INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – No. 2 Cael Larson tallied a late takedown in the final seconds of the first-place match to clinch the crown as the Augustana Vikings finished as national runners-up in the team standings at the NCAA DII National Championships.
 
All four competing Vikings took top-five spots on the podium on Saturday evening, pushing AU to 63.0 points to finish behind just Nebraska-Kearney (115.0 points). It is the highest finish for Augustana since the 2009-10 season and is the fourth runner-up finish in program history.
 
Larson won his semifinal match against No. 6 Dean Noble of Western Colorado—taking a hard-fought and gritty 10-7 decision—to book his ticket to the title bout.
 
The final match at 149 pounds was a battle, as both sides remained scoreless through the first period. Despite giving up an escape to start the second period, Larson got one back to tie things up. It was an even battle until the final dwindling seconds of regulation, when a twist put No. 4 Nick James on his back with 10 seconds remaining. The takedown and four-point nearfall put Larson ahead 8-1 to seal the crown and was joined with electric celebration from the Viking crowd.  
 
Larson is the first national champion for Augustana since 2010.
 
No. 3 Jaxson Rohman finished his AU career with a win, defeating No. 8 Trevon Gray of Pitt.-Johnstown in the third place match with a first period pin in 2:20 to cap off a dominant day of pins. He kicked off action in the third consolation round by pinning Colton Drousias of Glenville St in 34 seconds before adding in a fall in 6:36 against No. 4 Anthony Aniciete of Tiffin in the consolation semifinals. Rohman finishes the season with a 23-5 record and ends his career with four national qualifications, three All-American honors and an 80-23 record.
 
At 184 pounds, No. 4 Cade Mueller collected a 5-2 decision over No. 6 Garrett Wells of Central Oklahoma to cap off his career with a fifth-place finish at the national tournament. He fell in the championship semifinals and consolation semifinals to start the day, but made sure to end with a bang. Mueller caps off a 22-7 season and a 101-37 career with his fourth NCAA qualification and first All-America honor.
 
Fourth-seeded Max Ramberg walked away with a fourth-place finish at 197 pounds after falling to the No. 5 seed. He collected two wins on the day and started by knocking off the No. 1 seed Dominic Murphy of St. Cloud State with a 14-8 decision in the third consolation round. That was followed with a 9-0 major decision over No. 7 Nicholas Johnson of Glenville State. Ramberg's dominant season ends with a 34-7 record, his second career All-America recognition and a broken Augustana school record for tech falls in a season.

125 - No. 3 Jaxson Rohman (3rd Place)
Championship First Round - Jaxson Rohman over Bryce Beatty (Millersville) (Fall 1:43)
Championship Quarterfinals - No. 6 Zachary Ourada (Neb.-Kearney) over Jaxson Rohman (Dec. 5-3)
Cons. Round 2 - Jaxson Rohman over Nathan Smith (UIndy) (Dec. 6-3)
Cons. Round 3 - Jaxson Rohman over Colton Drousias (Glenville St.) (Fall 0:34)
Cons. Semifinals - Jaxson Rohman over No. 4 Anthony Aniciete (Tiffin) (Fall 6:36)
3rd Place Match - Jaxson Rohman over No. 8 Trevon Gray (Pitt.-Johnstown) (Fall 2:20)

149 - No. 2 Cael Larson (National Champion)
Championship First Round - Cael Larson over Jake Piccirilli (UNC Pembroke) (Dec. 7-3)
Championship Quarterfinals - Cael Larson over Chad Ozias (Pitt.-Johnstown) (Fall 6:31)
Championship Semifinals - Cael Larson over No. 6 Dean Noble (Western Colorado) (Dec. 10-7)
Championship - No. 4 Nick James (Neb.-Kearney) (Dec. 8-1)

184 - No. 4 Cade Mueller (5th Place)
Championship First Round - Cade Mueller over Noah Gnibus (Pitt.-Johnstown) (Dec. 2-0)
Championship Quarterfinals - Cade Mueller over No. 5 Reece Worachek (Wis.-Parkside) (SV-1 4-1)
Championship Semifinals - No. 1 Ty McGeary (West Liberty) over Cade Mueller (Dec. 1-0)
Cons. Semifinals - Damon Ashworth (Central Missouri) over Cade Mueller (SV-1 6-3)
5th Place Match - Cade Mueller over No. 6 Garrett Wells (Central Oklahoma) (Dec. 5-2)

197 - No. 4 Max Ramberg (4th Place)
Championship First Round - Max Ramberg over Wyatt Miller (Grand Valley State) (Dec. 5-0)
Championship Quarterfinals - No. 5 Jackson Kinsella (Neb.-Kearney) over Max Ramberg (Dec. 7-3)
Cons. Round 2 - Max Ramberg over Wayne McIntyre (Kutztown) (Dec. 10-4)
Cons. Round 3 - Max Ramberg over No. 1 Dominic Murphy (St. Cloud St.) (Dec. 14-8)
Cons. Semifinals - Max Ramberg over No. 7 Nicholas Johnson (Glenville St.) (MD 9-0)
3rd Place Match - No. 5 Jackson Kinsella (Neb.-Kearney) over Max Ramberg (Dec. 7-2)