UPDATE: Wartburg leads Augsburg after day one of Div. III Nationals
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by Jon Gremmels
Kenny Martin (Wartburg) riding Nathan Segal (North Central) during a 7-2 first-round win. Martin is one of four Knights to reach the semifinals. Jon Gremmels photo.
HERSHEY, Pa. -- When Wartburg graduated six All-Americans last year -- three of them who combined for six individual national titles -- it appeared the door was open for a new team to reach the top in NCAA Division III wrestling.
It still could happen, but Wartburg held a slim lead Friday after the first day of the national tournament at Giant Center as it chased a fifth consecutive team title and 12th in school history.
Eight Knights assured themselves of All-America status -- seven for the first time -- as Wartburg took a 58-56.5 lead over Augsburg after the two teams went back-and-forth several times on the leader board.
“It’s awesome,” Wartburg heavyweight Ben Nagel said when he learned the Knights were atop the standings.
There’s nothing the Knights would rather do than disappoint all the fans and teams who thought a new champion would emerge this year in what was expected to be the most wide-open team race in years.
“I’d hate to be the other teams thinking they’re going to win it this year and we’re on top again,” Nagle said.
“Guys like myself, I’ve been a backup for two years. As much as I love to make my teammates better, I want to earn my place (in history).”
Nagle, who beat Heidelberg’s Nino Majoy 3-2 and Alma’s Trevor Maresh 5-2, will former Rutgers and Iowa wrestler Terrance Jean-Jacques of Rhode Island College in the semifinals.
Wartburg’s other semifinalists are Kenny Martin (149), Andrew Steiert (165) and Devin Peterson (184), while Jake Agnitsch (125), Connor Campo (133), Drew Wagenhoffer (157) and Gerard Roman (194) are alive in the consolations.
Martin scored wins over North Central’s Nathan Segal (7-2) and fifth seed Luke Lohr of Waynesburg (10-7). Steiert, the top seed at 165, beat Hunter’s Jesse Bader 5-1 and Ithaca’s Nick Velez 4-3. Peterson won the only Wartburg-Augsburg matchup, beating Tom Teigen 13-6, and he followed up with a 12-4 win over second-seeded Jonathan Deupree of Southern Maine.
“This is the round where historically we have separated ourselves from the other teams,” Nagle said.
That didn’t happen this year, but then it was a vastly different squad.
Only Campo and 2012 All-American Wagenhoffer had national tournament experience.
“Guys had to swallow their ego and be humble,” Nagle said. “We followed the program the coaches set.”
So far the plan is working, but the Knights have rival Augsburg right behind them. The Auggies have three wrestlers in the semifinals -- Mike Fuenffinger (125), Chad Bartschenfeld (133) and Nebraska transfer Donny Longendyke (heavyweight) -- and three in the consolations.
Fuenffinger, one of only two Auggies who came out on top in the dual between Augsburg and Wartburg, was thrilled to be in the tight team race with the Knights.
“It will be exciting,” he said.
Fuenffinger also kept alive his hopes of repeating as champion at 125 pounds, picking up three wins Friday to become the first Augsburg wrestler with back-to-back 40-win seasons.
He started the day by beating Devan Richter of the University of Chicago 8-0, followed that with a 6-2 win against Brian Amato of Worcester Polytechnic Institute and then defeated Cole Ferguson of Wisconsin-Platteville 10-3.
Fuenffinger, who enjoys Greco-Roman wrestling, was most happy with the first match because Richter also favored an upper-body attack.
“It played right into my suit, so that was fun,” Fuenffinger said. “It didn’t quite go the way I wanted it to a lot of times, but I just pushed forward and got through that first match.”
The other two returning national champions also advanced to the semifinals.
Messiah senior Kaleb Loht, the top seed at 141, beat Cody See of Wisconsin-La Crosse 7-2 and then scored a 12-1 major decision against Alvontae Drummond of McDaniel.
