Division III Third Session Updates & Notes

NCAA Division III National Championships
U.S. Cellular Center, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Team Scores
FINAL
1. Augsburg 110.5
2. UW-La Crosse 100.5
3. Wartburg 83.5
4. Coe 76
5. Delaware Valley 50.5
6. Ithaca 41
7. Ohio Northern 34
8. Dubuque 32.5
9. Concordia-Moorhead 31.5
10. Luther 31
11. Merchant Marine Academy 26.5
12. Cornell 25
12. Oneonta State 25
14. Case Western Reserve 22
14. Elmhurst 22
14. St. John's 22

FINALS
Finals Webcast, 8 p.m. Eastern
125: #1 Clayton Rush (Coe) MD #3 Tyler Erdman (Elizabethtown) 14-3
133: #1 Bebeto Yewah (UW-La Crosse) DEC #3 Paul Bjorkstrand (Augsburg) 14-9
141: #1 Minga Batsukh (St. John's) DEC Jeremy Stierly (Ithaca) 10-4
149: #5 Isaac Dukes (Case Western Reserve) DEC #2 Tony Valek (Augsburg) 8-4
157: #4 Luke Miller (Ohio Northern) DEC #6 Zach Mizer (Heidelberg) 7-6.
165: Vinnie Renault (U.S. Merchant Marine Academy) DEC #7 Orlando Ponce (Augsburg) 7-3
174: #3 Michael Schmitz (UW-La Crosse) DEC #1 Evan Brown (Dubuque) 5-2
184: #3 Phil Moenkedick (Concordia, Minn.) DEC #8 Brennan Ward (Johnson & Wales) 7-4
197: #5 Byron Tate (Wartburg) DEC #2 Ryan Malo (Williams) 8-5
285: #3 Dan Laurent (UW-La Crosse) DEC #5 John Helgerson (Wartburg) 2-0

NOTE: 38 different programs with at least one All-American

Results
Consolation Finals
125 pounds
3rd: #4 Jake Oster (Elmhurst) DEC #7 Josh Roberts (Augsburg) 6-0.
5th: Austin Mogg (Buena Vista) FALL Jayson Swanson (Luther) 2:04.
7th: #5 Terrance Clendenin (Delaware Valley) DEC Jordan Alfaro (Merchant Marine Academy) 12-6.

133 pounds
3rd: Will Livingston (Centenary) DEC Aljamain Sterling (Cortland State) 4-3.
5th: #7 Nick Nothern (Cornell) DEC #5 Chad Winowich (Ithaca) 5-2.
7th: Nick Garber (Waynesburg) DEC Corey Brown (Thiel) 13-6

141 pounds
3rd: Matt Kelly (Wartburg) DEC #7 Kevin Donahue (Cornell) 8-5.
5th: Ryan Bridge (Stevens Tech) MD Matt Ulrich (Southern Maine) 11-1.
7th: #4 John Starzyk (North Central) DEC #3 Austin Bautista (UW-Whitewater) 4-0.

149 pounds
3rd: #4 Matt Mauseth (UW-La Crosse) DEC #1 Blaine Woszczak (Ithaca) 5-2.
5th: #6 John Marsh (Bridgewater State) FALL Jason Pyle (Luther) 2:24.
7th: Justin Berns (Concordia, Minn.) DEC Charlie Curran (Elmhurst) 7-5.

157 pounds
3rd: #5 Jason Adams (Augsburg) DEC #3 Jesse Milks (UW-Platteville) 4-3.
5th: #1 Jesse Harrington (Delaware Valley) DEC #7 Adam Weber (Wartburg) 9-4.
7th: Willie Horwath (Ithaca) DEC Matt Magill (NYU) 7-2.

165 pounds
3rd: #1 Josh Terrell (Dubuque) DEC #3 Nick LeClere (Coe) 4-2.
5th: #5 Michael Morin (Southern Maine) DEC Justin Barowski (Delaware Valley) 13-8, SV
7th: #2 Carrington Banks (Wartburg) FALL Cory Ferguson (UW-La Crosse) :41.

