WAVERLY, Iowa -- Winning the first four bouts en route to a six-victory effort, the Augsburg University men's wrestling team kept hold of the "Swens-Milboy Belt" in its annual "Battle of the Burgs" dual with fellow small-college wrestling power Wartburg College, as the Auggies claimed a 22-13 triumph on Thursday evening.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Augsburg 22, Wartburg (Iowa) 13
RECORD: Augsburg 14-0 overall, Wartburg 12-2 overall
LOCATION: Levick Arena, Waverly, Iowa

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Augsburg, ranked No. 4 in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III tournament national poll and No. 1 in the dual-meet poll, built a 12-0 lead after the first four bouts to hold off Wartburg, ranked No. 3 in the NWCA tournament rankings and No. 2 in the dual-meet rankings. After dropping seven straight duals to the Knights from 2018 to 2024, Augsburg has now won three straight duals in the series, including a 17-16 win in the NWCA Division III National Duals championship match on Jan. 11. 
• No. 6-ranked 174-pounder Seth Goetzinger (SR, Chatfield, Minn./Chatfield HS) clinched the dual victory for the Auggies with the only pin of the night, ending his match with Nathan Fuller at 3:52. Goetzinger built a 6-1 lead on two takedowns in the first period, then converted an escape and takedown into back points on the edge of the mat, improving to 16-3 with his fifth pin of the season.
• No. 2-ranked 165-pounder Cooper Willis (JR, Kansasville, Wis./Union Grove HS) improved to 23-0 on the season with a 9-0, major decision win over Wartburg's Aiden Brosinski. Willis scored two takedowns, a reversal and built 2:51 of riding time to claim the win, his 16th bonus-point victory of the season (seven major decisions, five technical falls, four pins).
• The 12-0 Augsburg start was kicked off at 125 pounds, as No. 12-ranked 125-pounder Wyatt Kaczrowski (SR, Seymour, Wis./Seymour HS) scored an escape 42 seconds into the second period, then held off Brett Birchman in the third period for the 1-0 victory, moving to 16-5 on the season.
• Chance Suddeth (SO, Stoughton, Wis./Stoughton HS) avenged an earlier 4-1 loss to Wartburg's No. 7-ranked Josh Gervey at 133 pounds, claiming a 4-1 win of his own to improve to 21-6 on the year. He scored a takedown on a double-leg shot with 1:25 left in the first period, added a second-period escape and held off a late shot by Gervey to score the win.
• Austin Gabbert (SR, Lester Prairie, Minn./Watertown-Mayer HS) claimed one of his most impressive victories of the season at 141 pounds, improving to 20-9 with a 9-7, come-from-behind win over Wartburg's No. 15-ranked Tommy Thongseng. Trailing 6-1 with 1:56 to go in the first period, Gabbert used two escapes to cut the lead to 6-3, then scored a pair of single-leg takedowns to capture the lead. 
• No. 11-ranked 149-pounder Matthew Randolph (FY, Jordan, Minn./Jordan HS (Scott West)) also earned one of his most triumphant wins of the season, taking a 3-2 decision over No. 3-ranked Kyler Romero, improving to 23-1 with his 12th straight victory. Randolph took a 1-0 lead with a second-period escape, but Romero scored a reversal to take the lead eight seconds into the third period. Randolph then followed with a reversal of his own 13 seconds later, and held on for his second win in three bouts against ranked opponents this season.