Loht said he didn’t feel added pressure coming with the bull’s-eye on him.
No, not really,” he said. “I was feeling it at the middle of the season. Coach (Bryan) Brunk pulled me aside and grabbed hold of me and shook some fear into me. He said, ‘Don’t try to win a national championship because you have to; win another national championship because you want to.’ That really spoke a lot of volumes to me.”
Messiah ended the first day in ninth place with 24.5 points. Loht’s teammate, Lucas Malmberg, also stayed on pace to reach the finals for the second year in a row at 125 with a pair of wins.
The third returning champion, Wabash’s Riley Lefever, was the most dominant of the trio. He pinned Patrick Sheehan of New York University in 24 seconds, then scored a 17-2 technical fall against Conner Gabriel of Delaware Valley in the quarterfinals at 184 pounds.
“The goal is the same -- win the national championship -- the plan is a little different,” Lefever said. “I want to win by more points, score more points. Last year I was really nervous.”
Lefever, a sophomore, will be joined in the semifinals by his brothers, Reece (157 pounds) and Conner (174), who are twins.
Conner, a No. 1 seed, recorded a pair of two-point wins. He beat Wilkes’ Kyle Diesel 8-6 and Baldwin Wallace’s Garrett Chase 7-5. Reece, the second seed, beat Ithaca’s Kevin Collins 9-2 and Wartburg’s Drew Wagenhoffer 4-1.
“How I looked at it (last year), my mindset wasn’t right. I was happy to get fourth,” Reece said. “Riley wins the national championship and I felt like crap, horrible. That was great for me, though, because this whole summer my goal was to outwork him, everything he does, then that makes him better because he’s seen me work hard. We just build on each other.”
It’s definitely a competitive rivalry.
“I don’t want either one of my brothers to beat me, and they don’t want me to beat them,” Reece said. “We push each other, and it’s the same with the whole team. Great practice partners, too.”
They’re hoping that pushing takes them to the top.
“We believe we can do it; we’re all going to do it,” Reece Lefever said.
The Lefever trio, along with teammate Ethan Farmer, who is alive in the wrestle backs, were instrumental in the Little Giants scoring 36.5 points, good for fourth place. Delaware Valley rounded out the top five with 29.5.
Semifinal pairings
125
Mike Fuenffinger of Augsburg vs.Guesseppe Rea of Wilkes
Lucas Malmberg of Messiah vs. Jesse Gunter of Baldwin Wallace
133
Nathaniel Giorgio of U.S. Coast Guard Academy vs. Matthew Grossmann of Wilkes
Evan Obert of Luther vs. Chad Bartschenfeld of Augsburg
141
Kaleb Loht of Messiah vs. Cary Palmer of Hunter
Drew Van Anrooy of Luther vs. Nick Steger of Loras
149
Dan Mirman of John Carroll vs. Kenneth Martin of Wartburg
Derek Arnold of Ursinus vs. Vincent Fava of Delaware Valley
157
Nick Carr of Washington And Jefferson College vs. Steven DeWitt of Loras
Reece Lefever of Wabash vs. Jorge Lopez of Williams College
165
Andrew Steiert of Wartburg vs. Tyler Schneider of Wisconsin-La Crosse
Farai Sewera of Coe vs. Sam Guidi of Waynesburg
174
Conner Lefever of Wabash vs. Sebastian Gardner of Concordia-Moorhead
Zach Zotollo of The College Of New Jersey vs. Ryan Harrington of Coe
184
Riley Lefever of Wabash vs. Richard Dowdley of Heidelberg
Devin Peterson of Wartburg vs. Richard Carlson of Wisconsin-La Crosse
197
Eric Twohey of Wisconsin-La Crosse vs. Joe Giaramita of SUNY-Cortland
Shane Siefert of Wisconsin-Whitewater vs. Donnie Horner of Coe
285
Terrance Jean-Jacques of Rhode Island College vs. Benjamin Nagle of Wartburg
Donny Longendyke of Augsburg vs.James Bethel of Oneonta State
HERSHEY, Pa. -- When Wartburg graduated six All-Americans last year -- three of them who combined for six individual national titles -- it appeared the door was open for a new team to reach the top in NCAA Division III wrestling.