174 pounds
3rd: #2 Zach Molitor (Augsburg) DEC #4 Kyle Kwiat (Ohio Northern) 5-1.
5th: Chris Wade (Oneonta State) FALL #7 Adam Weber (Wartburg) :38.
7th: Seth Rehn (Coe) DEC Ross Dankers (Concordia, Minn.) 10-3.

184 pounds
3rd: #1 Tyler Burkle (Coe) DEC #2 Ben Engelland (UW-Stevens Point) 9-3.
5th: #4 Gabe Youel (North Central) DEC Josh Wake (Oneonta State) 5-1.
7th: #5 Mike Denver (TCNJ) DEC Ben Adams (John Carroll) 8-7.

197 pounds
3rd: #1 Jared Massey (Augsburg) DEC #3 Andy Moore (UW-La Crosse) 4-3.
5th: Zach Pizarro (Wilkes) FALL Martin Porter (Delaware Valley) 2:28.
7th: #6 Bill Schindel (Mount Union) DEC #8 Martino Sottile (Cortland State) 3-2.

285 pounds
3rd: #6 Adam Sutter (Lakeland) FALL #2 Kyle Bilquist (Delaware Valley) :48.
5th: Jon Schmidt (UW-Whitewater) FALL #6 Allyn Plattner (Luther) 1:29.
7th: #7 Mitch Sander (Coe) DEC #8 Andy Witzel (Augsburg) 2-0.


SESSION THREE NOTES
SEMIFINALS
Rush, Erdman to meet for championship at 125
A late two and three by Coe's Clayton Rush broke open a close match and enabled the tournament's top seed to beat defending national champion Jake Oster of Elmhurst. Rush was up 4-3 in the final 10 seconds and Oster tried a desperation throw, and Rush planted Oster to the mat to pick up five more points. It's Rush's second finals appearance. He was the runner-up as a freshman.
Rush will face Tyler Erdman of Elizabethtown in the finals. Erdman pinned seventh-seeded Josh Roberts of Augsburg with a cradle in the second period.

Quotable Clendenin
After Luther's Jayson Swanson pinned Del Val's Terrance Clendenin from a neutral position in the consolation quarterfinals, Clendenin did something rather strange. The former Lehigh wrestler walked to the table and asked the scorekeeper, "How fast was that?" When he found out it was 39 seconds, Clendenin's response was also strange. "Good, then it wasn't the fastest." Apparently Clendenin didn't want to go down as giving up the fastest fall in the tournament.

Tough to say, tougher to win
Top-seeded Bebeto Yewah and third-sededed Paul Bjorkstrand will meet in the finals at 133 pounds. Yewah, from UW-Lax, beat fifth-seeded Chad Winowich of Ithaca 5-3 to advance. Winowich kept it close, but Yewah's defense proved to be too much. Bjorkstrand, of Augsburg, rode out returning finalist and seventh seed Nick Nothern of Cornell to advance. Trailing 3-2 but with riding time, Nothern chose down, needing an escape to essentially tie it up and have a lead, providing he got out before riding time was no longer a factor. Well, it didn't happen and Augsburg put its first wrestler into the finals.

David vs. Goliath or perhaps a reference to Ghengis Khan?
Looking for a scenario that would lead to a good headline with a returning national champion from Mongolia taking on an unseeded wrestler from Ithaca is a bit tough. So with apologies to returning champ Minga Batsukh of St. John's, he'll be as favored as the historic Mongol warlord against Jeremy Steirly of Ithaca. Stierly won a battle of unseeded wrestlers in the semifinals, beating Southern Maine's Matt Ulrich 4-2. Batsukh beat Wartburg's Matt Kelly 3-2.

