2009 NCAA Division III Wrestling National Championships



The 2009 NCAA Division III Wrestling National Championships were held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on March 6 and 7, 2009.

As a team, Augsburg finished second, behind Wartburg. At the tournament, Jared Massey placed first at 197 pounds. Jason Adams finished third at 157 pounds, Seth Flodeen fourth at 125 pounds, Willy Holst at 149 pounds, Travis Lang at 133 pounds and Andy Witzel at HWT all finished fifth, and Zach Moliter sixth.

Match summaries
Augsburg qualified 9 wrestlers for Nationals, every weight but 184 pounds.

125
Defending national champion and fourth-ranked Seth Flodeen represented Augsburg at 125 pounds and earned the fourth seed. Flodeen began the tournament with a 20-5 record. In the first round, all wrestlers at 125 pounds were given byes. In the second round, Flodeen faced Lloyd McKinney (UW LaCrosse), whom he had beaten once earlier in the season. Flodeen earned his first pin of the tournament at the 1:37 mark of the second period. In the quarter-finals, Flodden fell to fifth-seeded Seth Ecker (Ithaca), by a 7-3 decision. In the third round of the wrestlebacks, Flodeen faced Jerrad Hoxie (Heidelberg), whom he pinned at 4:27. In the quarter-finals of the wrestle-backs, Flodeen pinned eighth-seeded Tyler Erdman (Elizabethtown). In the wrestleback semi-finals, Flodeen faced Coe's second-seeded Clayton Rush, whom he had pinned in the 2008 national title match. Flodeen pinned Rush at 1:41, 27 seconds quicker than he had done the previous year. In the third-place match, Flodeen faced Wartburg's Mark Kist. Despite two previous wins over Kist that season, Flodeen lost by a 5-3 decision.

The fourth-place finish was the third All-American honors in Flodeen's career. Flodeen received the most falls in the least time award with four falls in 16 minutes.

133
Top-ranked Travis Lang competed for Augsburg at 133 pounds and earned the top seed. Lang began with the tournament with a 31-1 record. In the first round all 133-pound wrestlers received byes. In the second round, Lang faced unseeded Tony Lawler (Heidelberg), whom he beat by a 17-5 major decision. In the quarter-finals, Lang faced eighth-seeded Nichalos Northern (Cornell). In 2008, Northern defeated Lang in the quarter-finals, before Lang pinned Northern in the fifth-place match. In 2009, Northern defeated Lang via a 7-5 decision. In the third round of the wrestlebacks, Lang pinned Phillip Greene (Merch Mar) at 1:19. In the wrestleback quarter-final, Lange pinned Chad Winowich (Ithaca) at 2:29. In the semi-final, Lang fell to Brandon Ball (Coe) 7-5 in sudden victory. In the fifth-place match Lang pinned Corey Brown (Thiel) at 1:04 to repeat his fifth-place finish from 2008.

Lang's three falls came in a time of 4:52.

141
Fourth-ranked Tony Valek competed for Augsburg at 141 pounds and earned the seventh seed. Valek began the tournament with a 31-11 record and a first round bye given to all 141-pound wrestlers. In the second round, Valek defeated Kevin Donahue (Cornell) by a 17-2 technical fall (with near fall points awarded) at 7:00. In the quarter-finals, Valek fell to Wartburg's second-seeded Zach McKray by a 7-5 decision. In the second round of the wrestlebacks Valek fell by a 10-1 major decision to John Paxos (Ithaca), ending his tournament.

149
Top-ranked Willy Holst competed for Augsburg at 149 and earned the top seed. Holst began the tournament with a 25-0 record against Division III opponents, with his sole loss coming to Division II opponent Esai Dominguez by a 4-2 decision. Holst also began the tournament with a 6-0 record against Nationals qualifiers.

In the first round, Holst received a bye. In the second round, Holst faced Frank Cammisa (Bridgewater St), whom he defeated by a 15-3 major decision. In the quarter-finals, Holst defeated Kevin Sutherland (Rhode Is) 8-2. In the semi-finals, Holst faced fourth-seeded Matt Mauseth (UW LaCrosse). During the match, Holst and Mauseth bumped heads, opening a gash above Mauseth's left eye. Both Holst and Hauseth were wrapped with bandages and the match ended in a 3-1 decision to Mauseth, who eventually became the national champion.

In the semi-finals of the wrestlebacks Holst fell to Blaine Woszczak (Ithaca) 7-5. Holst had defeated Woszczak earlier in the season. In the fifth-place match, Holst scored an 8-0 major decision over Andrew Gardella (Case West Res).

157
Fourth-ranked Jason Adams competed for Augsburg at 157 pounds and earned the third seed. All 157 pound wrestlers recieved a bye in the first round. In the second round, Adams came from being down 6-2 to earn a 7-6 decision over Zach Mizer (Heidelberg). In the quarter-finals, Adams defeated Mike Martini (Rhode Is), 4-3. In the semi-finals, Adams faced second-seeded Jason Brew of Olivet. In the wrestleback semi-finals, Adams earned an 8-0 major decision over Dan Dicolo (TCNJ). In the third-place match, Adams defeated Luke Miller (Ohio Northern), 5-1.

165
Orlando Ponce competed for Augsburg at 165 pounds. He was not seeded. Ponce recieved a first-round bye and opened the tournament with a second-round loss to sixth seeded Michael Morin (S Maine), 8-5. In the second round of the wrestlebacks, Ponce defeated Vincent Renaut (Merch Mar), 7-6, but could not over come fifth-seeded and eventual third-place winner Tyler Burkle (Coe), 5-3. With the loss to Burkle, Ponce did not earn All-American honors.

174
Seventh-ranked Zach Moliter competed for Augsburg at 174 pounds and earned the sixth seed. Moliter recieved a first round bye and faced Sam Engelland (UW Oshkosh) in the second round, whom he defeated 2-1. In the quarter-finals, Moliter defeated third-seeded Kyle Vanderhyde (Olivet), 8-3. Moliter lost to second-seeded Rocky Mantella (Delaware Valley), 6-4. In the wrestleback semi-finals, Moliter was pinned by Bryon Grothus (Coe) at 1:35. In the fifth-place match Moliter fell to Kyle Kehrli (Cornell) by a 4-1 finish, earning his first All-American honors.

197
Second-ranked Jared Massey competed for Augsburg at 197 pounds and earned the second seed. Massey recieved a first round bye and faced Joseph Silverman (MIT) in the second round, whom he defeated by fall at 3:52. In the quarter-finals, Massey earned a 12-1 major decision victory over seventh-seeded Rob Kramer (Coe). In the semi-finals, Massey defeated Karl Voeck (UW Whitewater) by a 4-1 decision. Massey earned his first individual national title when he defeated Ryan Malo (Williams) by a 12-1 major decision.

HWT
Seventh-ranked Andy 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.