COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – No. 21 Saint John's wrestling dropped four matches each by three points or less in a 28-9 loss to No. 7 Augsburg on Sunday, Feb. 16, in Collegeville.
Mike Fuenffinger, ranked fourth nationally, gave the Auggies (7-5 dual record) a 6-0 lead with a pin of sophomore John Wells (Janesville, Wis./Milton) in 5:24 at 125 pounds. The match was Wells' first since Jan. 11.
Chad Bartschenfeld scored a takedown with 27 seconds left to hand senior Alex Peck (Edina, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) a 6-4 loss at 133 pounds.
Sophomore Ben Henle (Spicer, Minn./New London-Spicer) put SJU (9-11 dual record) on the scoreboard with an 11-4 win, one point from a major decision, to improve to 17-8 at 141 pounds.
Junior Joe Hessing (Loretto, Minn./Delano) led by as much as 6-2 but Augsburg's Will Keeter recorded a takedown with 45 seconds left to cut it to 7-6 and send the match into overtime with the additional point for riding time. Keeter won the match 9-7 with a takedown 20 seconds into the one-minute, sudden-death overtime.
Senior Ryan Arne (Orono, Minn.), ranked 10th nationally, built an 8-2 lead and held on for an 11-7 win, thanks to a late takedown in his favor, at 157 pounds. His opponent, Rashad Kennedy, bit Arne's forearm after the match and was disqualified, which gave SJU three additional team points (serving as a forfeit) and cut its deficit to 12-9. Arne now touts a team-leading 18-5 record on the season.
The bizarre action failed to spark the Johnnies, however, as Augsburg won the final five matches.
The Auggies' Justin Bowland won the battle of high-school teammates with a 6-1 decision over senior Brandon Seppelt (Foley, Minn.) and freshman Teddy Erickson (Annandale, Minn.) fought back from an 8-4 deficit, only to lose by a 10-8 score at 174 pounds.
Tommy Teigen tallied a 13-2 major decision over sophomore Josh Willaert (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson) at 184 pounds and Matt Hechsel, ranked fifth nationally, edged junior Ryan Michaelis (Monticello, Minn.) 3-0 at 197.
Two-time defending national champion, and top-ranked heavyweight, Chad Johnson ended the dual with a 7-1 win over senior John Scepaniak (Avon, Minn./Holdingford).
The Johnnies ramp it up in two weeks at the NCAA West Regional on Saturday, March 1. The meet is scheduled for 9 a.m. at Augsburg's Si Melby Hall. The top three at each weight class qualify for the 2014 NCAA Division III Championships, which are scheduled for March 14-15 at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
No. 7 Augsburg (AUG) 28, No. 21 Saint John's (SJU) 9
125: Mike Fuenffinger (No. 4, AUG) pinned John Wells, 5:24 [0-6]
133: Chad Bartschenfeld (AUG) dec. Alex Peck, 6-4 [0-9]
141: Ben Henle (SJU) dec. Cameron Henning, 11-4 [3-9]
149: Will Keeter (AUG) dec. Joe Hessing, 9-7 (OT) [3-12]
157: Ryan Arne (No. 10, SJU) dec. Rashad Kennedy, 11-7 [9-12]*
165: Justin Bowland (AUG) dec. Brandon Seppelt, 6-1 [9-15]
174: Tyrell Martin (AUG) dec. Teddy Erickson, 10-8 [9-18]
184: Tommy Teigen (AUG) major dec. Josh Willaert, 13-2 [9-22]
197: Matt Hechsel (No. 5, AUG) dec. Ryan Michaelis, 3-0 [9-25]
285: Chad Johnson (No. 1, AUG) dec. John Scepaniak, 7-1 [9-28]
*Kennedy was disqualified for biting Arne at the end of the match
Junior Varsity
125: James Goman (AUG) pinned Alex Rod, 4:49
133: Roarke Langer (AUG) Andy Poster, 8-4
141: Evan Guffey (SJU) major dec. Sidney Rodriguez, 15-2
149: Quade Zupko (AUG) dec. Branden Schorr, 6-0
157: Drew Randall (AUG) major dec. Brian McCann, 9-1
165: Grant Parker (AUG) dec. Ochirbat Bayanjargal, 6-4
174: Kurt Knutsen (AUG) won by forfeit
184: Robert Tait (SJU) dec. Avery Sweeney, 4-2
197: Justin Flores (AUG) pinned Simon Liedtke, 0:42
285: Matt Kadrlik (SJU) dec. Logan Hortop, 6-4
