Wrestling 2/3/05 -- Augsburg (Minn.) 16, Wartburg (Iowa) 15

MINNEAPOLIS (2/3/05) -- Augsburg College's Marcus LeVesseur * (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS) extended his consecutive-match winning streak to 111 straight victories with a major-decision triumph, and the extra point proved to be the difference in the dual meet, as top-ranked Augsburg scored a 16-15 win over Wartburg College (Iowa) in a battle of the top two-ranked teams in NCAA Division III wrestling before 1,077 fans on Thursday night at Si Melby Hall.

In addition to LeVesseur's 17-5 win at 157 pounds over Wartburg's No. 2-ranked Cory Connell (Sr., Iowa City, Iowa/City HS), Augsburg's Brad Tupa (Jr., Dundas, Minn./Faribault HS) claimed an 11-6 upset win of Wartburg's top-ranked 184-pounder, Scott Kauffman (Jr., Emmetsburg, Iowa), keeping the Auggies in front in the team race at a key point late in the dual.

Augsburg, winners of eight of the last 14 NCAA Division III national titles, is ranked No. 1 in the latest national rankings and improves to 13-1 on the season with the win. Wartburg, winners of the last two national crowns over Augsburg, is ranked No. 2 in the country and drops to 23-3 in dual meets.

The Auggies, now 10-5 all-time against the Knights, claimed their second win in two weeks over Wartburg. The Auggies scored an 18-15 win over the Knights in the finals of the NWCA Division III National Duals on Jan. 22 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Like the Jan. 22 dual, each team won five individual matches on the evening, but Augsburg claimed the lone bonus-point win in the match.

LeVesseur repeated his domination of the Knights' No. 2-ranked Connell in Thursday's match. With the match tied at 6-6 after four bouts, LeVesseur scored seven takedowns and built 4:11 of riding time to claim his fourth win over Connell in his collegiate career.

LeVesseur, the two-time defending national champion and current top-ranked wrestler nationally at 157, improved to 27-0 on the season. His 111-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.

Tupa, ranked fourth nationally in Division III, improved to 20-5 on the season with 11-6 win over Kauffman. The loss was the first of the season for Kauffman, the top-ranked Division III wrestler at 184. Tupa built a 6-2 lead with three first-period takedowns, then scored a key escape and takedown early in the third period to preserve the lead, accumulating 2:13 of riding time.

Trailing 16-9 after eight matches, Wartburg's final two wrestlers claimed victories, but could not generate the bonus points necessary to overtake the host Auggies.

Augsburg's two top-ranked and defending national champion lightweight wrestlers remained unbeaten, opening the match with victories.

Matt Shankey (Sr., Apple Valley, Minn.) improved to 12-0 on the season with a 3-2 win over Wartburg's second-ranked Justin McClintock (Sr., Fort Dodge, Iowa/Eagle Grove HS) at 125, breaking a second-period tie with an escape with 1:10 left in the match. Shankey has won all four matches in the all-time series against McClintock.

Mark Matzek * (Sr., Ellsworth, Wis.) improved to 25-0 on the season and extended his winning streak to 33 straight matches with his third straight victory over Wartburg's Tyler Hubbard (Sr., Blue Springs, Mo.), ranked No. 5 nationally. Matzek built a 3-1 lead after two periods and clinched the match with an extra point for 1:28 of riding time, producing a 4-2 win.

Wartburg's top-ranked 141-pounder, Dustin Hinschberger (Jr., Belle Plaine, Iowa), improved to 33-1 on the season with 2-0 triumph, his fourth straight win over Augsburg's No. 2-ranked Jamell Tidwell * (Sr., Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy HS). The lone scoring in the close match came on a second-period escape and a 1:10 riding-time advantage.

Wartburg freshman Jacob Naig (Fr., Emmetsburg, Iowa), ranked No. 4 nationally at 149, tied the match early for the Knights with a 9-6 win over Jared Evans (So., Blue Earth, Minn./Blue Earth Area HS), ranked No. 3. The turning point in the match came late in the second period, as Naig overcame a 4-2 deficit with a reversal and three-point near-fall in the final 10 seconds of the period to take a commanding 7-4 lead.

