Mauseth and Laurent Win National Titles; UW-L Finishes Third

For Immediate Release: Saturday, March 7, 2009

Cedar Rapids, Iowa – UW-La Crosse sophomore Matt Mauseth (149-pounds) and junior Dan Laurent (285) captured national titles Saturday night at the 2009 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Wrestling Championships at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids. Mauseth took the 149-pound championship with a win by decision (6-3) over third-seed Paul LeBlanc of Cortland State (N.Y.). He becomes the second wrestler in school history to take the 149-pound division joining Jake Larsen in 2006.

Laurent won the 285-pound division with a win by decision (6-3) over Mark Corsello of Elmhurst College (Ill.). It is Laurent's second consecutive national crown. He was also a national qualifer in 2007. Laurent is the third wrestler in school history to win back-to-back championships joining Josh Chelf (174-pound titles in 2007, 2008) and Ryan Allen (285-pound titles in 2004, 2005, 2006). Chelf, Allen and Laurent are the only wrestlers in UW-L history to win multiple national championships.

UW-L finished third as a team with 87.0 points. Wartburg College (Iowa) captured its seventh national title with 117.5 points with Augsburg College (Minn.) second with 105.0. Coe College (Iowa) finished fourth (78.5) while Delaware Valley College (Pa.) placed fifth (65.5). The Eagles have now had 15 top-10 finishes at the national champinships since joining the NCAA III in 1992, including a school-best second-place showing in 2001, 2006 and 2008. UW-L has nine top-four finishes at the national meet.

"I'm so proud of this team and the coaching staff with all of the adversity we have had to deal with this season," said UW-L head coach Dave Malecek. "We were picked to finish third in the conference and the team has done everything we've asked them to do. It feels great to finish third nationally and I'm really excited about how they wrestled this season."

Mauseth earned his second career All-America honor after placing sixth in 2008. "After I got the first takedown in the title match, it really hit me I could win a national title," said Mauseth. "I just wanted to keep my intensity up." The fourth-seeded Mauseth advanced to the final Saturday night after a 3-1 win over top-seeded Willy Holst of Augsburg College (Minn.) in the semifinals. Holst placed third at last year's championships. "He (Holst) had defeated me three times in my career, but each match was getting closer and closer," said Mauseth. "I knew it was going to be a big challenge, but my coaches really had me prepared. Winning that match was a real turning point for me mentally."

Mauseth received nine stitches after the semifinal win over Holst. "I've never experienced anything like that before, but I had enough adrenaline with the crowd being noisy for the title match," said Mauseth. "The doctor said it would take a year for the scar to heal, but it's worth it." He earned a win by decision (11-6) over fifth-seed Dan Mizener of John Carroll University (Ohio) in the quarterfinals Friday and won his opening match over Luther College's (Iowa) Jason Pyle (13-6).

Mauseth went 4-0 to capture this year's title and finishes the season at 28-5 overall. "The title match was a hard-fought one," said Malecek. "Matt really wrestled a great tournament."

Laurent, the second seed at this year's championships, advanced to the title match after a 6-3 victory over third-seed John Helgerson of Wartburg College (Iowa) in the semifinals. He earned a win by decision (6-1) over Coe College's (Iowa) seventh-seeded Mitch Sander in the quarterfinals. Laurent opened the tournament with a win by fall (1:26) over Luther College's (Iowa) Allyn Plattner Friday afternoon.

"I lost a couple of matches early in the season and some people may have doubted me," said Laurent. "I just decided to take it one match at a time and live in the moment." He went 4-0 at the national meet and finished the year at 39-5 overall. Laurent and Corsello had met earlier in the season with Laurent winning a close match. "I figured if I got an early lead, it would force him to take some shots and that strategy worked," said Laurent. He says being a multiple national champion means a lot to him. "I'm in some really great company (Chelf and Allen)."

"Dan is the hardest training heavyweight and is very coachable," said Malecek. "He had a hard fight in the title match, but didn't hesitate at all."

Senior Josh Zabel (184-pounds) earned his second career All-America honor with a third-place finish Saturday afternoon with a win by decision (4-0) over Gabe Youel of North Central College (Ill.). Zabel, who placed fifth a year ago, went 4-1 in this year's championships and finishes the season with a record of 43-6. He ranks fourth in career wins at UW-L with a record of 136-42.

Freshman Mike Schmitz (174) and junior Andy Moore (197) both placed fourth Saturday for the Eagles to earn All-America awards. Schmitz lost by fall (4:08) to Bryon Grothus of Coe College (Iowa) in his third-place match while Moore lost by decision (7-6) to UW-Eau Claire's Josh Holforty. Schmitz went 4-2 in the two-day championships and ends the year at 17-8. Moore, seeded eighth and making his first career appearance at the national championships, also finished 3-2 at this year's meet and wraps up the season with a record of 28-11.

For more information on the NCAA III Championships, click here.