Molitor, ranked No. 3 nationally in his weight class, captured pins in both of Augsburg's matches on Sunday, a 4:30 pin in the Auggies' 22-14 win over Coe (Iowa) in the semifinals and a 3:52 pin of Wartburg's No. 7-ranked Dylan Azinger in the championship match.
“In a high-pressure situation like that, Zach Molitor excels,” said Augsburg head coach Mark Matzek. “He wants to put himself in a situation like that for the team. He did a great job of doing what he does best. He wrestled hard and caught his opponent at the right time, and got the fall. He had an unbelievable weekend.”
Augsburg, now 7-0 in dual meets, claimed its second straight National Duals title and fifth in the nine-year history of the Division III event. The Auggies also claimed their third straight victory over their biggest wrestling rival, defending national champion Wartburg. Augsburg and Wartburg will meet again in a dual meet on Feb. 4 in Waverly, Iowa.
On the weekend, the No. 2-ranked Auggies, now 7-0 in dual meets this season, scored four wins over ranked opponents, topping No. 22 Wisconsin-Whitewater 33-7 and No. 10 North Central (Iowa) 25-12 on Saturday, then beating No. 3 Coe 22-14 in the semifinals on Sunday morning. Wartburg, ranked No. 5 nationally, is now 13-1 in dual meets.
“This is a total team effort – not just the 15 guys were were able to weigh in this weekend, but all the 30-plus guys on the roster that worked hard and put their blood and sweat together to capture a national dual-meet title,” Matzek said. “It puts all the hard work and all the sacrifices that these guys put in every day into perspective. Being a student-athlete, managing their time, it's not for nothing; it's for winning big meets like this. There may be teams in the nation that work as hard as us, but no one works harder than us.”
In the nine-year history of the Division III National Duals in its current 16-team format, Augsburg has captured five titles (2002, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010), while Wartburg has four titles (2003, 2004, 2006, 2008). Augsburg and Wartburg have met in eight of the nine National Duals finals, with the Auggies winning five times.
Augsburg and Wartburg have been the powers of NCAA Division III wrestling over the past two decades, with Augsburg winning 10 national championships (1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2007) and Wartburg winning seven titles (1996, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009).
Against opponents from Divisions II and III since 1989-90, Augsburg is now 245-21, having lost just 16 matches to non-Division I opponents since the 1995-96 campaign. Against strictly Division III opponents, Augsburg is now 247-23 since the 1979-80 season and 171-13 since the 1989-90 season.
In a match where each team won five bouts, Molitor's pin proved to be the deciding points for the Auggies to capture the title against Wartburg. Molitor, who finished sixth nationally last year, is now 14-2 on the season. He won all four matches on the weekend, including a major decision win against Wisconsin-Whitewater on Saturday.
Defending 197-pound national champion Jared Massey (JR, Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial HS) also had a strong weekend, winning all four of his bouts to remain unbeaten at 12-0. He had a pin and major decision on Saturday, then scored two wins over ranked wrestlers on Sunday, topping Coe's No. 6-ranked Rob Kramer 5-3 and Wartburg's No. 5-ranked Byron Tate 6-1.
Paul Bjorkstrand (SR, Burnsville, Minn.) also came up big for the Auggies on Sunday with two key victories at 133 pounds – an 11-2 major-decision win against Coe, and a 7-6 triumph over Wartburg's Matt Kelly.
Jafari Vanier (SR, Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS), a two-time national runner-up who returned to the Auggies this weekend after a two-season absence, also scored two big wins on Sunday at 141 – an 8-3 win over Coe and a 7-4 win over Wartburg's No. 5-ranked Chris Sandy. Vanier placed second in the national tournament at 133 pounds in both 2006 and 2007.
Jason Adams (SR, Coon Rapids, Minn.) dominated his competition over the weekend at 157, as the No. 5-ranked wrestler claimed four wins, including one by major decision. On Sunday, he scored a 7-1 win over Coe's No. 9-ranked Dale Handley, then topped Wartburg's Adam Weber 7-4. Adams is now 23-2 on the season.
On the weekend, Augsburg won 25 of 40 individual bouts, including five wins against Wartburg and six wins against Coe.
Among other Minnesota schools, No. 9-ranked Concordia-Moorhead placed sixth in the tournament, while No. 11-ranked St. John's placed eighth. On Sunday, the Cobbers topped the Johnnies 22-13 before falling 26-17 to top-ranked Wisconsin-La Crosse in the fifth-place match. After the loss to the Cobbers, the Johnnies fell 25-20 to Cornell (Iowa) in the seventh-place match.
Augsburg will travel to face St. John's in its next dual meet, on Thursday (1/14) in Collegeville, Minn. The junior varsity squads from both teams will meet at 5 p.m., with the varsity match to follow at 7 p.m.
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