Concordia University of Wisconsin

9th Concordia Wrestling Golf Open Fundraiser 

Date: Saturday, August 23, 2003 
Place: Scenic View Country Club, Slinger, WI 
Tee Times: TBA 
Format: 4-man Best Ball Scramble 
Fee: $75 per person. Includes 18 holes green fees, cart, buffet dinner. 
Returning Champions: Mike Fischer, Freaky Fred, Kevin, Tim Krell. 
# of players: 100+ 

Mark your calendar! More information will be sent out in May. 
Call the Concordia Wrestling Office if questions: 262.243.4486. 

CONCORDIA WRESTLING 2002/2003 SEASON RE-CAP

The Concordia Falcons Wrestling Team turned in a banner year.  This years grapplers set new standards and gave a glimpse of what lies ahead in the coming years.  The team came away with a 8-4-1 dual record, with all its losses coming to teams ranked in the top 30.  These contests proved to be a steppingstone for the team success later in the year.

A tournament review shows the Falcons enjoying both the fun & sun in Florida at the Citrus Invitational & Duals.  At the Invitational the team took 7^th of 20 and saw Kevin Koch (141) reach the finals.  Placing for the Falcons were Sam Rugg (149), Steve Weeden (157) and Ben Schwoerer (184).  As for the Duals, the team turned it up and went 3-1 on the day.  This was a great break from Wisconsin’s cold weather and a great way to spend the New Year.

Next stop was the North Central Invite where again the team placed 7^th of 20.  This time both Kevin Koch and Sam Rugg reached the finals.  Also placing was Nick Bottcher (133).  The Wisconsin Private College Tournament saw Concordia come in a strong 2^nd place of 8 teams.  Winning championships were Kevin Koch, Sam Rugg and Dwayne Brigham (165).  Also reaching the final was Nick Bottcher. Other Falcon placers were Andy Witkowski (174) and Zeke Lewis (197).   Rugg came away from the tournament with the “Outstanding Wrestler” award.

February started off in fine fashion as Concordia stayed close to the leaders all day in placing 4^th of 16 at the Elmhurst Invitational.  Two Falcons made the finals, as both Sam Rugg and Brandon Conley (174) had outstanding days.  The team also had several placers as Andy Witkowski, Steve Weeden,  Ben Schwoerer and Zeke Lewis all were in the top 6.  The Wheaton Invitational, always one of the toughest in the country, proved to be a solid test for the team.  Taking 11^th out of 28, the Falcons had three wrestlers place:  Sam Rugg, Kevin Koch and Ben Schwoerer.

Returning the Lake Michigan Conference title back to Concordia was a priority to the Falcons.  Having won the title 5 of the previous 8 seasons, Concordia did just that winning its 6^th LMC title.  Coach Brett Corner was presented with the LMC “Coach of the Year” award.  Newcomer Kevin Koch earned the “Newcomer of the Year” award.  The Falcons placed 8 wrestlers in the finals with Championships being earned by:  Nick Bottcher, Kevin Koch, Sam Rugg, Steve Weeden and Dwayne Brigham.  Also reaching the finals were Andy Witkowski (184) and Zeke Lewis (275).  Other Falcon placers were Chris Irich (141) and Paul Manning (197). 

With the season winding down the team traveled to Augustana College for the NCAA Great Lakes Regional (GLR).  With the addition of 4 Minnesota schools the GLR now boasts 22 NCAA DIII qualifying spots only behind the Iowa Conference.  The Flacons rose to the top as it placed 4^th out of 16 teams.  Placing 3^rd in the Regional were Kevin Koch and Sam Rugg.  Placing 5^th was Brandon Conley, taking 6^th were Dwayne Brigham and Ben Schwoerer.  Both Rugg and Koch were up for wildcard consideration, with Rugg being voted in as one of the 12 wildcard selections.  This marked the first time in Concordia history a wrestler has advanced to the NCAA DIII National Tournament.  Prior qualifiers and All-Americans had been through the teams past affiliation with the NAIA.   Both Concordia and Augsburg (DIII National Runner-Ups) will be bidding to host next year’s Great Lakes Regional.  News of the 2004 Regional selection should come in late summer. 

