Andy Witzel

Andy Witzel is a 285-pound (heavyweight) wrestler for Augsburg College. He earned his first All-American honors with a fifth-place finish at the 2009 National Championships.

Regionals
Witzel represented Augsburg at heavyweight and earned the top seed and Augsburg third first-round bye. In the second round, Witzel earned a 2-0 decision over eight-seeded Ryan Hatten (U of Chic). In the semi-finals, Witzel claimed a 6:54 pin over Billy Malone (North Central). Witzel fell in the final, 3-2 against second-seeded Mark Corsello (Elmhurst). Witzel advanced to Nationals with a true-second match 2-1 decision over third-seeded Adam Sutter (Lakeland).

Nationals
Seventh-ranked Witzel competed for Augsburg at heavyweight and earned the eighth seed. Witzel was one of only four wrestlers to earn a second round bye, after all heavyweight wrestlers recieved a first-round bye.

In the quarter-finals, Witzel faced top-seeded Kyle Bilquist (Delaware Valley), whom he had beaten at the National Duals, but fell to Bilquist 2-0. In the third round of the wrestlebacks, Witzel defeated Luther's Allyn Plattner, 4-3 the first tie breaker. In the wrestleback quarter-finals, Witzel earned a 3-1 decision over Brock Glotfelty (McDaniel). In the wrestleback semi-finals, Witzel fell to third-seeded John Helgerson (Wartburg), 7-1. In the fifth-place match, Witzel faced Adam Sutter (Lakeland), whom he had beaten in the regional and prevailed again, this time by a 3-2 margin. It was Witzel's first All-American honors.

2009–10 season
Witzel starts the season ranked fourth at 285 pounds in the NCWA preseason poll. Witzel will be serving as a captain for the 2009–10 season. At the Auggie-Brute-Adidas Open on November 21, Witzel went 2-1 and shared the third place spot in the 285-pound gold division with teammate Nick Creamier. In the first round, he pinned Morningside's Alex Will in 39 seconds before winning a 6-1 decision over unattached wrerstler Alex Schmidt. He then defaulted the semifinal match with Upper Iowas Arron Cramer and shared the third place time with Creamier. On November 25, Witzel earned a 5-3 victory over Lance Peters of Augustana (S.D.).