Put up your Dukes
Case Western Reserve's Isaac Dukes scored a takedown in the final 20 seconds and got a riding time point to force overtime against top-seeded Blaine Woszczak of Ithaca and then in that overtime, pinned the Bomber after he'd already secured a match-winning takedown. With the match over, Woszczak just laid back and Dukes pounced to get the fall at 7:49. Dukes, the fifth seed, will face Augsburg's Tony Valek. With the score tied 3-3 going into the third period, Luther's Jason Pyle unwisely took bottom against the cradle-favoring Valek. And as if almost on cue, Valek cradled up Pyle for three points and rode out the rest of the period, picking up a riding time point to beat Pyle 7-3.

Bridge doing it the hard way
After a first round loss to top-seeded Minga Batsukh of St. John's, Steven Tech's Ryan Bridge went through the consolations heading for third. On Friday, Bridge beat second-seeded Jafari Vanier of Augsburg, then this morning, beat third-seeded Austin Bautista of UW-Whitewater. Bridge, unseeded, has wrestled four matches, and three of them have been against the tournament's top three seeds.

Next, on Donahue
Kevin Donahue of Cornell is also fighting back after a first-round loss. The seventh seed was trailing fourth-seeded John Starzyk of North Central in the second period 6-1, but Donahue quickly reversed Starzyk to his back, getting the fall to move on.

O-H ... I-O
Jesse Harrington of Del Val was in good shape with 11 seconds to go. The top seed was tied with fourth-seeded Luke Miller of Ohio Northern when Miller was hit with his second stalling call, giving Harrington a one-point lead. Five seconds later, it was a different story, as Miller, who was in on the leg at the time of the stall call, converted his attempt to score a takedown with five seconds to go and snatch away the victory. He'll face Ohio Conference rival Zach Mizer of Heidelberg, who beat seventh-seeded Adam Weber of Wartburg 7-6, with the difference coming on riding time.

Let's get ... Nautical
Unseeded at 165 pounds wasn't a problem for the Merchant Marine Academy's Vincent Renaut. The Massachusetts native held off Del Val's Justin Barowski in a semifinal battle of unseeded wrestlers 3-2 to advance to the finals at 165 pounds. Renaut will face Augsburg's Orlando Ponce, the seventh seed. Ponce scored a late takedown to break a 9-9 tie over third-seeded Nick LeClere of Coe to capture the win and move into the finals.

That's a tough one to swallow
With Augsburg rolling in the semifinal round, the loss at 174 pounds might be hard to swallow. With second-seeded Zach Molitor tied at two and opponent Michael Schmitz starting down, Molitor rode tough for more than a minute and a half. Schmitz got free to take a 3-2 lead with 20 seconds to go ... and with the riding time clock reading 59 seconds. With short time, Molitor desperately tried to get the go-ahead takedown, but gave up a late counter to lose to Schmitz 5-2. One more second and the match is tied and likely bound for sudden victory, but it's good enough for Schmitz, who makes his first Division III final. Schmitz will face returning champion Evan Brown of Dubuque. Brown got past stingy freshman Kyle Kwiat of Ohio Northern 4-3.

Return trip for Cobber; Ward cooks up big fall
Concordia's Phil Moenkedick reached the finals for the second straight year with a 5-0 semifinal victory over unseeded Josh Wake of Oneonta State. Moenkedick will face No. 8 Brennan Ward of Johnson & Wales. Ward trailed fourth-seeded Gabe Youel of North Central throughout the match and trailed 4-3 with under 30 seconds to go before Ward cooked up a gator roll, putting Youel to his back and getting the fall at 6:58. No, the cooking inferences never cease with Johnson & Wales.

