By Jim Nelson, W.I.N.’s Div. III Editor

The outcome wasn’t much different than any of the previous seven Cliff Keen/NWCA National Dual Div. III tourneys.

            Top-ranked Wartburg College won its fourth National Duals title, with an impressive run which saw the Knights lose but three matches in four duals.

            Wartburg winning was not much of a surprise. Who the Knights beat in the championship match, however, definitely was a little different.

            Since the National Duals went to a divisional format in 2002, Wartburg and Augsburg had met in every Division III final.

            The Knights and the Auggies had split the first six championships and it was expected the two would settle the score in the Division III final, again.

            But third-ranked Wisconsin-La Crosse upset second-ranked Augsburg, 26-12, in the semifinals to set up an interesting final.

            La Crosse coach Dave Malecek, in his second season with the Eagles, was facing his former mentor and boss, Jim Miller, in the finals.

            Miller didn’t give his former disciple any breaks as the Knights rolled in the finals, 25-8.

            “Dave is a good friend and I’m really proud of him,” said Miller. “He has done a good job over there and this is a respectful rivalry. I have a lot of respect for him and his program.”

            Wartburg won the first five matches to take a commanding 15-0 lead and survived major decisions by La Crosse’s top-two guns, Tim Palmer and Josh Chelf, at 165 and 174, before closing with victories from Romeo Djoumessi, T.J. Miller and Brian Borchers.

            “We got outfought in a couple of matches which is the most frustrating thing as a coach, but Wartburg is pretty good,” said Malecek. “We’ve done a good job and guys are believing what we are doing. We just made some mistakes against a very good team today.”

            Miller liked his team’s performance in the finals after what he considered a lackluster showing in the Knights’ 35-3 semifinal win over Delaware Valley.

            “The semifinal round, I thought we wrestled flat,” said Miller. “We didn’t have intensity and I wasn’t too happy about that. But we came back in the finals and wrestled really hard, and hey, if you wrestle hard, good things tend to happen.

            “I just thought we got a little complacent in the semifinals. It is great to win this thing, but it is not the end all of end alls. But as far as midseason, this is where we were hoping to be.

            “But everyone of our kids has to understand each of them has something to work on, get better at.”

            Eight Knights were perfect on the weekend: Jacob Helvey and Matt Kelly (2-0) at 133, Zach McKray at 141, Jacob Naig at 149, Aaron Wernimont at 157, Djoumessi (2-0) at 184; Miller (3-0) at 197 and Brian Borchers at heavyweight.

            Wartburg, which has won 22 straight duals, has a pair of rivalry duals on the horizon after the National Duals win, Luther on Jan. 19, and Augsburg on Feb. 2, in Waverly.

            That dual is actually part of a twinbill, with two of the top prep programs in the nation, Apple Valley (Minnesota) squaring off against Waverly-Shell Rock, prior to the Auggie-Knight showdown.

            La Crosse’s victory over Augsburg was keyed by a fall from Barndon Music over top-ranked Seth Flooden with two seconds left in the first period.

            Entering the match, Malecek said he felt good about his team’s chances if the Eagles could keep the match close through the first five matches.

            The Auggies won the next four matches after Music’s fall, but none of them were bonus-point wins.

            That left the gate open starting at 165, where La Crosse got a major decision from top-ranked Palmer over Brand Klukow, 12-4.

            Next up was the defending national champion Chelf who scored a pin against George Lynaugh making it 16-12 Eagles, and the nation’s third-ranked team never looked back winning the last three matches.

            “We expected to win that dual,” said Malecek. “We didn’t match up with them the best, but I thought our guys fought well and we won some close matches.

            “It was a big win because everybody has that mindset it should be Augsburg and Wartburg, but, you know, we think differently up in La Crosse.

            “We’ve just kept on banging on the door and kept on climbing up the ladder. I know Augsburg will regroup for nationals and so will we. We’re going to have to get better, too.”

            Saying he expected something like the semifinal loss to happen, would be incorrect, but Auggie head coach Sam Barber was completely surprised.

            “We’re little bit younger than what people think we are,” said Barber. “We have six new starters in the lineup this year and it is going to take us until March to be where we want to be.

            “The effort was great. The attitude was great. We’re just going to take it and use it and get better. We’ve got some work to do, but I feel we’re moving in the right direction.”

            Augsburg bounced back in the third-place match with a 20-16 victory over Delaware Valley.

            Fourth-ranked Delaware Valley had a strong tournament run, showing they will be a force in March behind such guys like Dan Hall, Jesse Harrington, Ryan Herwig, Joe West and Kyle Bilquist.

            Earning fifth place was Heidelberg College as it defeated Luther, 25-14. Coe College was a 21-12 victor over Johnson & Wales in the seventh-place match.The Kohawks were led by freshman Clayton Rush, who was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Division III wrestler.

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