Wrestling 12/7/04 -- Augsburg 32, Southwest Minnesota State 9;
Augsburg White Team (JV) 21, Ridgewater CC 16

MARSHALL, Minn. (12/7/04) -- Winning eight of 10 individual matches, the Augsburg College wrestling team, ranked No. 1 in the latest NCAA Division III national rankings, topped Division II foe Southwest Minnesota State University by a 32-9 score on Tuesday night at SMSU.

Augsburg's White Team (junior varsity) defeated Ridgewater Community College 21-16 on Tuesday at Sauk Centre High School. Results are at the end of this page.

Augsburg, now 2-0 in dual meets, claimed its 17th victory in a row over Southwest Minnesota State, now 0-1 in dual meets. Augsburg leads the all-time series with Southwest Minnesota State 18-3 Against teams from Divisions II and III, Augsburg is now 191-12 since 1989-90, losing just seven matches since the 1995-96 season.

After giving up the 125-pound weight class by forfeit to Brice Whitacer, Augsburg won the next eight matches to take a commanding lead.

Two-time defending 157-pound NCAA Division III national champion Marcus LeVesseur * (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS) earned his 91st straight victory in college competition, with a 13-5, major-decision victory over SMSU's Shawn Plumley. LeVesseur, now 7-0 on the season, has yet to lose a match in his three seasons of college wrestling and is ranked No. 1 nationally at 157.

Three other Auggies remained unbeaten with victories on Tuesday. Defending 133-pound national champion Mark Matzek * (Sr., Ellsworth, Wis.) improved to 8-0 with a 4-0 decision over Kurt Smith; defending 141-pound national runner-up Jamell Tidwell * (Sr., Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy HS) scored a 9-1, major-decision win over Keefer Jensen to move to 9-0 on the year, and Ryan Valek (Jr., Belle Plaine, Minn.) improved to 9-0 with a 14-1, major-decision win over Greg Frank at 165.

Matzek is ranked No. 1 nationally at 133; Tidwell is ranked No. 2 nationally at 141 and Valek is ranked No. 3 nationally at 165.

Greg Brendemuehl (Jr., Medford, Minn.) scored the lone pin of the evening, with a 2:57 fall of Aldon Struchen at 149. Travis Birhanzl (Jr., Montevideo, Minn./Yellow Medicine East HS) claimed a 12-2, major-decision win over Tim Johns at 184, and Justin Sorensen (Jr., Owatonna, Minn.) scored an 8-0, major-decision win over Joel Wipperfurth at 197. Robbie Gotreau (Fr., Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson HS) also scored a 7-5 decision win over Brian Miller at 174.

The Mustangs' lone win on the mat was a 4-2 decision for Richard Roesler at heavyweight over Augsburg's Jeremiah Knabe (Sr., Jackson, Minn./Jackson County Central HS).

Augsburg returns to action with split-squad action on Saturday (12/11) at 9 a.m. Augsburg's varsity will compete at one of the top small-college tournaments in the Midwest, the St. Cloud State Invitational, while the White Team (junior varsity) will compete at the Wartburg (Iowa) Dick Walker Invitational in Waverly, Iowa. Southwest Minnesota State will also compete at the St. Cloud State Invitational on Saturday.

Wrestling -- Augsburg (2-0) 32, Southwest Minnesota State (0-1) 9
December 7, 2004 – SMSU Recreation/Athletic Facility, Marshall, Minn.
Action begins at 125 pounds.

125 -- Brice Whitacer (SMSU) wins by forfeit (SMSU 6-0).
133 -- Mark Matzek * (AUG, 8-0) dec. Kurt Smith (SMSU) 4-0 (SMSU 6-3).
141 -- Jamell Tidwell * (AUG, 9-0) maj. dec. Keefer Jensen (SMSU) 9-1 (Augsburg 7-6).
149 -- Greg Brendemuehl (AUG, 7-2) pinned Aldon Struchen (SMSU) 2:57 (Augsburg 13-6).
157 -- Marcus LeVesseur * (AUG, 7-0) maj. dec. Shawn Plumley (SMSU) 13-5 (Augsburg 17-6).
165 -- Ryan Valek (AUG, 9-0) maj. dec. Greg Frank (SMSU) 14-1 (Augsburg 21-6).
174 -- Robbie Gotreau (AUG, 8-1) dec. Brian Miller (SMSU) 7-5 (Augsburg 24-6).
184 -- Travis Birhanzl (AUG, 8-1) maj. dec. Tim Johns (SMSU) 12-2 (Augsburg 28-6).
197 -- Justin Sorensen (AUG, 10-1) maj. dec. Joel Wipperfurth (SMSU) 8-0 (Augsburg 32-6).
HWT -- Richard Roesler (SMSU) dec. Jeremiah Knabe (AUG, 4-5) 4-2 (Augsburg 32-9).

Wrestling -- Augsburg White Team (JV) 21, Ridgewater Community College 16
December 7, 2004 – Sauk Centre HS, Sauk Centre, Minn.
Action begins at 165 pounds.

165 -- Casey Flaherty (AUG) dec. Ken Blakeley (RCC) 8-3 (Augsburg 3-0).
174 -- Kirk Rall (AUG) dec. Chad Minette (RCC) 9-4 (Augsburg 6-0).
184 -- Ethan Vogt (RCC) dec. Brian Fischer (AUG) 9-2 (Augsburg 6-3).
197 -- Matt Price (RCC) dec. Wally O'Connor (AUG) 7-3 (TIED 6-6).
HWT -- Tim Johnson (RCC) maj. dec. Danny Manley (AUG) 12-0 (RCC 10-6).
125 -- Ben Moss (AUG) maj. dec. Brian Wood (RCC) 12-2 (TIED 10-10).
133 -- Jeremy Sogge (RCC) won by forfeit (RCC 16-10).
141 -- Josh Hansen (AUG) dec. Joe Buschette 10-8 (OT) (RCC 16-13).
149 -- Ryan Stroud (AUG) tech. fall Josh Dokken (RCC) 18-3 (Augsburg 18-16).
157 -- Tim Matzek (AUG) dec. Dusty Myers (RCC) 7-2 (Augsburg 21-16).