2013–14 Augsburg Wrestling season

The 2013–14 Augsburg Wrestling season was Augsburg's 32st season at the NCAA Division III level. The team was coached by Mark Matzek. Team captains for the season were Matt Hechsel, Will Keeter, Tommy Teigen, Justin Bowland and Chad Johnson.

Augsburg opened their dual season with a 44–9 win over Waldorf on Nov. 26 and closed the dual season on Feb. 21 with 29–13 win over Wisconsin–Stevens Point to finish with an 8–5 record.

Lineup
The team loses four starters from the previous year while the return of Will Keeter and Tommy Teigen to the lineup gives the Auggies four All-American starters: Keeter, Mike Fuenffinger, Matt Hechsel and returning champion Chad Johnson.

Through the first two duals of the season, the lineup remained largely the same, with Logan Hortop filling for Johnson at heavyweight in the first dual against Waldorf. While facing St. Olaf on Jan. 5, the lineup changed to include some non-starters: Chad Bartschenfeld at 133, Quade Zupko at 149, Austin Boniface at 165, Tyrell Martin at 174 and Avery Sweeney at 184.

On January 11 and 12, Augsburg participated in the National Duals, taking 15 wrestlers: Fuenffinger and James Goman at 125; Anderson and Bartschenfeld at 133; Hamer and Kuehn at 141; Kennedy at 149; Keeter at 157; Bowland and Boniface at 165; Teigen and Martin at 174; Hammerlund at 184; Hechsel at 197; and Johnson at 285. All but Goman wrestled. In the first dual against Elmhurst, the Auggies returned to a more normal lineup, with Matin moving up to 184. In the second dual, Bowland returned to the lineup at 165 while Kuehn wrestled at 141. In the third dual against Concordia Martin and Teigen switch places, while against Whitewater Bartschenfeld (133) and Miles Hammerlund (184) moved into the lineup and Tiegen moved back to 174.

On January 18, Augsburg faced Concordia College in a rematch from the previous weekend, keeping the lineup largely the same, substituting Bartschenfeld for Anderson and Hamer for Kuehn. Then on Jan. 24 against Augsustana (S.D.), Goman got the nod at 125, with Tiegen (174) and Martin (184) and switch places.

Duals
Augsburg started their dual meet season with a home match against Waldorf College (Iowa) on Nov. 26. The Auggies won 44–9 behind pins from Mike Fuenffinger (4:31), Kirk Anderson (1:08), Marcus Hamer (0:41), Will Keeter (1:10) and Tommy Teigen (1:30).

On Dec. 11, Augsburg used pins from Anderson (5:16) and Hamer (4:56) to claim a 34–9 victory over Minnesota State University, Moorhead at home.

On January 11, Augsburg defeated St. Olaf 33–12 behind a pin from Austin Boniface, a technical fall from Matt Hechsel and a major desision by Keeter.

The Auggies participated in the NWCA Division III National Dual-Meet Tournament on January 11 and 12, going 2–2 and placing fourth. Augsburg received the second seed and faced Elmhurst College in the first round defeating the Bluejays 34–8. In the match Fuenffinger (4:33), Anderson (3:58) and Tommy Teigen (2:37) all notched pins. In the quarterfinals, Augsburg used a major decision from Johnson to defeat Coe 16–15. Augsburg dropped both the semifinal and third-pace match, to Concordia-Moorhead (21–15) and Wisconsin-Whitewater (25–9), respectively.

On January 18, Augsburg traveled to Moorhead to face Concordia in a rematch of the previous weekend. The end result was the same as the Cobbers prevailed 26–6. On January 24, the Auggies again fell, this time to Div. II Augustana College (S.D.) by a 26-9 margin.

The Auggies traveled to Waverly, Iowa for the annual Battle of the Burgs on February 6, falling to Wartburg 23–9 to the top-ranked Knights. Decisions by Chad Bartschenfeld (133 lbs.) and Hamer (141 lbs.) gave Augsburg a 6–3 lead early, but Wartburg reeled off 20 straight points before Johnson (285 lbs.) look the final match in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup with Ryan Fank.

