Mike Fuenffinger

Mike Fuenffinger is a 125 pound Augsburg wrestler and the 2014 National Champion at 125 pounds. A transfer from the U.S. Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan, Fuenffinger joined the team during the spring 2012 semester finishing season at 14–9 and qualified for Nationals though he did not place. In his second season, he finished 29–8 with a Seventh-Place All-American finish. As a junior, Fuenffinger won his first individual title at 125 pounds. His career college record is 43–17 as of the end of the 2012–13 season.

As a wrestler for Hibbing High School in Hibbing, Minn., Fuenffinger won a Minnesota Class AA state championship at 112 pounds in 2010, while finishing third his senior season at 119 pounds. Fuenffinger went 80–6 during his final two seasons while posting a 41–8 record as sophomore and qualifying for the state tournament.

2013-14 season
See: 2013–14 Augsburg Wrestling season

Fuenffinger began the season at the home Auggie-Brute Open on November 23, finishing first in the 125-pound Gold Division, including a 2–1 decision over Dakota Trom (Rochester Community and Technical College) in the final. In his first dual meet match of the season on November 26, Fuenffinger pinned Waldorf's No. 14 (NAIA) Bo Bettinson in 4:41. On Dec. 11, he picked up another win, this time an 8–5 decision over Blake Bosch (Minnesota State Univ., Moorhead).

On Dec. 14, Fuenffinger won the St. Cloud State Open, going 4–0, with the final three victories coming over Division II wrestlers. He opened the tournament with a 9–5 decision over Kevin Bonilla (Missouri Valley College), a 14–0 major decision over Antonio Meikel (Southwest State University), a 9–2 decision over Ronzel Darling (Wisconsin-Parkside) and a 4–2 decision over Joel Salomon (St. Cloud State) in the final.

On Dec. 29, Fuenffinger participated in the 51st Ken Kraft Midlands Championships. In the first round, he pinned Tom Angsten (Triton College, NJCAA) in 1:42. In the second round, Fuenffinger fell to fifth-seeded and seventh-ranked Div. I wrestler Dylan Peters (Northern Iowa) by a 19-3 technical fall in 6:34. He received a bye in the consolation third round and will face the winner of a match between Dominic Olivieri (Illinois) and Billy Watterson (Brown).

Regional
Fuenffinger claimed his first Regional title with a 3–0 run through the 2014 West Regional hosted by Augsburg on April 1, 2014. After a first round bye, he pinned Pacific's Lucas Beltz in 2:43 followed by a pair of major decisions: first 16–3 over Cole Furgeson (UW-Platteville) and then 10–2 over Sean Ambrocio (Concordia (Wis.)).

Nationals
Fuenffinger completed his perfect post-season with a 4–0 finish at the National tournament March 14 and 15. Given the fourth seed, he started the tournament off with a 13-3 major decision over Michael Mui (Merchant Marine). In the next round, Fuenffinger faced fifth-seeded Jesse Gunter of Baldwin-Wallace, who is legally blind meaning both wrestlers had to keep in contact at all times. Fuenffinger prevailed 8–3 to earn his second All American honors. In the semifinals, he faced eighth-seeded Matthew Ellis II (Brockport State), winning by a 10-0 major decision. In the finals, Fuenffinger faced third-seeded Lucas Malmberg of Messiah (Pa.) who he defeated by 12-4 margin behind five takedowns and collected 3:00 of riding times. The match against Malmberg was the only time in the tournament when Fuenffinger gave up non-escape offensive points: a two-point nearfall early in the second period.

University level
Fuenffinger finished third at the 2014 ASICS University Nationals 59 kilogram Greco Roman bracket, finishing 3–1. He begain the day with a bye, followed by a 4:00 fall of Ibrahim Bunduka (Patriot Elite Wrestling Club). In the semifinals, Fuenffinger suffered a 14-6 technical fall defeat to eventual champion Sammy Jones (USOEC). In the wrestlebacks, Fuenffinger defeated both his opponents by technical fall: 10-2 over Jocob Bellis (Harper College) and then 8-0 over Kevon Powell (Bobcat Wrestling Club) to claim third.

Senior level
Fuenffinger competed at the 2014 Senior World Team Trials on June 13, 2014. He went 0-2, losing by 10-1 technical fall to Dmitry Ryabchinskiy (NYAC) and then 8-1 to Sammy Jones (USOTS).