Wrestlers take second at NCAA Tournament
BY JOE RYDEL, STAFF WRITER
The Augsburg College wrestling team continued its tradition of excellence this season, placing second in the country behind long-time rival Wartburg. The Auggies were able to qualify eight wrestlers in the National Tournament, with five of them bringing home All-American Honors at the end of the tournament. Those five wrestlers included Victor Gliva, Owen Webster, Lucas Jeske, David Flynn and Donny Longendyke.
Freshman wrestler Victor Gliva finished in eighth place at 125 pounds. Gliva won his opening round match with a convincing pin at the 4:48 mark of the bout. Following an 8 -3 loss to a familiar Wartburg foe, Gliva battled through the wrestle back round to claim All-American Honors with a 13-5 major decision victory over Chris Doyle of Baldwin- Wallace.
David Flynn, a midseason transfer from North Dakota State University, earned his first All-American Honors as an Auggie by placing third at 141 pounds. Flynn opened the tournament with a tightly contested 4-2 victory, followed by a dominating pin in second round action. After suffering a loss to Dustin Weinman of University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse, Flynn was able to win the remainder of his matches in the tournament to end the season on a high note.
Freshman Lucas Jeske also came away with a third-place finish at 165 pounds. Jeske pulled off an opening round upset of eighth-seeded Andrew Steiert of Wartburg but then fell to top seeded Logan Hermsman of University of Wisconsin-Steven’s Point. Much like Flynn, Jeske won the remainder of his matches in the tournament, which was good for his first All-American finish as an Auggie.
Owen Webster closed out a very successful first year in an Auggie singlet, claiming third place at 184 pounds. The top-ranked competitor in his weight class, Webster went into the tournament boasting a 28 match-winning streak. After a tough semifinal loss to fifth-ranked Justin Kreiter of Luther College, Webster worked his way through the wrestle back round to complete his run at the podium in his first year as an Auggie.
Donny Longendyke continued his dominant career for Augsburg, claiming second place in the heavyweight di- vision. After rattling off three wins in a row, Longendyke fell just short of being a National Champion, suffering a 3-2 loss to Zachery Roseberry of Deleware Valley. Longendyke ends his career with 150 wins and was a three-time All- American at Augsburg. Longendyke is the 42nd wrestler in Augsburg history to earn All- American Honors three times and finished his senior season with a dominating 26-4 record.
This article first appeared in the Friday, March 31, 2017, Edition of The Echo.