1/26-27/01 -- 11th Annual MIAC Team Duals Wrestling Tournament

MINNEAPOLIS (1/27/01) -- For the 11th season in a row, the Augsburg College wrestling team swept through its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference competition to claim the championship at the 11th annual MIAC Team Duals Wrestling Tournament, completed Saturday afternoon at Si Melby Hall.

Augsburg, the top-ranked team in the NCAA Division III national rankings, went 5-0 in the two-day, round-robin dual tournament to improve to 13-1 on the season in dual meets. St. John's University went 4-1 to place second, while Concordia-College Moorhead went 3-2, St. Olaf College went 2-3, St. Olaf College went 1-4 and Carleton College went 0-5.

Outscoring their opponents by a 253-18 margin in the five matches, the Auggies continued an impressive winning streak over MIAC competition. In the 11-year history of the MIAC Team Duals, Augsburg has a perfect 58-0 record, winning all 11 tournaments and outscoring MIAC foes by a 2,771-124 margin. Augsburg has a 15-season, 78-match dual-meet winning streak against MIAC opponents, its last loss a 25-21 defeat to St. John's in 1986. Since 1975, Augsburg is 177-2 against MIAC opponents. Against Division III and Division II scholarship opponents, Augsburg is 146-7 since 1989-90, and has just lost two matches against non-Division I competition (both to Division II opponents) since the 1995-96 season.

Nick Slack earned tournament Most Valuable Wrestler honors for the Auggies, winning all three matches he wrestled, with two pins and one major decision. The defending NCAA Division III national titlist at 174 pounds, Slack is Augsburg's only unbeaten wrestler (21-0 this season), and has a personal 52-match winning streak, dating two seasons. The school's record winning streak is 64, set by Henry Gerten from 1996-98.

Darin Bertram went 5-0 in the two-day tournament for Augsburg at 125 pounds, moving to 29-2 on the season. Top-ranked in the nation at 125, Bertram won three of his five matches by pin and the other by a major decision. Also going 5-0 on the meet was Brad Fisher, ranked second in the nation at 141 pounds, to improve to 18-1 on the season. Ben Bauer, the nation's top-ranked wrestler at heavyweight, went 4-0 for the Auggies, all by pin, to improve to 28-2 on the year. The Auggies' other top-ranked wrestler, Nik Lewandowski at 184, won both his matches on Saturday to move to 22-4 overall.

Tony Abbott, ranked fourth in the nation at 165 pounds, won all four of his matches to imporove to 23-3 overall. Kevin Rasmussen went 4-1 on the tournament at 197 to move to 22-6 on the season.

St. John's University went 4-1 on the weekend, with its lone loss coming to Augsburg. The Johnnies outscored their opponents by a 179-77 margin in the tournament. St. John's was led by the performance of Brandon Novak, the top-ranked wrestler in the nation at 197 pounds, who won all three of his matches in the tournament, two by pin. He is now 12-0 on the season. Also going unbeaten was Chuck Griffith, who went 5-0 in his matches, one win by pin, to improve to 15-7 overall. Matt Vos went 4-1, with two technical falls and a pin, at 125 to move to 20-4; and Brian Vetter also went 4-1, with three pins at 141, to move to 19-6 overall.

Concordia-Moorhead went 3-2, with its lone losses coming to Augsburg and St. John's. Zack Schroeder went 4-1 on the weekend at 133 pounds, as did Rory Olson at 174, incluidng three wins by pin. Peter Grossarth went 3-2 at 125 and Jared Sannes went 3-2 at 197, all three wins by pin.

St. Olaf went 2-3, topping Carleton and St. Thomas. Alex Morf went 3-0 at 149 pounds, Shaun Murphy went 3-1 at 165, including a pin and technical fall; and Andy Brown went 3-2, winning all three of his matches on Saturday.

St. Thomas' lone win came against Carleton. Mitch Becker had a strong tournament for the Tommies, going 4-1 with three pins at 184 pounds. Eric Pertz also had a good tournament at heavyweight, with a 4-1 mark and two pins.

Carleton was only able to compete with five wrestlers on the weekend, and the numerous forfeits resulted in a winless record during the tournament. But Joel Stark went 4-1 at 174, winning three of his matches by pin. Sean Bryan went 3-2 at 141, including one pin, and Cody Brown went 2-3 at 197, winning both by pin.

