Augsburg's LeVesseur Wins Schalles Award
What makes three-time Division III national champion Marcus LeVesseur of Augsburg College one of the more dominant, dangerous and dazzling wrestlers in NCAA history?
Is it his athleticism? His technique? His intelligence? His work ethic? His passion? His self-less, team-first approach?
The answer to those questions is an easy one for Augsburg coach Jeff Swenson. All of the above.
Just consider the mind-boggling resume the Minneapolis native already has compiled in his remarkable career:
• He is on course to join former Iowa State wrestler Cael Sanderson as the only wrestler to complete a four-year career unbeaten.
• His 124 straight wins are second in NCAA history to Sanderson’s 159 from 1998-2002.
• He is on course to become the first four-time national champion in NCAA Division III history.
• In LeVesseur’s dominating junior season last winter at 157 pounds, he went 40-0 and recorded 24 pins; identical totals and .600 pinning percentage to what Sanderson tallied in his final season at Iowa State in 2002.
LeVesseur also scored one technical fall and seven major decisions to earn him Wrestling International Newsmagazine’s Schalles Award as collegiate wrestling’s top pinner for the 2004-05 season. It is named after Wade Schalles, who recorded 106 pins in his career at Clarion (1970-74).
Other finalists for this award were Oklahoma State’s unbeaten heavyweight Steve Mocco who pinned 17 of 37 victims (.456 pinning percentage) and Division II’s Mike Engelman who tallied 23 pins (.575) in a 31-9 season for Minnesota State-Mankato.
“Marcus is always looking for the fall; his goal is to pin every opponent,” Swenson said. “It doesn’t matter if it is the national finals or any other match. He is working to turn his opponent and end the match. He takes a lot of pride in wrestling in the top position. Marcus uses a number of pinning combinations and is very good with arm bars.”
LeVesseur not only has recorded 61 career pins and a majority of those opponents have not even made it out of the first period. His average pin time is 2 minutes,
13 seconds. He owns a pair of 17-second pins and has notched 11 pins under a minute.“I try to wrestle a physical, aggressive style where I try to wear guys down,” LeVesseur said. “I am always looking to give myself an opportunity to pin my opponent. That’s what it is all about, working for the fall.”
Add in the state-record 141 straight matches he won to end his prep career as a four-time Minnesota state champion and LeVesseur has won an unthinkable 265 consecutive bouts in high school and college.
LeVesseur realizes the streak may take on a life of its own during his senior season with all the pressure and hoopla associated with trying to make history. He recalls Sanderson’s approach when he completed his unbeaten run three years ago.
“Cael is the man,” LeVesseur said. “He has great character and loves the sport. He stayed real level-headed where he didn’t get too high or too low. He always treated every opponent with respect. That is the same approach I have tried to take. I have watched film of Cael and learned a lot from him. I have great respect for him.”
LeVesseur started his collegiate career at the University of Minnesota after being rated the nation’s second-best overall recruit coming out of Bloomington Kennedy High School. But he said a combination of factors led him to transfer to Augsburg, a Division III powerhouse in wrestling.
“I had some personal problems when I was at Minnesota and some problems in the classroom,” he said. “I just wasn’t happy. And I didn’t feel I was being given an equal opportunity in wrestling.”
LeVesseur couldn’t be happier now. He is on course to graduate from Augsburg next year with a degree in health and physical education. He wants to teach and coach.
“I love it at Augsburg,” he said. “I have no regrets, none at all, about coming here. It’s a great school with great people.”
Being on his first championship team this year as the Auggies won the Div. III title was a memorable moment for LeVesseur. All 10 Augsburg wrestlers earned All-American honors. The Auggies had four undefeated national champs. Also winning titles for Augsburg were Matt Shankey (125), Mark Matzek (133) and Joe Moon (174).
“It was the greatest feeling in the world to win that team title,” he said. “All the hard work and dedication paid off for us. It was a pretty special year. We have a real close team and we were all real focused. It was a total team effort.”
Swenson admires LeVesseur’s approach.
“Marcus is real humble,” Swenson said. “He always puts the team first.”
Wartburg coach Jim Miller, whose team finished second to Augsburg after winning the team title in 2003 and 2004, is impressed with LeVesseur.
“We have the utmost respect for Marcus,” Miller said. “He competes like a champion on the mat and he is very professional the way he conducts himself off the mat. He is a very personable young man and a super kid. He could wrestle with anybody at any level. There is no doubt he would do very well at the Division I level.”
LeVesseur continues to excel on the mat even though he is playing two sports now. He joined the Augsburg football team last fall, the first time he had stepped on the field in four years, and earned the starting quarterback job. He broke the school record by rushing for 1,024 yards.
“I went to some of the games in the past and watched the guys on the field and just thought that I could do what they were doing,” LeVesseur said. “I came out for the team last season and just had the time of my life. It was a blast.”
He plans to play football again next season and likely will switch to wide receiver with a new coach taking over the program.
LeVesseur pinned two of four opponents at the national meet, but did survive one scare in the quarterfinal round in the closest match of his career. He led 3-0 after one period against No. 8 Ross Needham of Wisconsin-La Crosse. But LeVesseur surrendered the first takedown ever scored against him in college early in the third period that tied the match 3-3. He then earned a reversal with 1:15 left en route to a 5-4 win.
LeVesseur plans to compete internationally after college.
“I definitely think Marcus can excel at that level,” Swenson said. “There will be a learning curve, but I think he can make the transition.”
“My goal is to wrestle in the Olympics,” LeVesseur said. “Winning an Olympic gold medal is still my dream.”