Angie Leno, staff writer

The Battle of the Burgs is a wrestling duel between the Augsburg Auggies and their rival, the Wartburg Knights, that dates back to 1991. The winner of the dual gets to take home the Swens/Milboy belt, the dual’s traveling trophy named after legendary coaches Jeff Swenson (Augsburg ‘81-’84 ‘86-’07)  and Jim Miller (Wartburg ‘91-‘13). The rivalry is arguably the biggest out of all division three athletics because of how stellar both teams are each year. 

Of the 42 total matchups, the Auggies have won 17. The last time a team national champion was crowned that wasn’t Ausgburg or Wartburg was in the 1994 season when Ithaca won while Wartburg was the runner-up. Recently, Wartburg was on a seven-dual win streak in the Battle of the Burgs including in 2019 and 2023, the years when Augsburg was crowned national champion. This year didn’t quite seem to be different. Wartburg extended their winning streak from six to seven on Jan. 6 when they bested the Auggies 21-19 at the NWCA Division Three National Dual-Meet Tournament. However, the Auggies took the loss as fuel and were ready to roll on Jan. 26.

The stage was set for a showdown between the top two teams in the nation in Si Melby Hall. Extra seating was needed for the event due to one of the largest crowds that the gym had even seen. As the wrestlers were facing off and having their names announced, it seemed as though every single one was ranked top ten in the nation individually. The dual started off with three Wartburg wins in a row. A major decision over Austin Laudenbach, a tech fall over Chance Suddeth and a decision over Sam Stuhl put the Knights up 12-0. The sea of Wartburg fans that made the drive from Waverly made it feel as though it was a neutral site matchup instead of at home. The Augsburg crowd was hushed but the Auggies remained calm under pressure. 

The Auggies won the next three bouts and took the lead 13-12 behind a major decision from Charlie Stuhl, a decision from Blake Jagodzinske and a pin from Cooper Willis. The momentum didn’t last long as the next match got Wartburg back on top 16-13 behind a major decision over Seth Goetzinger. Augsburg was able to answer in the next match as Bentley Schwanebeck-Ostermann, the number one ranked wrestler at the 184 lb weight class, won by major decision to put the Auggies back up 17-16. The score was at a place to where the winner of the dual would likely be decided by the final match. Wartburg turned the tide for the fourth time of the night with a decision win over Parker Venz. 

Just like that it all came down to heavyweight Tyler Kim. Kim, the three-time NCAA All-American, was no stranger to stiff competition and he knew all he needed to do was win by decision. The match was the lowest scoring match of the dual but everyone was on their feet yelling and screaming. The match score was 1-1 after regulation and remained 1-1 after an electric yet scoreless overtime. Kim made the score 2-1 after getting an escape in the first tie breaker period. At this point, the noise in the gym was deafening and Augsburg was in a position to end Wartburg’s win streak and gain a huge boost in momentum going into the rest of the season. Wartburg’s wrestler chose to begin the second tie breaker period in the neutral position to attempt to get a takedown over Kim. However, knowing all he had to do was play defense, Kim put on a defensive clinic and shrugged off takedown attempt after takedown attempt to win the duel for Augsburg.

You can catch the winning Auggies at their next meet on Feb. 17 at Concordia College-Moorhead.