At the D III National Tournament Sam Rugg received a 1^st round bye and then faced top seeded and eventual Champion and OW) Rami Ratei from Montclair State.  Rugg had a solid 1^st period trailing 6-3, but then Ratei took over finishing with a 19-3 win.  Next up for Rugg was Great Lakes Regional Champ and #8 seed Ryan Stroud.  Having not faced Stroud in the Regional the match was close to the wire as Stroud pulled off a late takedown and Rugg was unable to escape.  Rugg dropped the match 2-1 to Stroud.

RUGG AN ALL-AMERICAN

The first post-season award to come to Concordia is the news that Sam Rugg has been selected to the NCAA III Scholar All-American Team at 149 lbs.  He is the second CUW wrestler to receive the Award, also won by Jon Egen (165 lbs.) in 2000.  Rugg is a Secondary Education major.

Looking at the record books:

Kevin Koch:  Most wins as a Frosh 32
Sam Rugg:  Most wins in a season 35
Wrestlers with 20+ wins on the year:  Kosh, Rugg, Bottcher, Brigham, Schwoerer, Weeden

All-Time Career Win Leaders
1.  Ben Schwoerer  (’98-‘03)                      87
2.  Chuck Radcliff   (’94-’99)                            77
3.  Sam Rugg   (’01-present)                           66
4.  Andy DeLoney   (’94-’98)                            65
5.  Andy Witkowski   (’00-present)                  57
6.  Jon Egen   (’98-’02)                                     51
7.  Joe Miller   (’95-’99)                                     50

Rugg Qualifies for NCAA III Nationals

Ada, OH - Saturday, March 8

Rugg Voted To NCAA III Scholar All-American Team At the NCAA III National
Championships at Ohio Northern, Sam Rugg was voted to the NCAA III Scholar
All-American Team at 149 lbs. He is the second CUW wrestler to receive the
Award, also won by Jon Egen (165 lbs.) in 2000. Rugg is a Secondary Education
major.

CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY WRESTLING NEWS & NOTES:

Rugg Eliminated Friday Night In Tight

Match at NCAA III National Tournament

Sam Rugg (Soph., Westby, WI) opened the NCAA III National

Championships at Ada, OH with a bye, and then met #1 seed

Rami Ratel of Montclair State (NJ) in the second round at

149 lbs. in Ada, OH.

After trading shots, Ratel scored two takedowns and back points

to take a 6-3 lead at the end of the first period.  Ratel then added

a variety of tilts in the second frame to advance to the quarters with

a 18-3 win, and send Rugg into the consolations.  Ratel would later

win the national title convincingly at 149,  and be voted the outstanding

wrestler of the tournament.

Rugg was then matched against #8 Ryan Stroud of Augsburg, who

won the Great Lakes Regional at 149 two weeks before. 

After a scoreless first period, Stroud won the toss and picked down

to start the second.  Midway through the period, Rugg received a

one-count on a possible tilt, but did ride out Stroud to accumulate

two minutes of riding time going into the third period of the scoreless

match.

Rugg chose down to start the third and escaped with 1:13 remaining

to take a 1-0 lead.  After a series of shots by both wrestlers, Stroud

got in on a single-leg with :30 remaining and a scramble ensued.

Stroud eventually secured the takedown with :20 remaining and

rode out Rugg to eliminate the riding time point and take the 2-1 win.

"We are pleased with the way Sam wrestled in his first national

appearance," commented Head Coach Bret Corner.  "Ratel was the

best wrestler of the tournament, and a possible Olympian.  In the

Stroud match, we needed more leg attacks.  He was able to ride,

and the back points were very close.  This experience will help him

as he is only a sophomore."  Rugg now stands in third place on

Concordia’s career wins list with 66. Graduating senior Ben Schwoerer

leads the win list with 87 followed by Chuck Radcliff (99’) with 77.

