2018 Auggie Awards - Men's Team of the Year Nominees

BASKETBALL (21-8 overall, 13-7 MIAC, MIAC playoff champions, NCAA playoff participant) -- Augsburg claimed its most wins in a single season since the 2012-13 campaign, winning the MIAC playoff championship for the first time in school history and qualifying for the NCAA Division III national tournament for the first time since 1998-99. The Auggies gained the MIAC titles with three wins over traditional conference men’s basketball powers in the playoffs -- a 67-55 home quarterfinal win over St. Thomas, an 80-68 semifinal win at No. 3-ranked Saint John’s, and an 81-69 championship game triumph at Bethel. The Auggies were led by post player Collin Olmscheid, who was named MIAC Player of the Year, D3hoops.com Midwest Region Player of the Year and all-region/district honors by D3hoops.com and the NABC, while also earning NABC All-America second-team and D3hoops.com All-America first-team honors. He earned All-MIAC first-team honors for the third straight year, while swingman Booker Coplin was named to the All-MIAC second team and guard Harry Sonie earned All-MIAC third-team and MIAC All-Defensive Team honors.

GOLF (3rd/10 at MIAC Championships) -- Augsburg improved three spots in the MIAC championship standings, finishing third at the 2017 event at the Ridges at Sand Creek in Jordan, Minn., just eight strokes behind tournament champion St. Thomas. Sophomores Brett Buckingham and Harrison Cooper were the top scorers for the Auggies in the fall half of the 2017-18 season, with Buckingham earning co-medalist honors at the MIAC Championship with birdies on three of the final six holes to earn a share of the title. Cooper tied for fourth place at the conference meet to share All-Tournament honors with his teammate, while junior Dakota Krech placed 12th. As a team, Augsburg recorded a 300.3 team stroke average in the fall half of the season, with Buckingham’s 73.6 and Cooper’s 74.4 stroke averages leading the team.

HOCKEY (19-10-0 overall, 10-6-0 MIAC, MIAC playoff champion, NCAA playoff quarterfinalist) -- For the third straight year, Augsburg claimed the MIAC playoff championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III national tournament, where it reached the quarterfinal round for the third year in a row. The Auggies claimed a 3-1 win over Marian (Wis.) in an NCAA first-round playoff game, before falling 5-2 at eventual national champion St. Norbert in the quarterfinals. As the No. 3 seed in the MIAC postseason playoffs, Augsburg scored a dramatic 4-3 win at Saint John’s in the semifinals -- scoring two goals in the final 76 seconds to triumph -- and a 3-1 home win over Gustavus in the finals. Forward Nate Flynn earned All-MIAC honors for the third straight year, joining Luke Dietsch, Chandler Madry and Max Pernhem as All-MIAC honorees. John O’Connor and Nick Schmit earned All-MIAC Honorable Mention honors.

WRESTLING (13-2 overall, NWCA Division III National Duals champion, NCAA Division III Upper Midwest Regional champion, 2nd at NCAA Division III National Championships) -- Augsburg won the NCAA Division III Upper Midwest Regional and qualified eight wrestlers, with only one senior among them, to the NCAA Division III National Championships, its 16th straight NCAA regional title. Finishing second at the national tournament, Augsburg claimed its 36th top-five national tournament finish in school history, earning five All-Americans. Augsburg had three national finalists and two national champions -- 165-pounder Lucas Jeske and 157-pounder Ryan Epps. Jeske earned the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler award, recording three pins and a 15-0 technical-fall win in the national title match. Sam Bennyhoff earned national runner-up honors at 133, Alex Wilson finished fifth at 149 and Tanner Vassar finished seventh at 174. Augsburg went 13-2 in dual meets, winning the NWCA Division III National Duals with a 21-17 triumph over Wartburg (Iowa) in the final. Augsburg finished fourth in the NWCA’s Scholar All-America Team standings with a 3.628 GPA, including eight individual Scholar All-Americans, and Victor Gliva earned the NCAA’s Elite 90 Award for having the highest cumulative GPA among competitors at the national championships.