KNIGHT TIME
Wartburg holds off Augsburg for another Div. III title
This year’s Division III National Championships in Dubuque, Iowa, offered many surprises to the wrestling faithful. One thing that was not a surprise was a two-team race for the championship between rivals Wartburg and Augsburg.
Both the Knights and the Auggies tied an NCAA Division III record with four individual champions. Both teams also had nine All-Americans.
Having won both dual meets between the two teams this season, Wartburg was favored coming into the tourney and it was the Knights who outlasted the Auggies by 16 points to win their second consecutive national title and their fourth overall.
The Knights’ point total of 156.5 was ten points shy of their record setting total at last year’s national championships.
Entering the championship round, the Auggies found themselves down by 13 points. They would quickly start chip
ping away by winning the first two weight classes.Matt Shankey got the ball rolling for the Auggies at 125 pounds by defeating Cortland State’s Jason Peck, 7-3. Peck had upset top-seeded Tom Prarie to advance to the finals. Even though he has only been at Augsburg for a year, Shankey still understands how big the rivalry is between the two powerhouses.
“This is my first year at Augsburg and I can feel how big of a rivalry it is,” said Shankey. “I think its just going to build more and more every year.”
Shankey’s practice partner, Mark Matzek, followed suit by getting in deep on a single leg with 15 seconds left in the match to break the tie and give him the victory over Wartburg senior Ozzie Saxson at 133.
It was the third meeting between the two this season, both winning one each prior to the championships. Many could tell they knew each other’s styles very well, which attributed to the scoreless first period.
“We were both a little tentative that first period,” said Matzek. “I just had to feel him out.”
Matzek recognized Shankey as the spark plug of the team and was just as happy for him after he won.
“We’ve been practice partners all year and I’m just as happy for him as he is for himself,” said Matzek.
With another Wartburg and Augsburg match coming up at 141, the Auggies had a chance to pull with in a point; however, Wartburg sophomore Dustin Hinschberger would not let that happen.
Hinschberger, who defeated 2003 national champion and teammate Wil Kelly for a spot on this year’s line-up, was very impressive on his feet and recorded three takedowns — including a single-leg takedown with 30 seconds left in the bout — to give him the 9-1 major decision over the Auggies’ Jamell Tidwell.
When asked about the rivalry, Hinschberger pointed out that it stays on the mat.
“We are pretty good friends,” said Hinschberger about the rivalry between Wartburg and Augsburg. “People think we are enemies but we’re really not.”
Hinschberger wasn’t surprised by with the tight battle heading into the finals.
“We wrestled a good tournament with seven in the finals,” said Hinschberger. “We were racking up the points and Augsburg was right behind us doing the same thing.”
The Knights were one victory shy of clinching the team title when senior Bart Mehlert took the mat against Simpson’s Clint Manny at 149 pounds. Mehlert made it look easy on his way to a 12-1 major decision, scoring half of his points in the third period.
Mehlert didn’t know heading into his match with Manny that a victory would clinch the team title.
“No, I didn’t know that,” said Mehlert. “I just figured I’d take care of myself and that would help the team.”
Augsburg sophomore Marcus LeVesseur added more points on the board for the Auggies with his 8-4 decision over Wartburg’s Cory Connell at 157 pounds.
LeVesseur opened up the match with a double-leg takedown and rode Connell out before he was dinged with two stalling warnings. LeVesseur recorded two more takedowns in the match on his way to extending an Augsburg-record 84th consecutive victory.
“After I won my first title last year, I looked at it as once I win it once, I should be able to do it again,” said LeVesseur on accomplishing his goal. “Now that I’ve won two, there should be nothing to stop me from getting two more.”
The 165-pound title bout was the only championship match that didn’t feature a Knight or an Auggie. It was also the only championship match to go into overtime. Tied at 3-3, Brockport State’s Artie Weidler wasted little time in overtime before scoring on a double leg takedown for the victory over Luther’s Garrett South.
Weidler’s victory led to the biggest surprise to many of the fans in the Five Flags Center, the 174-pound championship match between No. 1 seed and unbeaten Eduard Aliakseyenka of Montclair St. and Augsburg’s Joe Moon.
Aliakseyenka opened the match dominating on his feet and took down Moon three times, while releasing him after each takedown. It was Moon’s choice to begin the second period when he took top, which proved to be a great strategy.
“It was an option that my coaches gave me,” said Moon on choosing top. “That was the deciding factor, it broke him mentally.”
A great option it was, as he would ware down Aliakseyenka and earn a penalty point for stalling to bring him within two points heading into the final period.
Shortly into the third period, Moon hit a beautiful double leg takedown to tie the match at 6-6. It was all Moon after that as he turned the exhausted Aliakseyenka twice for a total of six near-fall points. Add a point for riding time and Moon earned the 13-6 upset over Aliakseyenka.
Moon’s efforts were enough to earn him the tournament’s most outstanding wrestler award. His victory also earned him a standing ovation from the fans in attendance and even the Wartburg wrestlers who congratulated him on his victory.
“Everyone always cheers for the underdog,” said Moon. “Everyone wants the big dog to get beat.”
Augsburg head coach Jeff Swenson used a strategy that he used a previous time that one of his wrestlers was to face Aliakseyenka.
In 2000, former Auggie Nik Lewandowski defeated Aliakseyenka, 3-0, in the semifinals. Swenson put Lewandowski on top to start the second period during that match also.
“We though we were better conditioned than Aliakseyenka,” said Swenson on Moon’s advantage. “We knew he was superb on his feet so we had to ware him down.”
Though the title was already wrapped up, the Knights would add to their point total by winning the next two weight classes.
Wartburg senior Ryan Sturm dominated Delaware Valley’s Josh Housekeeper on his way to a 17-4 major decision in the 184-pound championship. Housekeeper upset the No. 1 seed, Denny Gaul of Montclair State to get into the finals.
What made Sturm’s national championship even more impressive is that he jumped up two weight classes from last season, in which he took fourth at 165 pounds.
Sturm’s teammate Akeem Carter would have a little bit more difficult time in defeating his opponent; three-time finalist and 2002 national champ Yan White of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Carter was responsible for White’s only two losses heading into the tournament.
Carter opened the match with a takedown and White quickly escaped. A second-period escape by Carter gave him the two-point lead heading into the third period. With 30 seconds left in regulation White got in deep on a double, however was unable to finish his attack. Carter won for the third time in as many meetings with the 4-2 decision.
Ryan Allen of Wisconsin-La Crosse, the No. 1 seed, denied Wartburg from earning an NCAA record for most national champions when he scored a 12-5 victory over heavyweight Blake Gillis. Allen opened up a plethora of leg attacks and built an early 6-3 lead after the first period.
Augsburg’s point total was enough to win the national title in 29 of the 31 national championships. They actually scored more points this year than in any of the years they won their eight national championships.
“Going in if someone would have told me we would have had nine All-Americans and four national champions, I would have been surprised to hear we didn’t win the team championship,” said Swenson.
Wartburg head coach Jim Miller knew his Knights couldn’t have any let downs and they would have to take care of business themselves.
“We realized we weren’t going to get any help,” said Miller. “We knew we would have to do it all on our own.”