National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

February 24, 1997

Division III

Augsburg, Wartburg poised for another showdown in team competition

Event: 1997 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships.

Overview: The two 'Burgs -- Augsburg and defending champion Wartburg -- stand atop the rankings just as they did at the end of last year's championships, except Augsburg currently is ranked No. 1. The Auggies, who recently won the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference dual-meet tournament for the seventh straight time, are led by defending 190-pound champion Dan Lewandowski and Henry Gerten, who is ranked third at 118 pounds. Gerten, who finished fourth in last year's championships, is 36-0 and was most outstanding wrestler at the All-Lutheran Tournament and the St. Cloud State Invitational. Augsburg outscored Wartburg at the recent seven-team All-Lutheran Tournament, 170-1351/2, and also won a dual meet between the rivals, 17-15 ... Wartburg is led by defending 126-pound champion Tom Smith, who is 29-2. Two other Knights hold the top ranking in their weight classes -- two-time all-American Dusty Rhodes (27-5 at 134 pounds) and Mike Alesch (22-6 at 167), a runner-up last year ... Defending 150-pound champion Chris Potter leads the College of New Jersey, which is 14-1 in dual meets. The Lions also have Vinnie Santaniello, who is ranked second nationally at 134 pounds. If the Lions are to contend for their first title since 1987, 126-pound Anton Atterbury, who was a 1995 runner-up, and Dan O'Cone, a runner-up at 158 pounds in each of the last two years, probably will have to overcome nagging injuries. Neither has wrestled in 1997 ... Coach Roger Crebs has successfully blended three seniors with a bunch of youngsters into a 22-0 team at Lycoming, which has never finished better than seventh (1976). "We are looking to be a consistent top-five or top-10 team every year," said Crebs, whose team won the Division III National Duals and has beaten Springfield and John Carroll in duals. "I don't think we're at the level of an Augsburg or Wartburg." ... John Carroll and Wisconsin-La Crosse also are contenders ... One other "Burg," Brockport State's Ron Vosburg, returns this year and has jumped a weight class to 142 pounds after being honored as the outstanding wrestler at last year's championships. Another returning champion is Paul Elsen of Wheaton (Illinois) at 177 pounds.

Field: A total of 200 wrestlers will compete for 10 individual championships. The team champion is determined by adding the team points scored in those matches.

Dates and site: March 7-8 at Ohio Northern.

Information/results: The fax-on-demand telephone number is 770/399-3060 (passcode 1905); request numbers are 1719 for bracket/schedule and 5342 for updated brackets and team scores. A list of individual qualifiers can be obtained after March 3 by dialing request number 5341. Championship results also will be available on the World Wide Web at www.ncaa.org. Results will be published in the March 17 issue of The NCAA News.

Championships note: This is the first time Ohio Northern has hosted the championships.