CONCORDIA WRESTLING NEWS & NOTES:

February 15, 2003  - Sheboygan, WI

Falcon Wrestlers Win Conference

Five Champs Give CUW The Title

The CUW Wrestlers (8-4-1 overall, 3-0 LMC) won the Lake Michigan Conference title today at Lakeland College with five individual champs.  It is CUW's sixth title in nine years.

Nick Bottcher (133), Kevin Koch (141), Sam Rugg (149), Steve Weeden (157), and Dwayne Brigham (165) all claimed titles with Brandon Conley (174), Andy Witkowski (184), and Zeke Lewis (285) taking second.  Paul Manning (197) and Chris Irish (141) each took third to give the Falcons the

championship running away.

Kevin Koch was voted Rookie-of-the-Year in the Lake Michigan Conference and Coach Corner was voted Coach- of-the-Year. 

Next up, the Falcons travel to the NCAA III Great Lakes  Regional on Saturday, February 22 at Augustana College in Rock Island, IL.  Wrestling starts at 9:00 am.

Lake Michigan Conference Meet
Final Results
CONCORDIA WI 103.5
M.S.O.E. 95.5
Maranatha 66
Lakeland 48
Championship Matches
125 Justin Fortier (Lake) dec. Jon Wrobel (MSOE), 6-5.
133 Nick Bottcher (CUW) dec. Aaron Gudeyon (MSOE), 7-4.
141 Kevin Koch (CUW) pinned Jason Tschida (MBBC), 2:43.
149 Sam Rugg (CUW) pinned Bryant Johnson (MSOE), 5:12.
157 Steve Weeden (CUW) dec. Tim Vallier (Lake), 15-7.
165 Dwayne Brigham (CUW) dec. Andy Opsahl (Lake), 6-5.
174 Shamar Bailey (MBBC) dec. Brandon Conley (CUW), 17-12.
184 Andy Peterson (MBBC) dec. Andy Witkowski (CUW), 10-4.
197 Matt Huset (MSOE) pinned Nathan Klimek (MBBC), 3:14.
285 Matt Schoenherr (MSOE) dec. Zeke Lewis (CUW), 18-1.
Outstanding Wrestler: 197 Matt Huset MSOE
Rookie-of-the-Year: 141 Kevin Koch Concordia
Coach-of-the-Year: Brett Corner Concordia

141: Kevin Koch placed 7th last weekend at the Wheaton Invite for CUW and is currently 26-8. The Falcons will also wrestle Chris Irish (6-10) and Ryan McMillin. Koch defeated Erik Lemler of MSOE in  December (13-5). MBBC's Jason Tschida will be a factor.

149: Sam Rugg was 7th for CUW at Wheaton last week, and is 29-12 on the season. MSOE will send a wave of 149 lbr after Rugg.  Lakeland's Matt Priemesberger will look to place high. 

157: CUW's Steve Weeden is 18-10 and lost a early January match to Lakeland's Tim Vallier. Vallier (19-10) was 2nd at Wheaton and is the favorite in this weight class. MSOE's John Knowles and Joe Fields along  with Maranatha's Eric Stevens will contend.

165: CUW's Dwayne Brigham is 17-13 and has beaten MSOE's Greg Snow twice during the season. Brigham won the Private College Tournament at Lawrence in January. Lakeland's Andy Opsahl (7-5) will also contend for the title.

174: Brandon Conley was 5th at Wheaton for CUW. Maranatha's  Shamar Bailey was 7th but beat Conley in finals of Elmhurst Invite on Feb. 1. These two are headed for a re-match showdown.  Lakeland's Patrick Redmond has looked strong in recent weeks. CUW's Andy Witkowski will be a factor along with teammate Dan Unger.

184: CUW's Ben Schwoerer was 8th at Wheaton last weekend but  dropped a earlier match to Maranatha's Andy Peterson. Both are expected to meet in the finals.

