ST. CLOUD STATE HUSKY OPEN:
BRACKETS | FINALS SUMMARY

WARTBURG DICK WALKER INVITATIONAL
TEAM RESULTS | BRACKETS

ST. CLOUD, Minn. -- With two individual champions, five finalists and nine placewinners, the Augsburg College wrestling team shined at the St. Cloud State University Husky Open on Saturday at Halenbeck Hall.

Top-ranked 157-pounder Jason Adams (SR, Coon Rapids, Minn.) and 133-pounder Paul Bjorkstrand (SR, Burnsville, Minn.) won championships for the Auggies, while three other Auggies earned runner-up honors.

The five finalists for Augsburg matched host St. Cloud State for the most finalists by one team in the open tournament. No team results were kept. The tournament is considered one of the top small-college meets in the Midwest, with the field including wrestlers from two teams nationally ranked in Division III (No. 2 Augsburg and No. 6 Concordia-Moorhead), three teams nationally ranked in Division II (No. 9 Minnesota State Mankato, No. 10 St. Cloud State and No. 11 Wisconsin-Parkside), and wrestlers from Division I Northern Iowa.

Adams improved to 14-0 on the season with a dominating five-win performance to capture the 157-pound title, claiming a technical fall and two first-period pins in his first three matches, while winning the title with a 9-2 decision over Dillon Bera of Wisconsin-Parkside.

Bjorkstrand was also dominant at 133 pounds, with a pin and two major decisions in his four-match run to the championship. He topped St. Cloud State's Shane McQuade by a 14-5, major-decision win in the finals.

Lucas Murray (JR, Anoka, Minn.) and No. 3-ranked Tony Valek (SO, Belle Plaine, Minn./Scott West) both placed at 149, with Murray finishing second and Valek finishing fourth. Murray went 3-1 with a pin, while Valek went 4-2 with three pins among his wins.

Cody Hansen (FY, Albert Lea, Minn.) earned runner-up honors at 141, scoring a pin in his opening match and a 12-5 decision in his semifinal before falling 8-5 to Gabe Suarez of St. Cloud State, ranked No. 7 in DIvision II, in the finals.

Andy Witzel (SR, Fulda, Minn.) also had a strong performance, earning runner-up honors at heavyweight. The No. 4-ranked wrestler in Division III scored a 7-3 win in the opener and a 4-1 win in the semifinals, before being edged 1-0 in the finals by Brady Wilson of MSU Mankato, the top-ranked heavyweight in Division II.

Zach Molitor (JR, Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti HS), ranked No. 3 nationally at 174, placed third in his weight class with a 4-1 day. Three of his four wins were major decisions. His lone loss was a 4-2 loss to eventual champion Luke Rynish of Wisconsin-Parkside, ranked No. 6 in Division II, in the semifinals, and he bounced back with a 7-2 triumph over No. 7-ranked Ben Becker of MSU Mankato in the third-place match.

At 197, Brad Baus (SO, Mukwonago, Wis.) placed third with a 4-1 performance, including a pin and major decision. At 165, Orlando Ponce (JR, Hialeah, Fla./Hialeah-Miami Lakes HS) also placed third. His 4-1 effort also included a pin and a major decision.

Augsburg's White Team (junior varsity) competed at the Wartburg College Dick Walker Invitational in Waverly, Iowa, on Saturday, finishing sixth in the 10-team meet with 56.0 points. Augsburg wrestlers earned six placewinning finishes at the meet.

Augsburg is now idle until Dec. 28-29, when it hosts the Brute/Zac Jarzynka Sunshine Wrestling Classic in Oviedo, Fla.

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Augsburg results from St. Cloud State Husky Open:
125 -- Freddie Vigil 1-2.
133 -- Paul Bjorkstrand 4-0, champion; Boyd Suparat 2-2.
141 -- Cody Hansen 3-1, 2nd place.
149 -- Lucas Murray 3-1, 2nd place; Tony Valek 4-2, 4th place.
157 -- Jason Adams 5-0, champion.
165 -- Orlando Ponce 4-1, 3rd place.
174 -- Zach Molitor 4-1, 3rd place; Brandon Bahr 0-2.
184 -- Caleb Lines 3-2.
197 -- Brad Baus 4-1, 3rd place.
HWT -- Andy Witzel 2-1, 2nd place.

Augsburg results from Wartburg Dick Walker Invitational:
125 -- Ky Olsen 0-2.
133 -- Dusty Holmes 2-2; Michael Orange 0-2.
141 -- Ryan Seidler 4-2, 4th place; Matthew Bailey 2-2; Nathan Lexvold 2-2; Alex Johnson 0-2.
149 -- Torey Stewart 2-3, 6th place.
157 -- Zach Enrico 1-2.
165 -- Jake Grygelko 2-3, 6th place; Spencer Flodeen 1-2; John MacCormick 0-2.
174 -- Jackson Mboma 3-2, 4th place; Josh Kohler 3-3, 6th place.
184 -- Doug Fuller 0-2.
197 -- Alex Krautkremer 1-3, 6th place.
HWT -- Nick Creamier 3-2.