REDMOND, Ore. (1/7/05) -- Marcus LeVesseur * (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS) extended his three-season collegiate unbeaten streak to 99 straight matches, winning all four of his matches to lead Augsburg College to four team victories at the Oregon Classic Duals tournament on Friday at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds.

NCAA Division III Augsburg improved to 6-0 in dual meets this season with four victories, beating Division III Pacific (Ore.) 45-3, Division I Cal Poly 25-15, Division I Oregon State 29-6 and Southern Oregon, ranked No. 9 in the NAIA, 32-12. Augsburg, winners of eight of the last 14 Division III national titles and national runner-up the last two seasons, is currently ranked No. 1 in the latest Division III national rankings.

With the wins, Augsburg head coach Jeff Swenson moves closer to a major career milestone. In his 23rd season as Augsburg's head coach, Swenson now has 298 dual-meet wins in his career, just two wins shy of reaching the 300 mark. Swenson could achieve the 300 mark at the NWCA Division III National Duals Jan. 21-22 in Cleveland, Ohio.

LeVesseur improved to 15-0 this season with four victories at 157 pounds on Friday, including two wins by first-period pin in his first two matches. Of his 15 wins this season, nine have come by pin, with eight pins under two minutes in length. LeVesseur, winner of the last two Division III national titles at 157, has yet to lose a collegiate match in his career.

Mark Matzek * (Sr., Ellsworth, Wis.), the defending Division III national champion and current top-ranked wrestler at 133 pounds, improved to 15-0 on the season with four victories on Friday, including a first-period pin and two technical falls. Matzek is now 110-21 on his career.

Matt Shankey (Sr., Apple Valley, Minn.), the defending Division III national titlist at 125, returned to the Augsburg lineup for the first time this season and won all four of his matches, including a second-period pin in his opening match.

Jamell Tidwell * (Sr., Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy HS), a three-time All-American currently ranked second nationally at 141, claimed four victories (three wins and a forfeit) to improve to 15-1 on the season. Tidwell had a second-period pin, second-period technical fall and a major-decision victory on Friday, moving to 136-13 in his career.

Ryan Valek (Jr., Belle Plaine, Minn.), ranked No. 3 at 165, went 2-2 on the day, moving to 15-2 on the season. Valek lost his final match 4-2 to Southern Oregon's Jimmy Grochowsky, currently ranked fourth in the NAIA national rankings. Valek claimed a 15-0 technical-fall in his first match and also beat Matt Ellis of Oregon State 2-0.

Mark Simmonds (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn./Edison HS), ranked No. 4 at heavyweight, improved to 13-3 with victories in both of his matches, including the quickest pin of the day for the Auggies, a 32-second triumph over Southern Oregon's Skylar Massey. Teammate Jeremiah Knabe (Sr., Jackson, Minn./Jackson County Central HS) lost both his matches, including a 6-0 setback to Ty Watterson of Oregon State, ranked No. 13 in Division I.

Justin Sorensen (Jr., Owatonna, Minn.), ranked No. 4 at 197, went 2-1 in his three matches, winning over Oregon State's Travis Gardner by a 13-3 major decision, while his lone loss was in overtime. Sorensen's teammate at 197, Joe Cullen (Sr., Coon Rapids, Minn.), claimed a big win in his lone match, a 6:45 pin of Southern Oregon's Grant Thompson, currently ranked No. 5 in the NAIA national rankings.

Travis Birhanzl (Jr., Montevideo, Minn./Yellow Medicine East HS), ranked No. 8 at 174, went 3-1 on the day, with a technical fall and major decision among his victories. His lone loss came in four overtimes to Oregon State's Jeremy Larson.

Brad Tupa (Jr., Dundas, Minn./Faribault HS) moved to 12-4 on the season with a 2-2 day at 184. His two wins both came by major decisions, while his two losses came to ranked wrestlers -- a pin loss to Cal Poly's Ryan Halsey, ranked No. 11 in Division I, and a 3-2 loss to David O'Brien, the top-ranked wrestler in the NAIA at 184.

Ryan Stroud (Jr., Park Falls, Wis.) and Jared Evans (So., Blue Earth, Minn./Blue Earth Area HS) each went 1-1 at 149 pounds.

Augsburg concludes its trip to Oregon on Sunday (1/9) at 10 a.m., as the White Team (junior varsity) competes in the Pacific (Ore.) Boxer Open in Forest Grove, Ore.

Augsburg's varsity squad will return to action on Tuesday (1/11) at 7 p.m., with a dual meet at Augustana (S.D.) in Sioux Falls, S.D. Augustana is currently ranked No. 2 in the latest NCAA Division II national rankings. In the all-time series, Augsburg has won all five of its duals against Augustana.

Wrestling -- Augsburg (3-0) 45, Pacific (Ore.) 3
January 7, 2005 – Deschutes County Fairgrounds, Redmond, Ore.
Action begins at 141 pounds.