197: MSOE's Matt Huset has defeated CUW's Paul Manning twice during the year and CUW's Zeke Lewis has placed in the last two tournaments. Lewis defeated Maranatha's Nathan Klimek, 10-3, at the Elmhurst Invite on Feb. 1. Huset placed at Wheaton Invite.

285: MSOE's Matt Schoenherr placed at the Wheaton Invite and is a returning NCAA III Qualifier. Lakeland's Matt Benson & Juderson DeSille, Maranatha's Mike Clark, and CUW's Eric Martin will look to place high.

In their last matches of the night, Koch defeated Minnesota-Morris' Todd Sanchez by a 11-3 major, Rugg won a 12-9 decision over Missouri Valley's Shane Cristelli, and Schwoerer rode out Lindenwood's James Bunch to get the riding time point and the 5-4 victory.

Current Team Standings after Day 1: Lindenwood 88.5, William Penn 71.5, Indianapolis 63, UW-LaCrosse 62.5, Embry-Riddle (AZ) 58, Missouri Valley 50, Manchester (IN) 49, Ohio Northern 38, Chicago 34, Concordia (WI) 33, UW-Parkside 29.5, Wheaton 27, Lawrence 26.5, Augustana (IL) 26, Heidelberg (OH) 25, Wabash 22.5, MSOE 21, Millikin 20, UW-Whitewater 17.5, Case Western (OH) 17, Lakeland 16, North Central 16, Minnesota-Morris 13, Maranatha Baptist 9, Central (IA) 7, Rose-Hulman 5.5, Illinois College .5, MacMurray 0.

The Falcons (8-4 overall, 3-0 LMC) next travel to Lakeland for the Lake Michigan Conference Meet on Saturday, February 15. Wrestling begins at 10:00 am.

CUW January Wrestler-of-the-Month

Sam Rugg (Sophomore, Westby, Wisconsin)
*Won Private College Tournament with technical fall in finals (at 149 lbs.) and was voted Outstanding Wrestler
*2nd at the 20-team North Central Invite on Jan. 17-18
*8-1 during January and leads the team with a 23-8 record
*Physical Education Major
*CUW Wrestling Academic Honor Roll last semester
*January 2003: joined the CUW Wrestling Career 50-win club
*Currently 4th place all-time with 54 wins.

Past recipients:
December: Kevin Koch, 141 lbs. (Fr., Edgar, WI)
November: Nick Bottcher, 133 lbs. (So., West Salem, WI)

Current Concordia Stat Leaders:

Wins/Record:
Sam Rugg 23-8
Kevin Koch 22-7
Nick Bottcher 17-9
Steve Weeden 16-8
Paul Manning 14-8
Dwayne Brigham 13-9

Takedowns:
Sam Rugg 49
Steve Weeden 46
Kevin Koch 40
Nick Bottcher 35

Pins
Paul Manning 10
Nick Bottcher 6

CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY WRESTLING UPDATE

Rugg, Koch 2nd at North Central Invite; Bottcher 4th (01/17-18)
Falcon Wrestlers Take 7th in 20-team Tournament

Sam Rugg (So., Westby, WI) and Kevin Koch (Fr., Edgar, WI) each finished
second at the 39th Annual North Central Invite last weekend in Naperville, IL. 
Nick Bottcher (So., West Salem, WI) placed 4th at 133 lbs.

Rugg (149) pinned Manchester's Dan Irwin to open the tournament, then majored
Elmhurst's #2 seed Matt Kuschert (14-4) to advance to the semi-finals. Rugg
then handed UW-Whitewater's Ross Babcock a 10-5 decision to go on to his first
finals match of the season. Returning NCAA national qualifier and #1 seed Sean

Collins then defeated Rugg in the final,12-1. Rugg is now 17-9 on the year.

Koch (141) won a close 4-3 decision over Olivet (MI) College's Dave Bishop
in the first round, then defeated Lawrence's Brett Suhavda,9-1, to advance to the
semis.
Koch rode out Chicago's Dale Burke in the third period to win, 2-1, to go
on to his second straight tournament final. UW-Whitewater's Nick Karls went on to
defeat Koch 14-4, but Koch extended his team leading record to 20-7 while taking
2nd at 141 lbs.

