2015 West Regional Preview
Regional Preview Schedule
Monday 10:00am – West
Tuesday 8:00am – East
Tuesday 12:00pm – Northeast
Wednesday 10:00am – Central
Wednesday – NWCA Rankings scheduled to be released
Thursday 10:00am – Midwest
Friday 10:00am – Mideast
2015 West Regional
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Augsburg College – Minneapolis, Minnesota – Event Website
February 18th d3wrestle.com Rankings
Teams
Augsburg, Concordia-Moorhead, Concordia Wisconsin, Lakeland, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Pacific, St. John’s, St. Olaf, Eau Claire, Oshkosh, Platteville
Top Ten Ranked Individuals – 2014 All-Americans in bold
125 – #1 Fuenffinger (Augsburg)
133 – #6 Ambrocio (Concordia Wisconsin)
141 – #6 Bergeron (Concordia-Moorhead), #8 Henle (St. John’s)
149 – none
157 – none
165 – #4 Krogstad (Concordia-Moorhead)
174 – #8 Gardner (Concordia-Moorhead)
184 – none
197 – #6 Michaelis (St. John’s)
285 – #2 Longendyke (Augsburg)
Top 30 Teams (d3wrestle.com list)
#8 Augsburg
#9 Concordia-Moorhead
It should be a two team race in the smallest region with Augsburg and Concordia-Moorhead again vying for the top spot. Those teams were comfortably ahead of the field last season, and this year should be more of the same. The West was the lowest performing region at the 2014 NCAA Championships, and 2015 looks to be more of the same, barring some unexpected performances. Augsburg may have just two wrestlers in the latest top ten, but they have three others sitting just below that list, and it would not shock to see those wrestlers on the podium, especially since two of them (Keeter and Hechsel) have been All-Americans in the past. The top two teams should each send a sizable contingent to Hershey, giving them a lot of chances to put wrestlers on the podium.
Mike Fuenffinger has been the wire to wire #1 ranked wrestler at 125 following his outstanding championship performance a year ago. This year, he is undefeated against Division III competition with only a single 3-1 loss against the #6 ranked DII wrestler. He will be seeking a third All-American award and a second championship. Augsburg is also strong at the other end of the lineup with transfer Donny Longendyke. The 285 lb. Nebraska transfer joined the official roster for the second semester and has not yet lost in an Augsburg singlet. His results so far suggest he will enter the NCAA Championships as one of the favorites. Outside of Fuenffinger, there are just two other 2014 All-Americans in the field. Sean Ambrocio placed at 125 last year before making the move to 133 this season, while Jacoby Bergeron made a similar move from 133 to 141.
141 is the only weight with more than one top ten ranked wrestler, as #8 Henle joins #6 Bergeron. In addition, 2013 All-American Nathaniel Behnke of Eau Claire will be looking for another All-American award after missing out last year. 133 is also a good weight with Contenders Bartschenfeld (Augsburg) and Foltz (Concordia-Moorhead) knocking on the door of the rankings. 149 goes the other way, as only one wrestler appears anywhere in the d3wrestle.com Rankings. Regardless of overall performance, the West has a good chance to match last year’s two NCAA Champions with Augsburg’s lineup bookends.