141 -- Jamell Tidwell * (AUG, 12-1) pinned Fausto Baltazar (PAC) 4:37 (Augsburg 6-0).
149 -- Ryan Stroud (AUG, 8-2) pinned Chazz Johnson (PAC) 3:18 (Augsburg 12-0).
157 -- Marcus LeVesseur * (AUG, 12-0) pinned Justin Barden (PAC) 1:34 (Augsburg 18-0).
165 -- Ryan Valek (AUG, 14-0) tech. fall Derek Hendrix (PAC) 15-0 at 5:42 (Augsburg 23-0).
174 -- Travis Birhanzl (AUG, 12-2) dec. Mick Davis (PAC) 7-2 (Augsburg 26-0).
184 -- Brad Tupa (AUG, 11-2) maj. dec. Cory VanSteenwyk (PAC) 11-3 (Augsburg 30-0).
197 -- Justin Sorensen (AUG, 13-2) dec. Garren Bremer (PAC) 9-3 (Augsburg 33-0).
HWT -- Aaron Bales (PAC) dec. Jeremiah Knabe (AUG, 5-8) 3-0 (Augsburg 33-3).
125 -- Matt Shankey (AUG, 1-0) pinned Kevin Spangler (PAC) 4:48 (Augsburg 39-3).
133 -- Mark Matzek * (AUG, 12-0) pinned Aaron Fernandez (PAC) 1:35 (Augsburg 45-3).
EXHIBITION at 174 -- Robbie Gotreau (AUG, 9-1) won by pin, 4:54.

Wrestling -- Augsburg (4-0) 25, Cal Poly 15
January 7, 2005 – Deschutes County Fairgrounds, Redmond, Ore.
Action begins at 141 pounds.

141 -- Jamell Tidwell * (AUG, 13-1) tech. fall Evan Melgares (CP) 17-0 at 4:31 (Augsburg 5-0).
149 -- Jeff Owens (CP) dec. Ryan Stroud (AUG, 8-3) 11-5 (Augsburg 5-3).
157 -- Marcus LeVesseur * (AUG, 13-0) pinned T.J. Ferguson (CP) 1:09 (Augsburg 11-3).
165 -- Brody Barrios (CP) dec. Ryan Valek (AUG, 14-1) 8-3 (Augsburg 11-6).
174 -- Travis Birhanzl (AUG, 13-2) maj. dec. Yuri Kalika (CP) 8-0 (Augsburg 15-6).
184 -- Ryan Halsey (CP) pinned Brad Tupa (AUG, 11-3) 1:19 (Augsburg 15-12).
197 -- Ralph Garcia (CP) dec. Justin Sorensen (AUG, 13-3) 4-2 (1OT) (TIED 15-15).
HWT -- Mark Simmonds (AUG, 12-3) dec. Arturo Basulto (CP) 4-2 (Augsburg 18-15).
125 -- Matt Shankey (AUG, 2-0) dec. Joshua Obregon (CP) 9-4 (Augsburg 21-15).
133 -- Mark Matzek * (AUG, 13-0) tech. fall Eric Melgares (CP) 17-2 at 7:00 (Augsburg 25-15).
(NOTE: Augsburg team point was deducted for unsportsmanlike conduct.)

Wrestling -- Augsburg (5-0) 29, Oregon State 6
January 7, 2005 – Deschutes County Fairgrounds, Redmond, Ore.
Action begins at 141 pounds.

141 -- Jamell Tidwell * (AUG, 14-1) wins by forfeit (Augsburg 6-0).
149 -- Jared Evans (AUG, 1-0) dec. Orlando Perez (OSU) 7-4 (Augsburg 9-0).
157 -- Marcus LeVesseur * (AUG, 14-0) dec. Tony Hook (OSU) 8-3 (Augsburg 12-0).
165 -- Ryan Valek (AUG, 15-1) dec. Matt Ellis (OSU) 2-0 (Augsburg 15-0).
174 -- Jeremy Larson (OSU) dec. Travis Birhanzl (AUG, 13-3) 4-3 (4OT) (Augsburg 15-3).
184 -- Brad Tupa (AUG, 12-3) maj. dec. Steve Grayson (OSU) 13-4 (Augsburg 19-3).
197 -- Justin Sorensen (AUG, 14-3) maj. dec. Travis Gardner (OSU) 13-3 (Augsburg 23-3).
HWT -- Ty Watterson (OSU) dec. Jeremiah Knabe (AUG, 5-9) 6-0 (Augsburg 23-6).
125 -- Matt Shankey (AUG, 3-0) dec. Eric Stevenson (OSU) 8-5 (Augsburg 26-6).
133 -- Mark Matzek * (AUG, 14-0) dec. Bobby Pfennigs (OSU) 2-0 (Augsburg 29-6).

Wrestling -- Augsburg (6-0) 32, Southern Oregon 12
January 7, 2005 – Deschutes County Fairgrounds, Redmond, Ore.
Action begins at 141 pounds.

141 -- Jamell Tidwell * (AUG, 15-1) maj. dec. Theo White (SOU) 11-1 (Augsburg 4-0).
149 -- Matt Holt (SOU) pinned Jared Evans (AUG, 1-1) 2:55 (Southern Oregon 6-4).
157 -- Marcus LeVesseur * (AUG, 15-0) dec. Rich Vigorito (SOU) 3-2 (Augsburg 7-6).
165 -- Jimmy Grochowsky (SOU) dec. Ryan Valek (AUG, 15-2) 4-2 (Southern Oregon 9-7).
174 -- Travis Birhanzl (AUG, 14-3) tech. fall James Mannenbach (SOU) 16-1 at 7:00 (Augsburg 12-9).
184 -- David O'Brien (SOU) dec. Brad Tupa (AUG, 12-4) 3-2 (TIED 12-12).
197 -- Joe Cullen (AUG, 7-3) pinned Grant Thompson (SOU) 6:45 (Augsburg 18-12).
HWT -- Mark Simmonds (AUG, 13-3) pinned Skylar Massey (SOU) 0:32 (Augsburg 24-12).
125 -- Matt Shankey (AUG, 4-0) dec. Carl Green (SOU) 10-3 (Augsburg 27-12).
133 -- Mark Matzek * (AUG, 15-0) tech. fall Nicholas Ripsom (SOU) 16-1 at 6:13 (Augsburg 32-12).