Bottcher opened with a quarter-final loss to Chicago's Sam Kunkel, 10-7,
but came on strong in the consolations. The sophomore 133 lber. pinned Wabash
(Ind.) College's Reece Collins, then handled UW-Whitewater's Michael
Elsbury, 8-1. After receiving a medical forfeit from Millikin's Rob Root,
Bottcher advanced to the third place match, but dropped a 14-2 decision to Kane
Thompson of Coe College to take 4th place. He is now 14-8 on the season.

North Central Invite Team Standings:
1. Coe College 132.5 
2. Univ. of Chicago 115 
3. Manchester (Ind.) 106 
4. Lawrence 88 
5. UW-Whitewater 85.5 
6. Millikin Univ. (Ill.) 80.5 
7. Concordia (WI) 71.5 
8. Wilmington (OH) 66.5 
9. Wabash College (Ind.) 65.5 
10. Olivet College (MI) 59.5 
11. North Central 58.5
12. Wheaton 56.5
13. MSOE 34
14. Elmhurst College 31.5
15. Maranatha Baptist 27
16. Rose-Hulman (Ind.) 12.5
17. North Central (B) 6
18. Knox College (IL) 4
19. Illinois College 3.5
20. Wilbur Wright College 2.5

Outstanding Wrestler: Sean Collins Wheaton College -149 lbs

125 Nick Kahegias (Chicago) dec Brian Taylor (No Central) 9-3
133 Nick Morphew (Lawrence) dec Nathan Hills (Manchester) 10-8
141 Nick Karls (UW-White) dec Kevin Koch (Concordia) 14-4
149 Sean Collins (Wheaton) dec Sam Rugg (Concordia) 12-1
157 Nate Lukanich (Chicago) dec Adam Miller (Wabash) 9-4
165 Jerad Ridley (Manchester) dec Jason Krueger (UW-White) 5-1
174 Gary Franck (Coe) dec Chris Healy (Wabash) 9-8
184 David Hirt (Wheaton) dec Joe Krugler (Millikin) 4-3
197 Matt Huset (MSOE) dec Sean Barnes (Chicago)4-0
285 Jamie Salazar (Manchester) dec Nate Carden (Millikin) 9-3

The Concordia University grapplers fell to 3-3-1 on the season after the UW-LaCrosse 
Duals last Saturday in LaCrosse. 

CUW tied NCAA III #27 ranked UW-Eau Claire 21-21, dropped a tight dual 
to #29 UW-Oshkosh 24-19, and lost duals to #5 UW-LaCrosse 34-10 and 
#19 UW-Platteville 31-13. Kevin Koch (Fr., Edgar, WI) led the team by going 
3-1 at 141 lbs. Ben Schwoerer (Sr., New Holstein, WI) was 2-1 at 184 lbs. and 
leads the team with a 10-3 record. 

The Falcons next travel to Ft. Lauderdale, FL for the Florida Citrus Invitational 
December 29-30. This is a 20-team NCAA III tournament. 

Upon returning from Florida, the grapplers host a double dual on Friday, January 10 
against North Central (Ill.) and Lakeland College. Wrestling begins at 6:00pm. 

Concordia's wrestling squad is 2-0 in duals after easily defeating Wabash 34- 9 on Friday night, avenging a 2001 defeat.

CUW 34, Wabash College 9

125 Phu Hong (Wabash) dec. Luke Waning (CUW), 14-9.
133 Nick Bottcher (CUW) dec. Reece Collins (Wabash) 8-5.
141 Chris Irish (CUW) received Forfeit.
149 Sam Rugg (CUW) dec. Drew McCoy (Wabash) 9-4.
157 Steve Weeden (CUW) dec. Adam Miller (Wabash) 3-2.
165 Brandon Conley (CUW) dec. Mark Dietzen (Wabash) 11-2.
174 Chris Healy (Wabash) pinned Andy Witkowski (CUW) in 6:19.
184 Ben Schwoerer (CUW) dec. Kevin Meger (Wabash) 11-8.
197 Paul Manning (CUW) pinned Logan Kuhne (Wabash) in 1:14.
285 Bryan Otto (CUW) received Forfeit.