Click on the link for match results!
Team Standings: Augsburg 5-0, St. John's 4-1, Concordia-Moorhead 3-2, St. Olaf 2-3, St. Thomas 1-4, Carleton 0-5.

Friday 1/26 -- 7 p.m.
Augsburg 57, St. Olaf 0
St. John's 35, Concordia-Moorhead 12
St. Thomas 36, Carleton 27

Friday 1/26 -- 8:30 p.m.
Augsburg 45, Concordia-Moorhead 12
St. John's 44, St. Thomas 9
St. Olaf 34, Carleton 27

Saturday 1/27 -- 10 a.m.
Augsburg 57, Carleton 0
St. John's 40, St. Olaf 14
Concordia-Moorhead 45, St. Thomas 12

Saturday 1/27 -- 11:30 a.m.
Augsburg 58, St. Thomas 0
St. John's 54, Carleton 6
Concordia-Moorhead 35, St. Olaf 18

Saturday 1/27 -- 1 p.m.
Augsburg 36, St. John's 6
St. Olaf 36, St. Thomas 28
Concordia-Moorhead 47, Carleton 9

MINNEAPOLIS (1/25/01) -- Augsburg College welcomes the six Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference wrestling schools to Si Melby Hall for the 11th annual MIAC Team Duals Wrestling Tournament on Friday and Saturday (1/26-27). The two days of action will feature each school facing each other in round-robin competition.

Friday's action begins at 7 p.m. with the following matches: Augsburg vs. St. Olaf, St. John's vs. Concordia-Moorhead and St. Thomas vs. Carleton. Friday 8:30 p.m. matches are: Augsburg vs. Concordia-Moorhead, St. John's vs. St. Thomas and St. Olaf vs. Carleton.

Saturday's action begins at 10 a.m.: Augsburg vs. Carleton, St. John's vs. St. Olaf and St. Thomas vs. Concordia-Moorhead. Saturday 11:30 a.m. matches are: Augsburg vs. St. Thomas, St. John's vs. Carleton and St. Olaf vs. Concordia-Moorhead. Saturday 1 p.m. matches are: Augsburg vs. St. John's, St. Olaf vs. St. Thomas and Concordia-Moorhead vs. Carleton.

Augsburg College has been the most dominant team in the MIAC over the past three decades, and in the nation for the past decade in NCAA Division III wrestling. Augsburg has won six of the last 10 NCAA Division III national titles, while finishing either first or second in the nation nine of the last 10 years, in the top four nationally each of the last 12 seasons and in the top 20 nationally every year since 1971. In the MIAC, Augsburg has won the last 14 MIAC titles in a row and 24 of the last 26.

This year, Augsburg is top-ranked yet again in the Division III national rankings, and takes an 8-1 dual record (the only loss coming to Oregon, ranked 15th in Division I) into this weekend's action. Head coach Jeff Swenson, a five-time National Coach of the Year, recently won his 250th career match and has a 253-32 career mark.

In the 10-year history of the MIAC Team Duals, Augsburg has a perfect 53-0 record, winning all 10 tournaments and outscoring MIAC foes by an amazing 2,518-106 margin. Augsburg has a 15-season, 73-match dual-meet winning streak against MIAC opponents, its last loss a 25-21 defeat to St. John's in 1986. Since 1975, Augsburg is 172-2 against MIAC opponents. Against Division III and Division II scholarship opponents, Augsburg is 141-7 since 1989-90, and has just lost two matches against non-Division I competition (both to Division II opponents) since the 1995-96 season.

This year's Auggies are again loaded, with seven wrestlers ranked nationally, including two returning national champions, four All-Americans and five wrestlers with national championship experience. Leading the way for the Auggies is defending national titlist Nick Slack at 174 pounds. Augsburg's only unbeaten wrestler (18-0 this season), Slack is carrying a personal 49-match winning streak into this weekend's action. The school's record winning streak is 64, set by Henry Gerten from 1996-98.