It gets LOUD in here: Wartburg's Tate tops returning champ Massey
The only semifinal matchup between perennial powers Wartburg and Augsburg needed more than seven minutes to decide it. Wartburg's Byron Tate beat Augsburg's Jared Massey, the returning champ and undefeated top seed, 2-1 in the first tiebreaker to reach the finals. After trading escapes in regulation and no attempts of note in sudden victory, Tate rode out Massey in the first 30 seconds, then scored an escape with 15 to go in the second and moved into the finals. Tate will face returning runner-up Ryan Malo of Williams, who was a 5-0 winner over third-seeded Andy Moore of UW-Lax in his semifinal.

Helgerson, Laurent reach finals at heavy
Wartburg put its second wrestler into the finals as John Helgerson kept the momentum going after Tate's win with an 8-1 win over unseeded Jon Schmidt of UW-Whitewater. Helgerson will face two-time national champion Dan Laurent of UW-La Crosse. Laurent beat second-seeded Kyle Bilquist of Delaware Valley 8-4 in the semifinals.


Consolation Semifinals
125 pounds
#7 Josh Roberts (Augsburg) DEC Jayson Swanson (Luther) 9-7, SV
#4 Jake Oster (Elmhurst) DEC Austin Mogg (Buena Vista) 9-6.
133 pounds
Aljamain Sterling (Cortland State) DEC #5 Chad Winowich (Ithaca) 4-2.
Will Livingston (Centenary) DEC #7 Nick Nothern (Cornell) 6-2.
141 pounds
Matt Kelly (Wartburg) DEC Ryan Bridge (Stevens Tech) 6-4
#7 Kevin Donahue (Cornell) DEC Matt Ulrich (Southern Maine) 7-1.
149 pounds
#4 Matt Mauseth (UW-La Crosse) DEC #3 Jason Pyle (Luther) 8-4.
#1 Blaine Woszczak (Ithaca) DEC #6 John Marsh (Bridgewater State) 8-2.
157 pounds
#5 Jason Adams (Augsburg) DEC #7 Adam Weber (Wartburg) 5-0.
#3 Jesse Milks (UW-Platteville) DEC #1 Jesse Harrington (Delaware Valley) 6-4.
165 pounds
#3 Nick LeClere (Coe) FALL #5 Michael Morin (Southern Maine) 6:57.
#1 Josh Terrell (Luther) MD Justin Barowski (Delaware Valley) 15-3.
174 pounds
#2 Zach Molitor (Augsburg) DEC Dylan Azinger (Wartburg) 3-2.
#4 Kyle Kwiat (Ohio Northern) DEC Chris Wade (Oneonta State) 8-4.
184 pounds
#2 Ben Engelland (UW-Stevens Point) DEC #4 Gabe Youel (North Central) 5-3.
#1 Tyler Burkle (Coe) MD Josh Wake (Oneonta State) 9-0.
197 pounds
#1 Jared Massey (Augsburg) DEC Zach Pizarro (Wilkes) 6-4, SV
#3 Andy Moore (UW-La Crosse) DEC Martin Porter (Delaware Valley) 3-1, SV
285 pounds
#6 Adam Sutter (Lakeland) FALL Jon Schmidt (UW-Whitewater) 8-1.
#2 Kyle Bilquist (Delaware Valley) DEC #4 Allyn Plattner (Luther) 6-5.