Augsburg won their next three duals to close the season 8–5: Wisconsin–La Crosse (16–15), St. John's (28–9), and Wisconsin–Stevens Point (29–13). Five Auggies went 3–0 in this span: Fuenffinger, Keeter, Martin, Hechsel and Johnson.

Tournaments
The Auggies started their tournament season hosting the annual Auggie-Brute Open on Nov. 23. Augsburg claimed 8 champion/co-champions. In the Gold Division, Mike Fuenffinger (125 pounds), Will Keeter (157 pounds), Matt Hechsel (197 pounds) and Chad Johnson (285 pounds) each won their bracket outright. In the Silver Division, James Goman (125 pounds), Marcus Hamer (141 pounds) and Austin Boniface (165 pounds) earned championships. Rounding out the Auggie champions on the day was Drew Randall, who finished on top in the 157 pound Bronze division. In their 133- and 149-pound brackets, Kirk Anderson and Rashad Kennedy both finished second.

On Dec. 7, the Auggies traveled to Moorhead, Minn. for the Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragon Open. Matt Hechsel and Chad Johnson both claimed weight class titles at 197 pounds and heavyweight. Tommy Teigen finished third at 174 pounds, while Will Keeter finished fourth at 157 pounds. Rounding out the Auggies' top four finishers was Justin Bowland at 165 pounds.

On Dec. 12, the Auggie split squads with the varsity traveling to the St. Cloud State Husky Open, both Hechsel and Johnson repeated their weight class titles with Mike Fuenffinger joining them. All but one of the nine wrestlers competing placed in the top six (Marcus Hamer 3rd at 141, Rashad Kennedy 4th at 149, Will Keeter 3rd at 157, Justin Bowland 2nd at 165, Austin Boniface 4th at 165).

On December 29, Fuenffinger, Keeter, Hechsel and Johnson all competed at the Midlands Championships in Evanston, Ill. At the primarily Division I tournament, none of the four placed.

On February 1, Augsburg competed at the St. John's North Country Open. Fuenffinger led the Auggies with a weight-class title at 125 pounds. Rounding out Augsburg's eight place winners were Hamer (3rd at 141), Bowland (3rd at 165), Tyrell Martin (3rd at 174), Hechsel (3rd at 197); Keeter (4th at 149); James Goman (5th at 125), and Chad Bartschenfeld (5th at 133).

On February 8, the Auggies competed at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Open, claiming 4 champions: Fuenffinger (125), Bartschenfeld (133), Teigen (184) and Johnson (285). Bowland (165) placed second; Keeter (149) placed third; Hamer (141) and Hechsel (197) placed fourth; Blake Miller (141) placed sixth; Martin (174) and Miles Hammerlund finished first in their consolation brackets (seventh overall). Though no team scores were kept, the top finishers at each weight totaled 135.5 points in front of the 116 points scored by a several Div. I Wisconsin-Madison wrestlers.

Regional
Augsburg hosted the 2014 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships West Region tournament on March 1. The Auggies claimed 4 champions and qualified 8 to nationals. Mike Fuenffinger finished first at 125 pounds, Chad Bartschenfeld finished first at 133 pounds, Marcus Hamer finished third at 141 pounds, Will Keeter finished second at 149 pounds, Rashad Kennedy finished fifth at 157 pounds, Justin Bowland finished first a 165 pounds, Tyrell Martin finished sixth at 174 pounds, Tommy Teigen finished second at 184 pounds, Matt Hechsel finished third at 197 pounds, and Chad Johnson rounded out the Auggie finishers with a first place finish at 285 pounds. Kennedy and Martin did not qualify for nationals.

Nationals
Augsburg competed at the the NCAA Division III Wrestling National Championships on March 14 and 15 at U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Mike Fuenffinger and Chad Johnson claimed All American honors with a a first-place finish at 125 pounds and a third-place finish at 285 pounds, respectively.

Team
The Auggies began the season as the No. 2 ranked team in all three major polls: NCAA, NWCA and d3wrestle.com.

White Team
Augsburg's White Team, or junior varsity, opened their dual season on November 26, claiming 36–14 win over Ridgewater Community and Technical College.