FOR THE FOES
• Augsburg's No. 4-ranked Karsen Otis (SO, Combined Locks, Wis./Kimberly HS) suffered a 3-1 loss to Wartburg's No. 6-ranked Blain Christie at 157 pounds, as Christie scored a takedown with 25 seconds left in the third period.
• At 184 pounds, a second-period escape by No. 2-ranked Kasey Ross was the only point scored in a 1-0 win over Augsburg's No. 4-ranked Brandt Bombard (JR, North Branch, Minn./North Branch HS). Bombard dropped to 15-4 on the season, with two of those losses coming to Ross.
• No. 2-ranked Parker Venz (SR, Farmington, Minn./Farmington HS) suffered an 11-1 major decision loss to top-ranked Massoma Endene at 197 pounds, as Endene used a takedown and four-point near-fall in the first period to build his advantage.
• Augsburg's Tyler Raway (JR, Wyoming, Minn./Forest Lake HS) had a strong battle with Wartburg's No. 5-ranked Mitchell Williamson, but Williamson scored a takedown 44 seconds into sudden-victory overtime for a 7-4 victory at 285 pounds.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
• The annual "Battle of the Burgs" dual meet features the two teams that have dominated NCAA Division III wrestling over the last three decades. Since 1995, every Division III national title has rested at either Augsburg or Wartburg, with two-time defending national champion Augsburg winning 15 titles since 1991 and Wartburg winning 15 titles since 1996. Wartburg leads the all-time dual-meet series by a 25-19 margin over the Auggies.
• The win marks the second straight triumph for Augsburg in the Battle of the Burgs for the "Swens/Milboy Belt" traveling trophy since the belt was established in 2015. The trophy is named for the two coaches who built the Lutheran colleges to national prominence in small-college wrestling -- Augsburg's Jeff Swenson (1980-84, 1986-2007) and Wartburg's Jim Miller (1991-2013). Both coaches led their teams to 10 NCAA Division III national titles during their careers.
• Against opponents from Divisions II and III, Augsburg is now 385-58-1 in dual meets since the 1989-90 season. Augsburg has lost just 54 matches to non-Division I opponents since the 1995-96 season.
• Against strictly NCAA Division III opponents, Augsburg is 370-57-1 since the 1979-80 season. Since 1989-90, Augsburg is 295-47-1 against Division III opponents.

UP NEXT
• Augsburg hosts Division II Augustana University (S.D.) in a dual meet next Friday (2/7) at 7 p.m. at Si Melby Hall.
 

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No. 4/1 Augsburg (Minn., 14-0) 22, No. 3/2 Wartburg (Iowa, 12-2) 13
Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025 - Levick Arena, Waverly, Iowa
Officials: Curt Frost, Jason Wedgbury
 125 -- No. 12 Wyatt Kaczrowski (AUG, 16-5) dec. Brett Birchman (WAR, 12-8) 1-0 (Augsburg 3-0)
133 -- Chance Suddeth (AUG, 21-6) dec. No. 7 Josh Gervey (WAR, 17-4) 4-1 (Augsburg 6-0)
141 -- Austin Gabbert (AUG, 20-9) dec. No. 15 Tommy Thongseng (WAR, 20-7) 9-7 (Augsburg 9-0)
149 -- No. 11 Matthew Randolph (AUG, 23-1) dec. No. 3 Kyler Romero (WAR, 21-1) 3-2 (Augsburg 12-0)
157 -- No. 6 Blain Christie (WAR, 18-5) dec. No. 4 Karsen Otis (AUG, 17-5) 3-1 (Augsburg 12-3)
165 -- No. 2 Cooper Willis (AUG, 23-0) maj. dec. Aiden Brosinski (WAR, 11-7) 9-0 (Augsburg 16-3)
174 -- No. 6 Seth Goetzinger (AUG, 16-3) pinned Nathan Fuller (WAR, 12-2) 3:52 (Augsburg 22-3)
184 -- No. 2 Kasey Ross (WAR, 21-1) dec. No. 4 Brandt Bombard (AUG, 15-4) 1-0 (Augsburg 22-6)
197 -- No. 1 Massoma Endene (WAR, 11-0) maj. dec. No. 2 Parker Venz (AUG, 15-3) 11-1 (Augsburg 22-10)
285 -- No. 5 Mitchell Williamson (WAR, 12-0) dec. Tyler Raway (AUG, 17-6) 7-4 (OT-SV1) (Augsburg 22-13)