Defending heavyweight national champion Ben Bauer is 24-2 this season, his only two losses coming to Division I opponents. He has nine pins this season. Darin Bertram, who has finished second nationally at 125 pounds his first two years as an Auggie, is top-ranked this season and is 24-2 entering this weekend's action. Also top-ranked is 184-pounder Nik Lewandowski, who is attempting to become just the fourth Auggie wrestler to ever earn four All-American honors.

Brad Fisher, ranked second in the nation at 141, is 13-1 this season. Tony Abbott, a national tourney entrant last season, is pushing for All-America honors at 165, where he is currently ranked fourth. Jeremy Jirele is ranked seventh at 157. Bryan Miller, in his first year as an Auggie, has made a strong push to contend for a national tournament berth at 133 pounds. Kevin Rasmussen has found a home at 197 pounds, where he is 18-5 this year.

St. John's University is currently ranked 27th in the latest NCAA Division III poll, after finishing 21st at the national tournament last year. Last weekend, the Johnnies finished second at the 12-team Cornell Tournament last weekend in Mount Vernon, Iowa. SJU senior Brandon Novak won the individual title at 197-pounds to remain undefeated on the year. Novak, 9-0 on the season, is a two-time All-American and currently the top-ranked wrestler in the nation at 197 pounds. Sophomore Matt Vos finished second at 125 pounds and freshman Brian Vetter took second at 141 pounds. Vos is now 16-3 on the year, while Vetter is 15-6.

Head coach John Elton, in his 20th season in Collegeville (232-76-5 record), has led his Johnnies to a 3-2 dual-meet record this year. The Johnnies went 2-2 early in December at the annual Terry Haws Dual Meet Tournament in Collegeville. At that tournament, SJU defeated Rochester Community College 28-21 and Dakota Wesleyan 20-12. The Johnnies lost to Division II Minnesota State-Moorhead 27-12 and Buena Vista 18-16 in the third place match. SJU also defeated Wisconsin-Eau Claire 25-12 on Jan. 13
in Collegeville.

St. Olaf College enters this weekend's action with a 3-1-1 dual-meet record. The Oles have had some strong performances in individual tournaments, led by a senior-dominated class. Among the seniors giving strong performances have been Shaun Murphy at 165 pounds, John Holm at 174 pounds, and Matt Picchietti at heavyweight. Sophomore Alex Morf, out of the lineup due to injury, is expected to return to full strength for the duals. Setbacks on the season have been a few injuries to key individuals, though head coach Ken Pratt is hopeful that the Oles will return healthy for the remainder of the season.

The University of St. Thomas, under fifth-year coach Mike English, has another young team, with no seniors and just one junior among his 14 wrestlers. Three Tommies are looking to contend for MIAC top-two finishes and NCAA berths -- sophomores Mitch Becker (16-12 at 165 last season, 30-17 career) and Jon Behnken (17-12 at heavyweight last season, 27-20 career) freshman teammate Eric Pertz (14-9) for the heavyweight job. At Stillwater High, Pertz competed behind his twin brother, Andy, who took third place at state in Minnesota. Becker went 4-0 at the St. John's Duals Dec. 2. Tommie sophomore Cha You, 15-7 last season at 133, is still sidelined with a shoulder injury.

Concordia College-Moorhead is hoping that all the preparation and committment to detail will pay off. Through the first two months of the season, the Cobbers have steadily matured and battled through injuries. Their sights are set at a solid finish at the MIAC Duals and then a peak performance at the conference meet. Concordia has been led all season by juniors Zack Schroeder (133) and Rory Olson (165) and freshman wrestlers Jesse Barnacle (157) and Cory Winter (149). Schroeder at has been plagued by an injured shoulder but continues to battle in every match and Olson has posted impressive wins over wrestlers from Minnesota State-Moorhead and Dickinson State. Barnacle has a team-high 10 wins and has finished in the top three in two different tournaments, while Winter is 2-0 in dual meets this season.

Carleton College enters this weekend's action with a 0-4 dual-meet record. Under the new direction of head coach Sean Ahrar, Carleton has been limited to four wrestlers all season due to injuries. A couple of highlights during the season have been the return of All-MIAC performer Joel Stark, after he was away at the beginning of the season on a study-abroad experience. Newcomers Ed Kroll and Sean Bryan have also posted solid seasons thus far. Ahrar, a native of Iran and former Mankato State standout in wrestling and weightlifting, has worked hard to improve the Knight program.