Augsburg's Ryan Valek (Jr., Belle Plaine, Minn.), ranked No. 3 nationally at 165 pounds, scored a 7-4 win over Wartburg's Andrew Knaack (Sr., Traer, Iowa/North Tama HS). Valek overcame a 4-2 deficit with a second-period reversal, then scored points on two stalling calls against Knaack in the third period, to go with a riding-time advantage of 4:01.

In a close battle at 174, Wartburg's Mark Sturm (Sr., Armstrong, Iowa/Emmetsburg HS) took advantage of a stalling penalty point midway through the third period to claim a 2-1 win over Augsburg's Casey Flaherty (Sr., Big Lake, Minn.).

Following Tupa's upset win at 184, Wartburg closed the match with two straight victories by its upper-weight wrestlers. Top-ranked Akeem Carter (Jr., Waterloo, Iowa/West HS) scored a 7-4 triumph for his third all-time win over Augsburg's No. 4-ranked Justin Sorensen (Jr., Owatonna, Minn.) at 197, scoring a takedown late in the second period to take a 5-4 lead, and claimed an escape and 2:05 riding-time advantage to clinch the match.

At heavyweight, a takedown with 20 seconds left in the first period proved to be the difference, as Wartburg's No. 2-ranked Blake Gillis (So., Spencer, Iowa) scored a 4-2 triumph over Wartburg's No. 4-ranked Mark Simmonds (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn./Edison HS).

Augsburg improved to 198-13 against teams from Divisions II and III since the 1989-90 season. Augsburg has lost just eight matches to non-Division I opponents since the 1995-96 season. Against strictly Division III opponents, Augsburg is now 217-17 since the 1979-80 season and 141-7 since 1989-90. Of the seven losses since 1989, five have been to Wartburg.

Both teams will compete at the North Country Invitational at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minn. on Saturday (2/5). Action starts at 9 a.m.

Wrestling -- No. 1 D-III Augsburg (13-1) 16, No. 2 D-III Wartburg (23-3) 15
February 3, 2005 – Si Melby Hall, Minneapolis, Minn.
Action begins at 125 pounds. Time of match 1:58.
Officials: Tim Shiels, Brian Brakke.
Attendance: 1,077.

125 – No. 1 Matt Shankey (AUG 13-0) dec. No. 2 Justin McClintock (WAR, 21-3) 3-2 (Augsburg 3-0).
133 – No. 1 Mark Matzek * (AUG, 25-0) dec. No. 5 Tyler Hubbard (WAR, 20-3) 4-2 (Augsburg 6-0).
141 – No. 1 Dustin Hinschberger (WAR, 33-1) dec. No. 2 Jamell Tidwell * (AUG, 23-4) 2-0 (Augsburg 6-3).
149 – No. 4 Jacob Naig (WAR, 5-2) dec. No. 3 Jared Evans (AUG, 14-4) 9-6 (TIED 6-6).
157 – No. 1 Marcus LeVesseur * (AUG, 27-0) maj. dec. No. 2 Cory Connell (WAR, 25-5) 17-5 (Augsburg 10-6).
165 – No. 3 Ryan Valek (AUG, 24-4) dec. Andrew Knaack (WAR, 12-10) 7-4 (Augsburg 13-6).
174 – No. 3 Mark Sturm (WAR, 24-5) dec. Casey Flaherty (AUG, 21-9) 2-1 (Augsburg 13-9).
184 – No. 4 Brad Tupa (AUG, 20-5) dec. No. 1 Scott Kauffman (WAR, 18-1) 11-6 (Augsburg 16-9).
197 – No. 1 Akeem Carter (WAR, 24-2) dec. No. 4 Justin Sorensen (AUG, 19-8) 7-4 (Augsburg 16-12).
HWT – No. 2 Blake Gillis (WAR, 26-3) dec. No. 4 Mark Simmonds (AUG, 21-6) 4-2 (Augsburg 16-15).