It still could happen, but Wartburg held a slim lead Friday after the first day of the national tournament at Giant Center as it chased a fifth consecutive team title and 12th in school history.
Eight Knights assured themselves of All-America status -- seven for the first time -- as Wartburg took a 58-56.5 lead over Augsburg after the two teams went back-and-forth several times on the leader board.
“It’s awesome,” Wartburg heavyweight Ben Nagel said when he learned the Knights were atop the standings.
There’s nothing the Knights would rather do than disappoint all the fans and teams who thought a new champion would emerge this year in what was expected to be the most wide-open team race in years.
“I’d hate to be the other teams thinking they’re going to win it this year and we’re on top again,” Nagle said.
“Guys like myself, I’ve been a backup for two years. As much as I love to make my teammates better, I want to earn my place (in history).”
Nagle, who beat Heidelberg’s Nino Majoy 3-2 and Alma’s Trevor Maresh 5-2, will former Rutgers and Iowa wrestler Terrance Jean-Jacques of Rhode Island College in the semifinals.
Wartburg’s other semifinalists are Kenny Martin (149), Andrew Steiert (165) and Devin Peterson (184), while Jake Agnitsch (125), Connor Campo (133), Drew Wagenhoffer (157) and Gerard Roman (194) are alive in the consolations.
Martin scored wins over North Central’s Nathan Segal (7-2) and fifth seed Luke Lohr of Waynesburg (10-7). Steiert, the top seed at 165, beat Hunter’s Jesse Bader 5-1 and Ithaca’s Nick Velez 4-3. Peterson won the only Wartburg-Augsburg matchup, beating Tom Teigen 13-6, and he followed up with a 12-4 win over second-seeded Jonathan Deupree of Southern Maine.
“This is the round where historically we have separated ourselves from the other teams,” Nagle said.
That didn’t happen this year, but then it was a vastly different squad.
Only Campo and 2012 All-American Wagenhoffer had national tournament experience.
“Guys had to swallow their ego and be humble,” Nagle said. “We followed the program the coaches set.”
So far the plan is working, but the Knights have rival Augsburg right behind them. The Auggies have three wrestlers in the semifinals -- Mike Fuenffinger (125), Chad Bartschenfeld (133) and Nebraska transfer Donny Longendyke (heavyweight) -- and three in the consolations.
Fuenffinger, one of only two Auggies who came out on top in the dual between Augsburg and Wartburg, was thrilled to be in the tight team race with the Knights.
“It will be exciting,” he said.
Fuenffinger also kept alive his hopes of repeating as champion at 125 pounds, picking up three wins Friday to become the first Augsburg wrestler with back-to-back 40-win seasons.
He started the day by beating Devan Richter of the University of Chicago 8-0, followed that with a 6-2 win against Brian Amato of Worcester Polytechnic Institute and then defeated Cole Ferguson of Wisconsin-Platteville 10-3.
Fuenffinger, who enjoys Greco-Roman wrestling, was most happy with the first match because Richter also favored an upper-body attack.
“It played right into my suit, so that was fun,” Fuenffinger said. “It didn’t quite go the way I wanted it to a lot of times, but I just pushed forward and got through that first match.”
The other two returning national champions also advanced to the semifinals.
Messiah senior Kaleb Loht, the top seed at 141, beat Cody See of Wisconsin-La Crosse 7-2 and then scored a 12-1 major decision against Alvontae Drummond of McDaniel.
Loht said he didn’t feel added pressure coming with the bull’s-eye on him.
