FOREST GROVE, Ore. (1/9/05) -- It was the Division III powerhouse and the NAIA powerhouse walking home with the most hardware Sunday, as Augsburg College's White Team (junior varsity) and Southern Oregon led the way at the first Boxer Open, Sunday at the Pacific Athletic Center.

The Auggies and Raiders each had two champions in the 10-team tournament. The Auggies, though, had the most presence in the finals, placing five grapplers in the championship matches and four in the consolation finals. The Raiders had eight wrestlers in the finals matches. Southwestern Oregon CC also made their presence known, earning one championship and placing four in the championship matches.

Josh Hansen (So., Albert Lea, Minn.) and Kurt Rall (Jr., West St. Paul, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) led the way for the Auggies. Hansen came out on top of a grueling championship match at 141 pounds, managing a pin over Burnaby Mountain's Jessi Arnett in six minutes. Rall faced a much closer match against another Burnaby Mountain grappler, Haislan Garcia, coming away with the 6-5 victory.

SOU was led in the finals by champions Rich Vigorito and David O'Brien. Vigorito engaged in an aggressive battle at 157 pounds with former Pacific All-American Troy Hall, edging away in the third period for a close 8-5 victory. O'Brien had an easier time with Southwestern Oregon's Mike Croffut, going home with a 19-7 major decision at 184 pounds. Junior Valladolid, a OSU redshirt wrestling unattached, won the 125 pound bracket with a 6-4 victory over Oregon State's Jake Gonzalez.

The most unusual finals victory came in the 285 pound third-place bout, where Thomas Mayes managed to pin Augsubrg's Zak Jensen (Jr., Hopkins, Minn.) in 12 seconds.

The host Boxers, hampered by injuries, failed to place any wrestlers in the championship finals. Cory VanSteenwyk led the Boxers with a third place finish at 184 pounds, beating Oregon State's Kyle Bressler in the finals in a close 3-2 bout. Mick Davis finished fourth in the 174-pound bracket, falling in his third place final to Augsburg's Casey Flaherty (Sr., Big Lake, Minn.), 4-2.

Finishing second for Augsburg was Ben Moss (So., Council Bluffs, Iowa/Lewis Central HS) at 133, Jared Evans (So., Blue Earth, Minn./Blue Earth Area HS) at 149 and Joe Cullen (Sr., Coon Rapids, Minn.) at 197.

Flaherty finished third for Augsburg at 174, while Rich Taylor (Jr., St. Paul, Minn./Como Park HS), Tony Biggs (Fr., Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley HS, 157) and Jensen (heavyweight) placed fourth.

AUGSBURG RESULTS
125: No wrestlers.
133: Ben Moss 2-1, 2nd; Jake Flett 0-2.
141: Josh Hansen 4-0, 1st; Rich Taylor 4-2, 4th.
149: Jared Evans 4-1, 2nd; Greg Brendemuehl 3-2.
157: Tony Biggs 3-2, 4th; Tim Matzek 2-2; Mitch Collins 1-2.
165: Kirk Rall 4-0, 1st; Jon Priess 2-2.
174: Casey Flaherty 4-1, 3rd; Brian Fischer 4-2; Robbie Gotreau 3-2.
184: No wrestlers.
197: Joe Cullen 2-1, 2nd; Wally O'Connor 0-2; Matt Michelson 0-2; Chris Sogge (unattached) 1-2.
HWT: Zak Jensen 5-2, 4th; Jeremiah Knabe 2-2; Danny Manley 2-2; Bud Gelhaye 1-2.

CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
125: Junior Valladolid (unattached) dec. Jake Gonzalez (Oregon State), 6-4
133: Darwin Pestrikoff (Southwestern Oregon CC) dec. Ben Moss (Augsburg), 6-4
141: Josh Hansen (Augsburg) win by fall over Jessi Arnett (Burnaby Mountain WC), 6:00
149: Kyle Larsen (Oregon State) maj. dec. Jared Evans (Augsburg), 9-1
157: Rich Vigorito (Southern Oregon) dec. Troy Hall (unattached), 8-5
165: Kurt Rall (Augsburg) dec. Haislan Garcia (Burnaby Mountain WC), 6-5
174: Devin Mair (unattached) dec. Rick Story (Southern Oregon), 4-2
184: David O'Brien (Southern Oregon) maj. dec. Mike Croffut (Southwestern Oregon CC), 19-7
197: Travis Cross (Burnaby Mountain WC) dec. Joe Cullen (Augsburg), 12-6
HWT: Dustin Rogers (Southwestern Oregon CC) and Richard Flowers (Southwestern Oregon CC), double default

CONSOLATION RESULTS
125: Ryan Dunn (unattached) dec. Kip Watson (unattached), 8-4
133: Nick Ripsom (Southern Oregon) dec. Jonathan Garcia (Central Washington), 5-1
141: Derek Bartlemay (unattached) dec. Rick Taylor (Augsburg), 4-2
149: Jimmy Ulrey (Southern Oregon) and Matt Holt (Southern Oregon), double default
157: Andy Hall (Oregon State) win by fall over Tony Biggs (Augsburg), 0:40
165: Jimmy Grochowsky (Southern Oregon) dec. Ben Harris (Southwestern Oregon CC), 11-6
174: Casey Flaherty (Augsburg) dec. Mick Davis (Pacific), 4-2
184: Cory VanSteenwyk (Pacific) dec. Kyle Bressler (Oregon State), 3-2
197: Jason Gage (unattached) dec. Grant Thompson (Southern Oregon), 10-5
HWT: Thomas Mayes (unattached) win by fall over Zak Jensen (Augsburg), 0:12