Augsburg, ranked No. 4 in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III national poll, will send seven individuals to compete at the NCAA Division III National Championships, to be held March 9-10 in La Crosse, Wis.
Augsburg won the 15-team tournament with 172.5 points. The Auggies finished 62 points ahead of second-place St. John's (110.5) and 64 ahead of third-place Elmhurst (Ill., 108.5). St. Olaf finished fourth with 89.0 points, while Concordia-Moorhead finished fifth with 87.5 points.
Augsburg, winners of 11 Division III national titles, has won every regional title since it first competed at the Great Lakes Regional in 2003. Augsburg has finished among the top four teams in NCAA national competition 23 years in a row.
“We're thrilled to win the Great Lakes Regional for the 10th straight year. Overall, we wrestled very well today. We had seven finalists and five champions,” said Augsburg head coach Mark Matzek. “I'm proud of the whole team, not just the 10 guys wrestling. This is a true team effort, as we take another step towards our goal every year of winning a national championship.”
Augsburg's three top-ranked wrestlers all won titles on Saturday, and will all make return trips to the national championships, led by seniors Tony Valek (SR, Belle Plaine, Minn./Scott West) at 149 and Orlando Ponce (SR, Hialeah, Fla./Hialeah-Miami Lakes HS) at 157. Both are two-time national runners-up and now four-time national tournament qualifiers. Heavyweight Chad Johnson (SO, Ferryville, Wis./De Soto HS) will make his second straight trip to the national tournament.
In addition, No. 5-ranked 141-pounder Will Keeter (SO, Twin Falls, Idaho) and 197-pounder Brad Baus (SR, Mukwonago, Wis.) won titles in their weight classes and qualified for the national tournament for the first time. Auggie 125-pounder Mike Fuenffinger (FY, Hibbing, Minn.) and 165-pounder Tommy Teigen (SO, Ham Lake, Minn./Meadow Creek Christian HS) will also compete at the national tournament for the first time after finishing second in their weight classes at the regional.
Valek improved to 29-0 on the season, winning his first three matches at 149 on Saturday by pin before claiming a 7-4 win over Alberto Quiros of Augustana (Ill.) in the finals. Of Valek's 29 victories, 25 are bonus-point wins (14 pins, two technical falls, nine major decisions). Eighteen of his last 20 matches have been bonus-point wins. He is now 131-24 in his career.
Ponce improved to 20-0 with a dominating performance at the regional, claiming two pins and two major decisions at 157, including a 12-3 win over Chris Stevermer of St. John's in the championship match. Ponce is now 112-31 in his career.
Johnson improved to 32-1 on the season, scoring pins in his first three matches before winning 10-4 in the finals over Tom Bouressa of Concordia-Moorhead. Now 64-13 in his career, Johnson will carry a 21-match winning streak into the national tournament. He finished seventh nationally at heavyweight last season to earn All-American honors for the first time.
Baus improved to 27-9 on the season in winning the 197-pound weight class. He opened with a 1:09 pin – his team-high 18th pin of the season and 10th in 2:00 or less – then scored two shutout wins, including a 4-0 win over No. 5-ranked Nathan Schmitz of Concordia-Moorhead in the semifinals. He topped Darren Faber of Wheaton (Ill.) 6-3 in the finals. Baus is now 96-54 in his Auggie career.
Keeter scored victories over the two other nationally-ranked wrestlers in the 141-pound field at the regional – a 10-3 win over No. 6-ranked Ryan Timmerman of St. Olaf in the semifinals and a 3-2 win over No. 4-ranked Andrew Zobac of North Central (Ill.) in the finals. Keeter is now 28-6 on the season and 52-25 in his career.
Fuenffinger transferred to Augsburg at the semester break after spending the fall 2011 semester in Greco-Roman training at the U.S. Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan University. He claimed three wins at 125, including an opening-match pin and 23-5, technical-fall win in the semifinals, before being edged 3-2 by top-ranked Nathan Fitzenreider of North Central (Ill.) in the finals. Fuenffinger will take a 14-7 record into the national tournament.
Teigen earned his first trip to the national tournament at 165, scoring a 10-2 major-decision win and 5-0 triumph in the semifinals before falling 12-6 to Ryan Renon of Lakeland (Wis.) in the finals. Teigen is now 24-12 this season and 39-21 in his career.
Augsburg 174-pounder Josh Kohler (SR, Monticello, Minn.) finished fifth during the tournament, but won his “true-fourth” match to end up as one of three alternates to the tournament. Kohler is now 30-17 on the season and 61-49 in his career.
Matt Hechsel (FY, Apple Valley, Minn.) finished fifth at 184 pounds, ending his initial Auggie campaign at 19-18. Auggie 133-pounder Tom Kuehn (FY, Fargo, N.D./West Fargo HS) also finished fifth in his weight class, ending his first collegiate season at 21-9.
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