Wrestling 2/1/04 -- Augsburg 25, South Dakota State 10


BROOKINGS, S.D. (2/1/04) -- Marcus LeVesseur * (So., Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS) earned his 72nd consecutive win with a first-period pin to open the match at 157 pounds, leading Augsburg College to a 25-10 victory over South Dakota State University in a nonconference wrestling dual meet at SDSU's Frost Arena.

LeVesseur, the defending national champion and top-ranked wrestler at 157 pounds, improved to 28-0 on the season with a 1:16 pin of Brad Gregory to set the stage for the Auggie victory. LeVesseur has yet to lose a match in his two seasons as a collegiate wrestler.

Augsburg, which won seven of the 10 matches in the dual, is now 11-3 in dual meets this season, breaking an unlikely two-match losing streak -- though the two losses were to the top-ranked teams in divisions II (North Dakota State) and III (Wartburg) in the last week. South Dakota State, a Division II team, dropped to 3-7 in dual meets.

Against teams from Divisions II and III, Augsburg improves to 188-12 since 1989-90, losing just seven matches since the 1995-96 season.

Augsburg's Joe Moon * (Jr., Ellendale, Minn./New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva HS), the No. 2-ranked wrestler nationally in Division III at 174, continued his impressive season with a 13-1 major-decision victory, claiming two takedowns, two 3-point near-falls and a 3:58 riding-time advantage. He improved to 31-1 on the season.

Matt Shankey (Jr., Apple Valley, Minn.), currently top-ranked nationally at 125 pounds, improved to 17-1 on the year with a 15-6 major-decision victory for the Auggies. Shankey built a 9-1 lead after two periods and held on for the win.

Jamell Tidwell * (Jr., Burnsville, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS), ranked No. 3 nationally at 141, came back from his upset loss on Friday to Wartburg with an 8-3 decision victory over SDSU's Chad Herrboldt. Tidwell is now 32-3 on the season and 109-11 on his career.

Third-ranked Mark Simmonds (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn./Edison HS) got a takedown, stalling penalty point and a 1:25 riding-time advantatge to claim a 4-2 victory over Craig Martinmaas at heavyweight.

Clint Hodgdon * (Jr., Ostrander, Minn./LeRoy-Ostrander HS), ranked No. 8 nationally, scored a 7-4 victory over Ben Ericks at 184. Greg Brendemuehl (So., Medford, Minn.) scored a 10-4 win over Jarrod Chapa at 133.

SDSU's two ranked wrestlers, Nathan Althoff (fifth at 165) and Tim Boldt (fifth at 197), both scored decision victories. Althoff topped Augsburg's Ryan Valek (So., Belle Plaine, Minn.) 9-6, while Boldt stopped Joe Cullen (Jr., Coon Rapids, Minn.) 10-5.

SDSU's Jeremy Roe claimed an 11-1, major-decision win over Dustin Dahlblom (Fr., Stillwater, Minn.) in the final match of the evening at 149.

Augsburg returns to action on Saturday (2/7) at the North Country Invitational at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minn. Action begins at 9 a.m.

Augsburg (11-3) 25, South Dakota State (3-7) 10
February 1, 2004 -- Frost Arena, Brookings, S.D.
Attendance: 217.
Action begins at 157 pounds.
157 -- Marcus LeVesseur * (AUG, 28-0) dec. pinned Brad Gregory (SDSU) 1:16 (Augsburg 6-0).
165 -- Nathan Althoff (SDSU) dec. Ryan Valek (AUG, 26-8) 9-6 (Augsburg 6-3).
174 -- Joe Moon * (AUG, 31-1) maj. dec. Travis Gottschalk (SDSU) 13-1 (Augsburg 10-3).
184 -- Clint Hodgdon * (AUG, 22-8) dec. Ben Ericks (SDSU) 7-4 (Augsburg 13-3).
197 -- Tim Boldt (SDSU) dec. Joe Cullen (AUG, 23-8) 10-5 (Augsburg 13-6).
HWT -- Mark Simmonds (AUG, 26-6) dec. Craig Martinmaas (SDSU) 4-2 (Augsburg 16-6).
125 -- Matt Shankey (AUG, 17-1) maj. dec. Chris Werth (SDSU) 15-6 (Augsburg 20-6).
133 -- Greg Brendemuehl (AUG, 13-4) dec. Jarrod Chapa (SDSU) 10-4 (Augsburg 23-6).
141 -- Jamell Tidwell * (AUG, 32-3) dec. Chad Herrboldt (SDSU) 8-3 (Augsburg 25-6; team point deducted from Augsburg for unsportsmanlike conduct).
149 -- Jeremy Roe (SDSU) maj. dec. Dustin Dahlblom (AUG, 18-6) 11-1 (Augsburg 25-10).