburg.

At 133 pounds, Mark Matzek (So., Ellsworth, Wis.) saw his run through the wrestlebacks end with an 8-2 loss to Barry Wise of Delaware Valley (Pa.) in the third-place match. Wise scored two first-period takedowns and built a 7-1 lead, cruising to the win.

After losing his first match in the tournament on Friday, Matzek won four matches in a row to move into the third-place match. On Saturday, Matzek pulled away from a 3-3 tie to dominate the rest of the way in a 12-4, major-decision win over Oswego State's (N.Y.) Tenkoran Agyeman, then scored a takedown with two seconds left in the match to rally for a 12-8 win over top-seed Mike Waldron of Lycoming (Pa.) (Waldron was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct at the end of the match).

An All-American for the first time in his first national tournament appearance, Matzek finished 40-7 overall and is 60-17 in his two Auggie seasons.

Freshman Greg Brendemuehl (Fr., Medford, Minn.) suffered a leg injury in his wrestleback loss to Jared Selover of Baldwin-Wallace (Ohio) and did not wrestle in the fifth-place match, defaulting to Jason Peck of Cortland State (N.Y.). In his semifinal match against top-ranked Heath Ropp of Wartburg, Ropp pulled away from a 2-2 tie in the second period to claim an 8-2 triumph.

Brendemuehl finished his first Auggie campaign 33-11 overall.

2003 NCAA Division III Wrestling National Championships
Saturday, March 8, 2003 at Ada, Ohio -- Final Results
Top 10 teams: 1. Wartburg (Iowa) 166.5; 2. Augsburg 84.5; 3. Wisconsin-Stevens Point 71.0; 4. Montclair State (N.J.) 69.0; 5. Luther (Iowa) 56.5; 6. Brockport State (N.Y.) 52.5; 7. College of New Jersey 45.5; 8. Wisconsin-La Crosse 41.5; 9. Upper Iowa 33.5; 10. Loras (Iowa) 31.5.
Other Minnesota schools: 50t. St. John's 1.0, 52t. St. Olaf 0.0.
Other Wisconsin schools: 31. Wisconsin-Eau Claire 8.0; 35t. Milwaukee School of Engineering 6.0; 39. Wisconsin-Platteville 5.0; 52t. Concordia-Wisconsin 0.0.

Saturday's results involving Augsburg wrestlers:
125 pounds -- Heath Ropp (Wartburg) dec. Greg Brendemuehl (Augsburg) 8-2; Jared Selover (Baldwin-Wallace) pinned Brendemuehl 6:16. Fifth-place match: Jason Peck (Cortland State) by injury default over Brendemuehl.
133 pounds -- Mark Matzek (Augsburg) dec. Tenkoran Agyeman (Oswego State) 12-4; Matzek dec. Mike Waldron (Lycoming) 12-8. Third-place match: Barry Wise (Delaware Valley) dec. Matzek 8-2.
141 pounds -- Jamell Tidwell (Augsburg) maj. dec. Jeff Patzke (Luther) 15-5; Tidwell dec. Keith Poloskey (Springfield) 13-9. Third-place match: Tidwell dec. Kristopher Harrington (Brockport State) 6-3.
157 pounds -- Marcus LeVesseur (Augsburg) dec. Garrett South (Luther) 8-1. Championship match: LeVesseur dec. Kevin Bratland (Wartburg) 4-2.
174 pounds -- Cody Koenig (Wisconsin-Stevens Point) pinned Joe Moon * (Augsburg) 4:36; Jason Lulloff (Wisconsin-La Crosse) dec. Moon 4-3. Fifth-place match: Moon maj. dec. Mark Sturm (Wartburg) 11-0.
184 pounds -- Bradley Marten (Wisconsin-Stevens Point) dec. Ricky Crone * (Augsburg) 4-3; Crone dec. Artie Mauser (John Carroll) 4-1. Third-place match: Crone dec. Dennis Gaul (Montclair State) 3-2.