College Wrestling 2/1/01 -- Augsburg 19, North Dakota State 12

FARGO, N.D. (2/1/01) -- Nick Slack (Jr., Belle Plaine, Minn.) extended his consecutive match winning streak to 53 straight matches, winning his dual at 174 pounds to lead Augsburg College to a 19-12 victory over North Dakota State University in a small-college wrestling battle Thursday night at the NDSU Bison Sports Arena.

Slack, the defending NCAA Division III national champion and current top-ranked wrestler in Division III at 174 pounds, topped NDSU's Todd Fuller (Jr., Maple Lake, Minn.) 7-4 to improve to 22-0 on the season.

Augsburg, the defending Division III national champions and current top-ranked team in the national polls, won six of 10 matches and improved to 14-1 on the season in dual meets. North Dakota State, the defending Division II national champions and current No. 2-ranked team in the D-II national polls, dropped to 4-3-2 in dual meets.

Against Divisions II and III opponents, Augsburg is now 147-7 since the 1989-90 season, and has lost just two matches to non-Division I opponents since the 1995-96 season. Augsburg is now 4-2 in the all-time series against North Dakota State.

Nine of the 10 wins in Thursday's match came by decisions, with Augsburg's Bryan Miller (Jr., Virginia Beach, Va.) providing the only major decision of the night with a 15-4 triumph at 133 pounds.

North Dakota State gained victories in meetings of top-ranked wrestlers in each division. At heavyweight, Nick Severson (Jr., Hayfield, Minn.) gained two first-period takedowns, providing the difference in a 5-3 win over Augsburg's Ben Bauer (Sr., Faribault, Minn.). Steve Saxlund (Sr., Pipestone, Minn./Pipestone-Jasper HS) used two second-period takedowns to edge Augsburg's Nik Lewandowski (Sr., Hastings, Minn.) 5-2 at 184 pounds, the final match of the evening.

Augsburg's other top-ranked wrestler, Darin Bertram (Jr., Herman, Minn./Herman-Norcross HS), improved to 30-2 on the season with a 5-3 victory over NDSU's Matt Strawser (So., Coon Rapids, Minn.), the No. 3-ranked wrestler in Division II at 125 pounds.

In the only other meeting of ranked wrestlers, NDSU's Jake Thielbar (Jr., Faribault, Minn.) topped Augsburg's Brad Fisher (Jr., Austin, Minn.) 11-6 at 141 pounds. Both Thielbar and Fisher were ranked No. 2 in the nation in their respective divisions.

Augsburg splits its squad to compete at the All-Lutheran Tournament at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and at the Wisconsin-Eau Claire Invitational on Saturday (2/3). North Dakota State returns to action with a North Central Conference dual at Minnesota State-Mankato on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Augsburg (14-1 dual meets) 19, North Dakota State (4-3-2) 12
Action begins at 197 pounds
197 -- Kevin Rasmussen (AUG, 23-6) dec. Brian Kraemer (NDSU, 2-4) 8-5 (Augsburg 3-0).
HWT -- Nick Severson (NDSU, 6-0) dec. Ben Bauer (AUG, 28-3) 5-3 (Tied 3-3).
125 -- Darin Bertram (AUG, 30-2) dec. Matt Strawser (NDSU, 13-8) 5-3 (Augsburg 6-3).
133 -- Bryan Miller (AUG, 18-6) maj. dec. Lucas Christianson (NDSU, 10-9) 15-4 (Augsburg 10-3).
141-- Jake Thielbar (NDSU, 17-3) dec. Brad Fisher (AUG, 18-2) 11-6 (Augsburg 10-6).
149 -- Tony Quance (AUG, 16-5) dec. Paul Carlson (NDSU, 10-11) 9-8 (Augsburg 13-6).
157 -- Thad Pike (NDSU, 14-13) dec. Drew Gau (AUG, 23-8) 5-2 (Augsburg 13-9).
165 -- Tony Abbott (AUG, 24-3) dec. Grady Wolf (NDSU, 10-7) 14-7 (Augsburg 16-9).
174 -- Nick Slack (AUG, 22-0) dec. Todd Fuller (NDSU, 17-10) 7-4 (Augsburg 19-9).
184 -- Steve Saxlund (NDSU, 19-4) dec. Nik Lewandowski (AUG, 22-5) 5-2 (Augsburg 19-12).