Semifinals
125 pounds
#1 Clayton Rush (Coe) DEC #4 Jake Oster (Elmhurst) 10-3.
#3 Tyler Erdman (Elizabethtown) FALL #7 Josh Roberts (Augsburg) 4:31.
133 pounds
#1 Bebeto Yewah (UW-La Crosse) DEC #5 Chad Winowich (Ithaca) 5-3.
#3 Paul Bjorkstrand (Augsburg) DEC #7 Nick Nothern (Cornell) 3-2.
141 pounds
#1 Minga Batsukh (St. John's) DEC Matt Kelly (Wartburg) 3-2.
Jeremy Stierly (Ithaca) DEC Matt Ulrich (Southern Maine) 4-2.
149 pounds
#5 Isaac Dukes (Case Western Reserve) FALL #1 Blaine Woszczak (Ithaca) 7:49, SV
#2 Tony Valek (Augsburg) DEC #3 Jason Pyle (Luther) 7-3.
157 pounds
#4 Luke Miller (Ohio Northern) DEC #1 Jesse Harrington (Delaware Valley) 4-3.
#6 Zach Mizer (Heidelberg) DEC #7 Adam Weber (Wartburg) 7-6.
165 pounds
Vinnie Renaut (Merchant Marine Academy) DEC Justin Barowski (Delaware Valley) 3-2.
#7 Orlando Ponce (Augsburg) DEC #3 Nick LeClere (Coe) 11-9.
174 pounds
#1 Evan Brown (Dubuque) DEC #4 Kyle Kwiat (Ohio Northern) 4-3.
#3 Michael Schmitz (UW-La Crosse) DEC #2 Zach Molitor (Augsburg) 5-2.
184 pounds
#8 Brennan Ward (Johnson & Wales) FALL #4 Gabe Youel (North Central) 6:58.
#3 Phil Moenkedick (Concordia, Minn.) DEC Josh Wake (Oneonta State) 5-0.
197 pounds
#5 Byron Tate (Wartburg) DEC #1 Jared Massey (Augsburg) 2-1, TB1
#2 Ryan Malo (Williams) DEC #3 Andy Moore (UW-La Crosse) 5-0.
285 pounds
#5 John Helgerson (Wartburg) DEC Jon Schmidt (UW-Whitewater) 8-1.
#3 Dan Laurent (UW-La Crosse) DEC #2 Kyle Bilquist (Delaware Valley) 8-4.

Consolation Quarterfinals
125 pounds
Jayson Swanson (Luther) FALL #5 Terrance Clendenin (Delaware Valley) :39.
Austin Mogg (Buena Vista) FALL Jordan Alfaro (Merchant Marine Academy) 6:03.
133 pounds
Aljamain Sterling (Cortland State) DEC Corey Brown (Thiel) 3-2.
Will Livingston (Centenary) MD Nick Garber (Waynesburg) 16-2
141 pounds
Ryan Bridge (Stevens Tech) DEC #3 Austin Bautista (UW-Whitewater) 3-1.
#7 Kevin Donahue (Cornell) FALL #4 John Starzyk (North Central) 4:40.
149 pounds
#4 Matt Mauseth (UW-La Crosse) DEC Charlie Curran (Elmhurst) 9-4.
#6 John Marsh (Bridgewater State) FALL Justin Berns (Concordia, Minn.) 3:49.
157 pounds
#5 Jason Adams (Augsburg) DEC Matt Magill (NYU) 7-3.
#3 Jesse Milks (UW-Platteville) DEC Wilie Horwath (Ithaca) 10-3.
165 pounds
#4 Michael Morin (Southern Maine) DEC Cory Ferguson (UW-La Crosse) 7-6.
#1 Josh Terrell (Dubuque) DEC #2 Carrington Banks (Wartburg) 2-1.
174 pounds
Dylan Azinger (Wartburg) MD Ross Dankers (Concordia, Minn.) 12-4.
Chris Wade (Oneonta State) FALL Seth Rehn (Coe) 5:27.
184 pounds
#2 Ben Engelland (UW-Stevens Point) DEC Ben Adams (John Carroll) 8-2.
#1 Tyler Burkle (Coe) DEC #5 Mike Denver (TCNJ) 9-2.
197 pounds
Zach Pizarro (Wilkes) DEC #6 Bill Schindel (Mount Union) 7-6.
Martin Porter (Delaware Valley) DEC #8 Martin Sottile (Cortland State) 7-6
285 pounds
#6 Adam Sutter (Lakeland) FALL #7 Mitch Sander (Coe) 6:36
#4 Allyn Plattner (Luther) FALL #8 Andy Witzel (Augsburg) 4:05.