11-23-2002

Concordia Wrestling Open; November 23, 2002
Listing of Placewinners    Full Brackets Both in "pdf" format
Listing of Placewinners Word Format

Concordia Falcons Pound Maranatha In Opener 11/19/02

133 lb. Nick Bottcher (Soph., West Salem) got CUW rolling with a pin over Maranatha's Jason Tshida in 1:39 as the Falcon wrestlers (1-0 overall, 1-0 LMC) cruised to a 39-12 win.  Steve Weeden (Fr., Richland Center) at 157 lbs. and Paul Manning (Fr., Westby) at 197 lbs. scored first period pins to help pace CUW in their first match of the season.

                               Concordia 39, Maranatha Baptist 12

125  Mark Brady (MBBC) pinned Luke Waning (CUW), :32. 
133  Nick Bottcher (CUW) pinned Jason Tschida (MBBC), 1:39. 
141  Chris Irish (CUW) won by forfeit. 
149  Sam Rugg (CUW) won by forfeit. 
157  Steve Weeden (CUW) pinned Eric Stevens (MBBC), :48. 
165  Brandon Conley (CUW) dec. David Donnelly (MBBC), 2-0. 
174  Shamar Bailey (MBBC) pinned Andy Witkowski (CUW), 5:51. 
184  Ben Schwoerer (CUW) dec. Andy Peterson (MBBC), 3-2. 
197  Paul Manning (CUW) pinned Jon Sorensen (MBBC), :56. 
285  Bryan Otto (CUW) dec. Mike Clark (MBBC), 9-5.

Exhibition:
157  Andy Lingle (MBBC) dec. Wil Schwager, 13-5.
165  Dwayne Brigham (CUW) dec. Luke Kinney (MBBC), 9-8. 
184  Dan Unger (CUW) pinned Tony Shaver (MBBC), 3:10. 
125  Mark Brady (MBBC) pinned Bryan Collins (CUW), 2:35. 
133  Jason Tschida (MBBC) pinned Noah Moos (CUW), 1:30. 
141  Chris Irish (CUW) dec. Brian Hibbs (MBBC), 17-1.

10th Annual Concordia Wrestling Open on Sat., Nov. 23

       The first round of the 20-team Open will begin at 9:30am.  Semi-Finals are slated for 1:30pm with 1st, 3rd, & 5th place matches to begin at approx. 5:30pm. The Open has grown into one of the top early season collegiate tournaments in the upper midwest.

                               Concordia Parent's & Alumni Weekend - Nov. 22-23

Concordia Wrestling Parent's & Alumni Weekend schedule is as follows: 
Nov. 22    7:00pm   CUW vs. Wabash College (Ind.) Dual 
9:00pm   Coaches, Parents, Alumni Social 
Nov. 23    9:30am   10th Concordia Wrestling Open 
For more information, contact the wrestling office at:  262-243-4486.

Concordia Wrestling
Concordia University of Wisconsin

2002-2003 Incoming Wisconsin HS Recruits 

Brian Collins (Wisconsin Dells) 125 
Kevin Koch (Edgar) 141 
Luke Waning (Ozaukee) 125 
Noah Moos (Blair-Tayler) 133 
Tim Haffner (Richland Center) 174 
Brandon Conley (Westby) 165 
Paul Manning (Westby) 197/285 
Steve Weeden (Richland Center) 157 

Wisconsin Wrestlers on Concordia Roster

Nick Bottcher 
Dwayne Brigham 
Jerad Brockel 
Brian Collins 
Brandon Conley 
Tim Haffner 
Josh Howard 
Kevin Koch 
Paul Manning 
Noah Moos 
Clayton Neske 
Sam Rugg 
Travis Schuett 
Wil Schwager