Alexa Martin, staff writer

During the fall and winter sports seasons this year, many Augsburg sports teams have been performing at the top of their game. As of right now, there are five Auggie teams that are nationally ranked or receiving votes in the national polls. Some are ranked twice in different polls by other organizations. 

At the top of the list is the Auggie mens hockey team, currently ranked No. 4 in the USCHO.com Division III national poll for most of their season. Next, we have the mens wrestling team, which is keeping the legacy of the program intact. They are ranked No. 4 by National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Division III tournament and No. 8 in dual-meet rankings. The womens wrestling team is showing that their new program belongs, placing No. 5 in the latest NWCA tournament rankings of NCAA-affiliated schools and No. 6 in the dual-meet rankings. Lastly, we have the mens basketball team, which is ranked No. 22 in the latest D3hoops.com Division III national poll. While the womens basketball team is not currently ranked in the top 25, they have been receiving many votes in the polls of D3hoops.com Division III national poll. 

Augsburg University Sports Information Director Don Stoner has been immersed in Auggie Athletics for many years, and has insight into what has propelled the teams into the limelight over the years.  “I think there has been a tradition of success with many of our athletic teams, especially in the past decade. I’m in my 25th school year at Augsburg, and I’ve definitely seen the highs and lows of our athletic history during that time, and right now, we are having some of the greatest athletic success that we’ve had in my tenure as sports information director,” Stoner told the Echo. “Everyone, from our administrative leadership to our coaches and support staff and our student-athletes, has lived by a philosophy that hard work in everything you do, from the classroom to the playing field and to your everyday life, will result in long-term, sustained success. We are definitely seeing the results of that hard work in how well our teams are doing right now, and we hope that continues into the future.”

With all of the national attention, the morale among the teams is high, but they’re making sure that their success doesn’t foster complacency. “It’s obviously something you want to enjoy at the moment, but it also means you have to continue to work hard to maintain that success,” said Stoner. “Nothing is taken for granted and nothing is certain, so the hard work and effort need to continue all the way through the regular season and into the playoffs. We’re certainly going to celebrate the success we’ve achieved so far, but we would love to fill our trophy cases with more hardware when the seasons are over.” 

Even though several Auggie teams are in prime position to set themselves up for postseason appearances, their work is far from over. Hopefully, after this season is over we will have even more to celebrate and even a new trophy or two. Keep up the hard work, Auggies, and do us proud!