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AUGSBURG NATIONAL TOURNAMENT PAGE

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Augsburg University men's wrestling team has seven of its eight competitors still alive in the competition, with three advancing to Friday evening's championship quarterfinals, after the opening round of the NCAA Division III National Championships on Friday morning at the Amica Mutual Pavilion.

THE BASICS
TOP 10 TEAM SCORES AFTER ROUND 1: 1. Johnson & Wales (R.I) 22.5; 2. Wisconsin-La Crosse 18.0; 3. North Central (Ill.) 15.5; 4. Wartburg (Iowa) 14.0; 5. College of New Jersey 13.5; 6. Augsburg 13.0; 7t. Coe (Iowa) 12.5; 7t. Luther (Iowa) 12.5; 7t. Roanoke (Va.) 12.5; 10. Vermont State-Castleton 12.0.
LOCATION: Amica Mutual Pavilion, Providence, R.I.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Four of the eight Augsburg wrestlers in competition opened their tournament with victories, remaining alive in championship contention, while four Auggies dropped to the wrestlebacks with losses, with one Auggie being eliminated with two losses in the first session.
• Seth Goetzinger (SR, Chatfield, Minn./Chatfield HS), the No. 7 seed at 174 pounds, opened his tournament run with a 4:15 pin of Cale Callahan of Otterbein (Ohio), improving to 22-4 this season and 94-25 in his college career. The pin was Goetzinger's seventh of the season and 44th of his career. He built a 12-0 lead on a takedown, reversal and a pair of near-falls before converting a headlock into a pin.
• Brandt Bombard (JR, North Branch, Minn./North Branch HS), seeded third at 184 pounds, claimed a 14-3 major decision victory over Willis Bronson of John Carroll in his pigtail-round match, then advanced to the quarterfinals with a 5-4 win over Jaime Evarts of Williams (Mass.). Bombard used a takedown and a pair of four-point near-falls in the first period to build an 11-0 lead over Bronson. He trailed 3-0 in the first period against Evarts, but rallied back with a pair of escapes and a takedown with 22 seconds left in the match to improve to 26-5 on the seaoson.
• Third-seeded 165-pounder Cooper Willis (JR, Kansasville, Wis./Union Grove HS) improved to 28-1 on the season with his 20th bonus-point win of the season, a 10-1 major decision of Brian Petry of Cornell (Iowa). Willis claimed four takedowns in the victory, advancing to the quarterfinals.
• Matthew Randolph (FY, Jordan, Minn./Jordan HS (Scott West)), seeded No. 4 at 149 pounds, made his national tournament debut with a 7-0 win over Xavier Pena of Centenary (N.J.), converting a four-point near-fall at the end of the second period, a reversal early in the third and claiming 3:27 of riding time. Randolph is now 29-2 on the season.
• At 141, Cole Becker (JR, Albertville, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville HS) dropped his pigtail match 13-6 to fifth-seeded Mark Samuel of Roanoke (Va.), but remained alive in the tournament with a 9-8 wrestleback win over Sam Kotch of the College of New Jersey. The match was a back-and-forth battle, with Becker taking the lead to stay with a takedown with 1:01 left in the third period, improving to 8-4 on the season and 68-14 in his career.
• Parker Venz (SR, Farmington, Minn./Farmington HS), the No. 4 seed at 197, was upset by a 2:30 pin from Pilo Perez of Dubuque (Iowa) in his opening match. He built a 6-0 lead on a takedown and near-fall, but gave up a reversal, which Perez converted to a pin. Venz is now 19-6 on the season entering Friday evening's wrestlebacks.
• Chance Suddeth (SO, Stoughton, Wis./Stoughton HS) fell to the wrestlebacks at 133 pounds with a 5-3 loss to James Day of Wabash (Ind.), and is now 26-7 on the season.
• Wyatt Kaczrowski (SR, Seymour, Wis./Seymour HS) ended his college career with a pair of losses in the first round. In a pigtail match, he was edged 4-1 on a takedown with 11 seconds left in sudden-victory overtime by Tomah Gummow of Ithaca (N.Y.), then lost in a 13-4 major decision to Jalen Dunson of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Kaczrowski ended his senior season at 21-9 and his college career at 92-52.

UP NEXT
• The second session of the national tournament starts at 4 p.m. (Central time) on Friday. The session, known as the "Blood Round," eliminates the field to eight wrestlers in each class, who earn All-American honors.

AUGSBURG FIRST SESSION RESULTS
• 125 -- Tomam Gummow (Ithaca) dec. Wyatt Kaczrowski (Augsburg) 4-1 (OT-SV1); No. 8 Jalen Dunson (Wisconsin-Whitewater) maj. dec. Kaczrowski 13-4 (Kaczrowski eliminated).
• 133 -- No. 8 James Day (Wabash) dec. Chance Suddeth (Augsburg) 5-3.
• 141 -- No. 5 Mark Samuel (Roanoke) dec. Cole Becker (Augsburg) 13-6; Becker dec. Sam Kotch (College of New Jersey) 9-8.
• 149 -- No. 4 Matt Randolph (Augsburg) dec. Xavier Pena (Centenary-N.J.) 7-0.
• 165 -- No. 3 Cooper Willis (Augsburg) maj. dec. Brian Petry (Cornell) 10-1.
• 174 -- No. 7 Seth Goetzinger (Augsburg) pinned Cale Callahan (Otterbein) 4:15.
• 184 -- No. 3 Brandt Bombard (Augsburg) maj. dec. Wills Bronson (John Carroll) 14-3; Bombard dec. Jamie Evarts (Williams) 5-4
• 197 -- Pilo Perez (Dubuque) pinned No. 4 Parker Venz (Augsburg) 2:30.