“Every man on this roster must decide they want to be national champions; have the discipline to push themselves and their teammates to new limits in the classroom, weight room and wrestling room; and live a devoted lifestyle to the Augsburg wrestling program. This team is full of great young men that are living this motto,” said Mark Matzek, entering his second season as Augsburg’s head coach in 2009-10.
With six national tournament qualifiers and four All-Americans returning to a lineup with depth at virtually every weight class, prospects are positive for the Auggies to continue their reputation as one of the crown jewels of small-college wrestling.
Augsburg finished second at last year’s Division III national tournament, extending its streak of top-four national-meet finishes to 21 straight years -- a record currently unmatched by any other NCAA wrestling program in any division. Augsburg finished 11-2 in dual meets last season, claimed the Great Lakes Regional championship for the seventh straight season and won the title at the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III National Duals for the fourth time in the tournament’s eight-year run.
Augsburg enters the 2009-10 season in the No. 2 spot in the NWCA/Brute-Adidas preseason national rankings, with six Auggies ranked among the top 10 nationally in their weight classes.
“It’s always on our minds, winning the national championship. It’s an achievable goal,” said Matzek, a 2005 Augsburg alumnus who was named the ninth head coach in the history of Augsburg wrestling last season.
Six national qualifiers return
Keying the optimism for the 2009-10 campaign is the return of six national tournament qualifiers, including returning 197-pound national champion Jared Massey (JR, Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial HS).
A two-time Minnesota high school state champion wrestler who competed at Division I Wisconsin in the 2003-04 season, he returned to collegiate wrestling last season after four years away from the sport and dominated throughout the season, finishing 30-1 with 16 pins and three major decisions to claim the 44th individual national title in Augsburg wrestling history.
Massey will also benefit this season from a change in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference redshirt transfer rules, which will enable him to gain back a previous year of eligibility, making him a junior this year. Though Augsburg is an independent school in wrestling (the MIAC does not sponsor wrestling as a championship sport), its student-athletes are subject to MIAC eligibility rules.
“No one in the nation trains harder than Jared Massey,” Matzek said. “He’s a great leader on this team. You have a big guy that everyone looks up to in the wrestling room. Especially when we have some younger guys who are wondering how hard should they be drilling and how hard should they be lifting, all they have to do is look over to Jared Massey’s circle and there it is.”
At 157 pounds, Jason Adams (SR, Coon Rapids, Minn.) will attempt to become a three-time All-American and make Augsburg history in the process. Adams’ father, Bob Adams ’83, was a three-time All-American and 1983 national titlist, and should Jason Adams win a national title this season, the father-son duo could become the first in Augsburg history to accomplish the feat. The duo is already the first father-son All-American combo in Auggie wrestling history.
After earning national runner-up honors at 141 pounds in 2008, Adams moved up two weight classes and finished third nationally at 157 in 2009 with a 39-6 record. He is 90-20 on his career.
Zach Molitor (JR, Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti HS) shined in his first season at Augsburg after transferring from Division I North Dakota State, finishing sixth nationally at 174 pounds with a 31-10 record.
Heavyweight Andy Witzel (SR, Fulda, Minn.) also returns to the starting lineup, after finishing fifth last season for his first All-America honors. After finishing 34-9 last year, he is now 82-35 in his career.
In his first season as an Auggie, Orlando Ponce (JR, Hialeah, Fla./Hialeah-Miami Lakes HS) qualified for the national tournament at 165 pounds, and is aiming for a return to the national tournament this season.
Tony Valek (SO, Belle Plaine, Minn./Scott West HS) and Lucas Murray (JR, Anoka, Minn.) will also battle for spots in the middle of the Auggie lineup. Valek qualified for the national tournament last season at 141 pounds, but may move up to 149 and provide a challenge for Murray, a varsity competitor in the 2007-08 season.
Depth, plenty of competition
There’s plenty of depth in the Augsburg roster, with at least three wrestlers at every weight class. There will be serious competition at several weight classes this season.
