CLEVELAND, Ohio (1/21/05) -- Marcus LeVesseur * (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS) extended his consecutive-match winning streak to 106 straight matches with two pins, leading Augsburg College to two victories on Friday at the National Wrestling Coaches Association/Cliff Keen Division III National Duals presented by Hershey's SmartZone on Friday at the Cleveland State University Convocation Center.

Augsburg, the top-ranked team in the Division III national rankings and winners of eight of the last 14 Division III national titles, claimed a 47-0 win over Baldwin-Wallace (Ohio) in its opening match on Friday, then scored a 40-3 triumph over national No. 10 John Carroll (Ohio) in the quarterfinals. Augsburg won 19 of 20 matches on the day, including three forfeits.

The Auggies will face No. 4 Delaware Valley (Pa.) in the semifinals on Saturday (1/22) at 9 a.m. at Cleveland State. No. 2-ranked Wartburg (Iowa), the two-time defending Division III national champion, and No. 3-ranked Luther (Iowa) will meet in the other semifinal. The finals in the 16-team Division III tournament will be on Saturday at 8:30 p.m.

LeVesseur, the two-time defending national champion and current top-ranked wrestler nationally at 157 pounds, improved to 22-0 on the season, claiming two second-period pins in the two Auggie victories on Friday. Of LeVesseur's 22 wins this season, 14 have come by pin. His 106-match winning streak is the second-longest streak in college wrestling history, behind the 159 straight wins by Cael Sanderson of Iowa State from 1998-2002. LeVesseur has yet to lose a collegiate wrestling match.

Jamell Tidwell * (Sr., Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy HS), the No. 2-ranked wrestler nationally at 141 pounds, claimed two technical-fall victories in Friday's action. He is now 21-2 on the season.

Matt Shankey (Sr., Apple Valley, Minn.), the top-ranked wrestler and defending national champion at 125, scored two victories on the day to improve to 6-0 on the season.

Mark Matzek * (Sr., Ellsworth, Wis.), the defending national champion and current top-ranked wrestler at 133 pounds, extended his winning streak to 28 straight matches with a 7-2 win over No. 3-ranked Tim Lennox of John Carroll. He is 20-0 this season.

Justin Sorensen (Jr., Owatonna, Minn.), ranked No. 4 at 197, and Mark Simmonds (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn./Edison HS), ranked No. 4 at heavyweight, both earned two wins on Friday, each gaining a win over another ranked wrestler. Sorensen scored an 8-2 win over Baldwin-Wallace's No. 7-ranked Devin Carman, and Simmonds topped John Carroll's No. 5-ranked Derrick Bendau 6-0.

Other pins on the day came from Kirk Rall (Jr., West St. Paul, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) at 165 pounds in the Baldwin-Wallace match, and Ryan Valek (Jr., Belle Plaine, Minn.), the No. 2-ranked wrestler at 165 pounds, in the John Carroll match. Jared Evans (So., Blue Earth, Minn./Blue Earth Area HS) gained two forfeit wins at 149.

Wrestling -- Augsburg (7-1) 47, Baldwin-Wallace (Ohio, 4-11) 0
January 21, 2005 – Cleveland State Convocation Center, Cleveland, Ohio.
Action begins at 125 pounds.

125 -- No. 1 Matt Shankey (AUG, 5-0) tech. fall Brett Thomas (BWC) 16-0 at 3:45 (Augsburg 5-0).
133 -- Ben Moss (AUG, 11-3) maj. dec. Chris Harrold (BWC) 12-0 (Augsburg 9-0).
141 -- No. 2 Jamell Tidwell * (AUG, 20-2) tech. fall Scott Haber (BWC) 17-0 at 3:46 (Augsburg 14-0).
149 -- Jared Evans (AUG, 10-2) won by forfeit (Augsburg 20-0).
157 -- No. 1 Marcus LeVesseur * (AUG, 21-0) pinned Steve Vaughn (BWC) 4:58 (Augsburg 26-0).
165 -- Kirk Rall (AUG, 10-6) pinned Jeremy Feader (BWC) 1:15 (Augsburg 32-0).
174 -- Casey Flaherty (AUG, 19-5) dec. T. Terry (BWC) 4-0 (Augsburg 35-0).
184 -- Robbie Gotreau (AUG, 12-3) dec. Sterling Sebek (BWC) 7-2 (Augsburg 38-0).
197 -- No. 4 Justin Sorensen (AUG, 16-4) dec. No. 7 Devin Carman (BWC) 8-2 (Augsburg 41-0).
HWT -- No. 4 Mark Simmonds (AUG, 18-4) won by forfeit (Augsburg 47-0).

Wrestling -- Augsburg (8-1) 40, John Carroll (Ohio, 6-4) 3
January 21, 2005 – Cleveland State Convocation Center, Cleveland, Ohio.
Action begins at 125 pounds.
125 -- No. 1 Matt Shankey (AUG, 6-0) dec. Adam Pizzuro (JCU) 8-1 (Augsburg 3-0).
133 -- No. 1 Mark Matzek * (AUG, 20-0) dec. No. 3 Tim Lennox (JCU) 7-2 (Augsburg 6-0).
141 -- No. 2 Jamell Tidwell * (AUG, 21-2) tech. fall Dominic Spitalieri (JCU) 16-1 at 5:43 (Augsburg 11-0).
149 -- Jared Evans (AUG, 11-2) won by forfeit (Augsburg 17-0).
157 -- No. 1 Marcus LeVesseur * (AUG, 22-0) pinned Jim Stanek (JCU) 3:10 (Augsburg 23-0).
165 -- No. 2 Ryan Valek (AUG, 15-4) pinned Mike Keough (JCU) 1:04 (Augsburg 29-0).
174 -- No. 3 Mark Hawald (JCU) dec. Casey Flaherty (AUG, 19-6) 3-1 (Augsburg 29-3).
184 -- Brad Tupa (AUG, 16-6) maj. dec. Ryan Summers (JCU) 11-1 (Augsburg 33-3).
197 -- No. 4 Justin Sorensen (AUG, 17-4) maj. dec. Dan Brown (JCU) 8-0 (Augsburg 37-3).
HWT -- No. 4 Mark Simmonds (AUG, 19-4) dec. No. 5 Derrick Bendau (JCU) 6-0 (Augsburg 40-3).