Augsburg, now 6-1 in dual meets, scored four straight wins after dropping the opening bout of the dual to take a lead it would not relinquish, improving to 6-5 in the all-time series against North Dakota State, now 2-6-1 this season in duals. This is the first time Augsburg faced North Dakota State since its last season as a Division II squad in the 2003-04 campaign.
"A win like this shows that we can compete at a high level and win at a high level. We try to have a Division I experience at a Division III school," said Augsburg head coach Mark Matzek.
The win is Augsburg's third straight over an NCAA Division I opponent in program history. In its last duals with Division I foes on Jan. 7, 2005, Augsburg beat both Cal Poly (25-15) and Oregon State (29-6) at the Oregon Classic Duals. Since 1979, Augsburg is now 6-10 against Division I opponents.
After North Dakota State's Trent Sprenkle (FY, Billings, Mont.) opened the match with a third-period upset pin over Augsburg's Seth Flodeen (SR, Cannon Falls, Minn.) at 125 pounds, the Auggies claimed four straight victories. Top-ranked Travis Lang (SR, Bismarck, N.D.) remained perfect at 25-0 on the season with his 22nd bonus-point victory, a 16-6, major-decision triumph over Tyler Steinwand. This season, Lang now has 16 pins, two technical falls, three major decisions and a forfeit.
No. 7-ranked Tony Valek (FY, Belle Plaine, Minn./Scott West) improved to 21-6 with a win at 141, while Zach Hansen (JR, Albert Lea, Minn.) scored a 5-4 decision at 149 and Jason Adams (JR, Coon Rapids, Minn.), ranked No. 5 at 157, claimed a 7-6 win, giving Augsburg a 13-6 advantage midway through the match.
"The guys on the team are stepping up when called upon, especially our youngsters like Tony Valek and Zach Hansen, who was wrestling for a sick Willy Holst (SR, Prescott, Wis.)," Matzek said.
After the Bison cut the lead to 13-9 with a win by Tyler Johnson (FY, Bismarck, N.D.) at 165, Augsburg's Zach Molitor (SO, Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti HS), a transfer from North Dakota State, built a 3-0 lead after two periods and claimed a win at 174, improving to 19-5 on the season. Molitor is now ranked No. 7 in Division III at 174.
Kenny Moenkedick trimmed the Auggie advantage to 16-12 with a decision at 184, but Massey, the No. 2-ranked wrestler in Division III at 197, scored a second-period pin of NDSU's Drew Ross to clinch the victory for the Auggies. Massey, now 14-0 on the season with eight pins, is a transfer from Division I Wisconsin in his first season with the Auggies after a four-year absence from collegiate wrestling (he competed at Wisconsin in the 2003-04 season). Tyler Hemmesch claimed a second-period pin of Augsburg's No. 4-ranked heavyweight, Andy Witzel (JR, Fulda, Minn.), in the final match of the evening.
Augsburg's White Team (junior varsity) will compete on Saturday (1/17) at the Minnesota West Community and Technical College Open in Worthington, Minn. The Auggie varsity will compete in a dual meet at Division II Augustana (S.D.) on Tuesday (1/20) at 7 p.m. in Sioux Falls, S.D.
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