At 184 pounds, returning starter Brad Baus (SO, Mukwonago, Wis.) will face competition from newcomers Tyler Bowling (JR, Lakeville, Minn./Apple Valley HS), a 2006 state high school runner-up who earned junior college All-American honors at Ellsworth Community College (Iowa) in 2008, Doug Fuller (FY, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.), a Wisconsin state runner-up from last season, and Caleb Lines (FY, New Prague, Minn.), who missed last season due to injury.
Joining Murray and Valek in the middleweight battle will be returners Nathan Lexvold (SO, Kenyon, Minn./Kenyon-Wanamingo HS), Justin Koob (SO, New Ulm, Minn.), Jake Saatzer (JR, Mound, Minn./Mound-Westonka HS) and Torey Stewart (SO, Jackson, Minn./Jackson County HS).
Returner Zach Enrico (SO, Minnetonka, Minn./Hopkins HS) and newcomer Ryan Seidler (FY, Adams, Wis./Adams-Friendship HS), a Wisconsin state titlist and three-time state placewinner, will battle with Adams at 157.
There’s plenty of experience at 165, as returners Spencer Flodeen (JR, Cannon Falls, Minn.), Jake Grygelko (SR, Loretto, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville HS), Beau Hansen (JR, Albert Lea, Minn.) and John MacCormick (SR, Minnetonka, Minn.) will battle with Ponce for the spot. At 174, Molitor will face challenges from returners Brandon Bahr (SO, Bemidji, Minn.), Josh Kohler (SO, Monticello, Minn.) and Jackson Mboma (SO, Maple Grove, Minn.).
Battling the returning All-Americans at the upper weights will be 197-pound returners Mitch Gerold (SO, Braham, Minn.) and Alex Krautkremer (SO, Jordan, Minn./Scott West), and heavyweight returners Tyson Barrett (SR, Excelsior, Minn./Minnetonka HS) and Nick Creamier (SO, Coon Rapids, Minn.).
Youth in lower weights
Fifteen wrestlers -- including 11 first-years and sophomores -- will make the battles for the 125- and 133-pound weight class spots an interesting one.
At 125, returner Freddie Vigil (SR, Bakersfield, Calif./South HS) has seen varsity action in his career, and is the front-runner for the starting spot. Returners Ky Olsen (JR, Kansasville, Wis./Westosha Central HS) and Minh Huynh (SO, Eagan, Minn./Eastview HS) will be joined by Josh Roberts (FY, Grand Forks, N.D./Central HS), who missed last season due to injury, and Jesse Hylton (FY, Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial HS), a two-time state tournament qualifier.
A large group of wrestlers will battle at 133 pounds. Paul Bjorkstrand (SR, Burnsville, Minn.), a three-year letterwinner who did not compete last season, returns this year, joined by returner Alex Johnson (SO, Foxhome, Minn./Breckenridge HS).
Several newcomers will join the 133-pound battle, led by state tournament champions Devon Bonds (FY, St. Paul, Minn./Humboldt HS) and Boyd Suparat (FY, North Branch, Minn.). Four-time state entrant and three-time state placewinner Cody Hansen (FY, Albert Lea, Minn.), three-time North Dakota state placewinner Dusty Holmes (SO, West Fargo, N.D.), and three-time state qualifiers Cody Madsen (FY, Stillwater, Minn.) and Matthew Bailey (FY, Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong HS) will also be in the mix, along with Brian Gaffney (JR, Portage, Wis.), a transfer from the University of Dubuque (Iowa), and Michael Orange (FY, Southfield, Mich.).
Academic excellence
Augsburg has a tradition of academic excellence in wrestling that is just as strong as the team’s accomplishments on the mat. Last season, the Auggies finished 13th in the National Wrestling Coaches Association's Scholar All-American team race with a 3.346 team grade-point average.
Over the last 27 seasons, Augsburg has earned 105 NWCA Scholar All-Americans, the most of any college in any division in the nation, including 82 athletes honored since 1997. Augsburg has finished among the top 25 wrestling teams in the Scholar All-American team program every season since it was started in 1998, and has had a team GPA of 3.2 or better every season during the 11 years of the program. Augsburg had the top GPA in the country in the 1999 season (3.480) and finished second three times (1998, 2000, 2006).
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