No, not really,” he said. “I was feeling it at the middle of the season. Coach (Bryan) Brunk pulled me aside and grabbed hold of me and shook some fear into me. He said, ‘Don’t try to win a national championship because you have to; win another national championship because you want to.’ That really spoke a lot of volumes to me.”
Messiah ended the first day in ninth place with 24.5 points. Loht’s teammate, Lucas Malmberg, also stayed on pace to reach the finals for the second year in a row at 125 with a pair of wins.
The third returning champion, Wabash’s Riley Lefever, was the most dominant of the trio. He pinned Patrick Sheehan of New York University in 24 seconds, then scored a 17-2 technical fall against Conner Gabriel of Delaware Valley in the quarterfinals at 184 pounds.
“The goal is the same -- win the national championship -- the plan is a little different,” Lefever said. “I want to win by more points, score more points. Last year I was really nervous.”
Lefever, a sophomore, will be joined in the semifinals by his brothers, Reece (157 pounds) and Conner (174), who are twins.
Conner, a No. 1 seed, recorded a pair of two-point wins. He beat Wilkes’ Kyle Diesel 8-6 and Baldwin Wallace’s Garrett Chase 7-5. Reece, the second seed, beat Ithaca’s Kevin Collins 9-2 and Wartburg’s Drew Wagenhoffer 4-1.
“How I looked at it (last year), my mindset wasn’t right. I was happy to get fourth,” Reece said. “Riley wins the national championship and I felt like crap, horrible. That was great for me, though, because this whole summer my goal was to outwork him, everything he does, then that makes him better because he’s seen me work hard. We just build on each other.”
It’s definitely a competitive rivalry.
“I don’t want either one of my brothers to beat me, and they don’t want me to beat them,” Reece said. “We push each other, and it’s the same with the whole team. Great practice partners, too.”
They’re hoping that pushing takes them to the top.
“We believe we can do it; we’re all going to do it,” Reece Lefever said.
The Lefever trio, along with teammate Ethan Farmer, who is alive in the wrestle backs, were instrumental in the Little Giants scoring 36.5 points, good for fourth place. Delaware Valley rounded out the top five with 29.5.
Semifinal pairings
125
Mike Fuenffinger of Augsburg vs.Guesseppe Rea of Wilkes
Lucas Malmberg of Messiah vs. Jesse Gunter of Baldwin Wallace
133
Nathaniel Giorgio of U.S. Coast Guard Academy vs. Matthew Grossmann of Wilkes
Evan Obert of Luther vs. Chad Bartschenfeld of Augsburg
141
Kaleb Loht of Messiah vs. Cary Palmer of Hunter
Drew Van Anrooy of Luther vs. Nick Steger of Loras
149
Dan Mirman of John Carroll vs. Kenneth Martin of Wartburg
Derek Arnold of Ursinus vs. Vincent Fava of Delaware Valley
157
Nick Carr of Washington And Jefferson College vs. Steven DeWitt of Loras
Reece Lefever of Wabash vs. Jorge Lopez of Williams College
165
Andrew Steiert of Wartburg vs. Tyler Schneider of Wisconsin-La Crosse
Farai Sewera of Coe vs. Sam Guidi of Waynesburg
174
Conner Lefever of Wabash vs. Sebastian Gardner of Concordia-Moorhead
Zach Zotollo of The College Of New Jersey vs. Ryan Harrington of Coe
184
Riley Lefever of Wabash vs. Richard Dowdley of Heidelberg
Devin Peterson of Wartburg vs. Richard Carlson of Wisconsin-La Crosse
197
Eric Twohey of Wisconsin-La Crosse vs. Joe Giaramita of SUNY-Cortland
Shane Siefert of Wisconsin-Whitewater vs. Donnie Horner of Coe
285
Terrance Jean-Jacques of Rhode Island College vs. Benjamin Nagle of Wartburg
Donny Longendyke of Augsburg vs.James Bethel of Oneonta State
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