Kevin Sethre, staff writer

The Augsburg womens wrestling team finished third at the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships (NCWWC) Northwest regional meet at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point on February 20. It was a very successful day for the Auggies, who won two individual titles and had twelve wrestlers qualify for the national meet.

Emily Shilson, who won NCWWC national titles in the 109-pound weight class in 2020 and 2021, is currently the top-ranked wrestler in the country in her weight class and qualified for the national meet with a pin and two 10-0 technical falls. She is currently 21-0 this season and 43-0 during her career at Augsburg.

Nina Makem, who is currently the fifth-ranked 136-pounder in the nation, won the regional title and qualified for the national meet with two victories to bring her record up to 26-5 on the season.

Marlynne Deede, who is ranked third in the nation at 155 pounds, qualified by finishing second in the region, Kya Rybachek finished third at 143 pounds to qualify, and Faith Tuttle sealed qualification with a third-place finish in the 191-pound weight class. Charlotte Kouyoumtjian qualified with a third-place finish at 123 pounds, Kahlea Jolly qualified with a fourth-place finish at 155 pounds, Gabby Skidmore qualified with a fifth-place finish 123-pounds, and Autumn Flanigan qualified with a fifth-place finish in the 130-pound weight class.

The Auggie women who qualified will participate in the NCWWC National Championships on March 4 and 5 in Adrian, Michigan.

The mens wrestling team was ranked fourth in the latest NWCA national rankings after they finished their regular season with a 29-12 win in a dual meet at Concordia College-Moorhead on Feb. 12. After splitting the first six bouts, the Auggies defeated the Cobbers in each of the final four to win the meet by 17 points.

Augsburg’s only pin of the day came from Parker Venz, who pinned his opponent in the 197-pound weight class in only 37 seconds to finish the regular season with an 18-11 record.  Tyler Shilson, the second-ranked 157-pounder in the nation, won by technical fall to improve to 25-2 on the season. Sam Stuhl, who is ranked third nationally in the 141-pound weight class, claimed a 12-3 major decision, so he finishes the regular season with a 16-2 record at Augsburg after transferring from North Dakota State midway through the season. 174-pounder Solomon Nielsen and 184-pounder Nick Rogge scored back-to-back major decisions to break the tie after the first six bouts had been split between the two sides. Seventh-ranked 285-pounder Tyler Kim won 7-3 and 125-pounder Wyatt Kaczrowski won 11-5.

The Auggies will be looking to qualify for the NCAA Division III National Championships on March 11 and 12.