Jesse Armbruster

Jesse Armbruster
Augsburg College
Class of 1996

A three-time All-American, Jesse Armbruster (Augsburg ’96) won the NCAA Division III national championship for Augsburg College at 126 pounds in 1995, while placing second in at 134 pounds in 1996 and third at 126 pounds in 1994.

Armbruster was a part of Auggie squads that won the NCAA Division III national title in both 1993 and 1995, while placing second in 1996 and fourth in 1994. Auggie teams had a 51-8 dual-meet record during Armbruster’s tenure, including a perfect 16-0 season in 1994-95, while winning the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship each of his four years.

Armbruster claimed MIAC individual titles in 1994 (126 pounds), 1995 (126 pounds) and 1996 (134 pounds). He finished his Auggie career with a 134-35 record – 20-11 in 1992-93, 38-13 in 1993-94, 40-5 in 1994-95 and 36-6 in 1995-96. He served as a team co-captain in both 1994-95 and 1995-96.

In 1995, Armbruster was one of the keys to Augsburg’s rally to win the national championship, its third in a five-year span. Entering the final round, Augsburg trailed Trenton State (N.J.) by a 76.5-to-75.5 margin, but Armbruster claimed a 16-6 win over Tom Smith of Wartburg (Iowa) to give the Auggies an 80.0-to-76.5 advantage – a lead the Auggies did not relinquish. Augsburg later clinched the national title when Tom Layte won the title at 150 pounds.

Following his collegiate career, Armbruster served as a student assistant coach on Augsburg’s 1997 national championship team, then returned to his hometown of Faribault, Minn., to serve his high school’s wrestling program. He has spent the last 19 seasons on the Faribault High School wrestling staff, including the last 10 seasons as head coach.

Armbruster earned his bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Augsburg, and earned his master’s degree in education leadership from Southwest Minnesota State. He works as a teacher in the Faribault School District.

Additional information on Armbruster is available on the Faribault Wrestling program’s coaches’ page: http://faribaultwrestling.com/coaches/

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