Wrestling 11/23/04 -- Augsburg 40, St. John's 2

MINNEAPOLIS (11/23/04) -- Winning nine of 10 individual matches, the No. 1-ranked Augsburg College wrestling team dispatched its in-state rival, No. 17-ranked St. John's University, 40-2 in a dual meet on Wednesday night at Augsburg's Si Melby Hall.

Augsburg gained second-period pins from two-time defending 157-pound NCAA Division III national champion Marcus LeVesseur * (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS) and defending 141-pound national runner-up Jamell Tidwell * (Sr., Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy HS), while receiving technical-fall victories from 184-pounder Brad Tupa (Jr., Dundas, Minn./Faribault HS) and defending 133-pound national champion Mark Matzek * (Sr., Ellsworth, Wis.).

Augsburg, winners of eight of the last 14 Division III national titles and national runners-up the last two years, is currently ranked No. 1 in the Division III national poll. It was the first dual meet of the season for both Augsburg and St. John's, ranked No. 17 nationally.

Against teams from Divisions II and III, Augsburg is now 190-12 since 1989-90, losing just seven matches since the 1995-96 season. Against teams from Division III, Augsburg is now 211-17 since the 1979-80 season and 135-7 since 1989-90.

Against fellow Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference schools, Augsburg now has a 19-season, 89-match dual-meet winning streak. St. John's is the lone MIAC school Augsburg will face this season. Since 1975-76, Augsburg is 188-2 against MIAC opponents, and Augsburg has now won 20 straight matches over St. John's. The Johnnies' last victory over the Auggies in a dual meet came in the 1985-86 season.

In his first match of the season after earning All-MIAC honors as Augsburg's football quarterback, LeVesseur extended his collegiate wrestling winning streak to 85 straight matches with a 4:43 pin of the Johnnies' Jacob Malone (So., New York Mills, Minn.) at 157 pounds. A national champion the last two seasons, LeVesseur has yet to lose a collegiate match in his career.

Tidwell, currently ranked No. 2 nationally at 141, also had an easy time of his match with the Johnnies' Nate Lefebvre (Sr., Elk River, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville HS), ending the match with a pin at the 4:28 mark. Tidwell is now 5-0 on the season and 126-12 on his career.

Tupa had one of the most dominant performances of the evening, converting a takedown and five near-falls in less than three minutes to end his 184-pound match with Casey Boutain (Fr., Starbuck, Minn./Minnewaska HS) via the technical fall, 15-0 at 2:42. Tupa is now 5-0 on the season.

Matzek needed just a little longer to end his match on a technical fall, working 47 seconds into the second period to dispatch of Tim Thompson (Fr., Lake City, Minn.) 17-0, converting a takedown and five 3-point near-falls. Matzek, a two-time All-American and defending national champion at 133, is now 4-0 on the season.

Ryan Valek (Jr., Belle Plaine, Minn.), ranked No. 3 nationally at 165, earned a 12-1 major-decision win, while All-American and No. 4-ranked heavyweight Mark Simmonds (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn./Edison HS) gained a 9-1 major-decision triumph. Valek is now 4-0 on the year, while Simmonds is now 4-1. Also scoring a major-decision victory for the Auggies was Travis Birhanzl (Jr., Montevideo, Minn./Yellow Medicine East HS) at 174.

The closest match of the evening came at 197, as Augsburg's Justin Sorensen (Jr., Owatonna, Minn.) built a 5-0 second-period lead and held off the Johnnies' Dan Willaert (Jr., North Mankato, Minn./Mankato Loyola HS) by an 8-5 count. Sorensen gained a key takedown with 47 seconds left in the third period to secure the win, after Willaert had cut the lead to 5-4 on a reversal to start the period.

Ryan Stroud (Jr., Park Falls, Wis.), returning to the Auggie lineup after missing the 2003-04 season due to injuries, improved to 4-1 on the season with a 5-2 win over the Johnnies' Charlie Sadder (Jr., Shoreview, Minn./Totino-Grace HS) at 149.

St. John's, in its first dual meet for new head coach Brandon Novak, gained its lone win at 125, as Nate Schraan (Jr., Eagan, Minn.) built a 6-0 lead and cruised to a 7-1 win over Augsburg's Adam Schlepp (So., Fergus Falls, Minn.).

St. John's was penalized a team point for unsportsmanlike conduct during the meet, resulting in the 40-2 decision.

Augsburg returns to action after the Thanksgiving break on Saturday, Dec. 4, competing at the Minnesota State-Moorhead Dragon Open. Action begins at 9 a.m. St. John's will face Itasca Community College in a dual in Grand Rapids, Minn., on Friday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m.

Wrestling -- Augsburg (1-0) 40, St. John's (0-1) 2
November 24, 2004 – Si Melby Hall, Minneapolis, Minn.
Action begins at 165 pounds.
Time of match: 1:26.
Official: Bryan Kelvington.
Attendance: 252.

165 – Ryan Valek (AUG, 4-0) maj. dec. David Sadder (SJU, 0-1) 12-1 (Augsburg 4-0).
174 – Travis Birhanzl (AUG, 4-0) maj. dec. Jeff Snegosky (SJU, 1-3) 11-3 (Augsburg 8-0).
184 – Brad Tupa (AUG, 4-0) tech. fall Casey Boutain (SJU, 2-2) 15-0 at 2:42 (Augsburg 13-0).
197 – Justin Sorensen (AUG, 6-0) dec. Dan Willaert (SJU, 3-2) 8-5 (Augsburg 16-0).
HWT – Mark Simmonds (AUG, 4-1) maj. dec. Jason Finley (SJU, 3-2) 9-1 (Augsburg 20-0).
125 – Nate Schraan (SJU, 1-2) dec. Adam Schlepp (AUG, 1-3) 7-1 (Augsburg 20-3).
133 – Mark Matzek * (AUG, 4-0) tech. fall. Tim Thompson (SJU, 0-3) 17-0 at 3:47 (Augsburg 25-3).
141 – Jamell Tidwell * (AUG, 5-0) pinned Nate Lefebvre (SJU, 1-3) 4:28 (Augsburg 31-3).
Unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on SJU – 1 team point deduction (Augsburg 31-2).
149 – Ryan Stroud (AUG, 4-1) dec. Charlie Sadder (SJU, 0-1) 5-2 (Augsburg 34-2).
157 – Marcus LeVesseur * (AUG, 1-0) pinned Jacob Malone (SJU, 3-2) 4:43 (Augsburg 40-2).