DUBUQUE, Iowa -- Defending champion Wartburg picked up bonus points at six weights, including the final three, to build a 2 ½-point lead over Iowa Conference rival Luther on Friday in the first session of the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships at the Five Flags Center.

Wartburg recorded one pin, two technical falls and three major decisions as seven of its 10 wrestlers advanced to Friday night's quarterfinal round. The Knights totaled 19 points.

Luther was second with 16.5, while Augsburg (14.5), Wisconsin-La Crosse (12) and The College of New Jersey (11) rounded out the top five in the team standings in front of a relatively quiet crowd that likely was reduced because of a snowstorm that went through Iowa on Thursday, with remnants remaining Friday morning.

Three-time national runner-up Blake Gillis (heavyweight) and returning All-American Tyler Miller (197 pounds) had the technical falls for the Knights, while Iowa State transfer Jason Knipp (167) had the pin and Robert Struthers (125), Aaron Wernimont (157) and Romeo Djoumessi (184) had the majors for Wartburg.

Augsburg and La Crosse joined Wartburg in advancing seven wrestlers to the quarterfinals. The Auggies, the No. 1-ranked team in the division most of the year, had two other close calls. Seth Flodeen won in overtime at 125 and 2006 national runner-up Jafari Vanier won 3-1 on a last-second takedown.

Tyler Branham of The College of New Jersey pulled off the first upset of the tournament, beating Andrew Lacroix of Roger Williams 3-0 in a pigtail match at 141 pounds. Lacroix placed third last year at 141.

"I wrestled him earlier this year and beat him, so I tried to wrestle the same way," Branham said. "Sometimes that helps, and sometimes that hurts, but both of us were kind of used to each other."

Branham followed up with a pin in the first round to move into the quarterfinals at 141.
"Usually I would say I didn't like (having to wrestle twice in the first session), but I wrestled well and felt good."

There were the usual fair share of upsets in the first session. The highest seed to fall was No. 3 Paul LeBlanc, a returning All-American for SUNY-Cortland at 149. He lost 10-9 to Myanganbayar Batsukh of St. John's.

John Carroll's Ryan Summers made a successful return to the national tournament after missing most of last season because of torn anterior and medial collateral ligaments in his knee. Unseeded, he beat Augsburg's George Lynaugh, the No. 7 seed at 184 pounds, 3-2 in the first round.

"I kind of like being more of a underdog," Summers said. "I had an off-year, and that's probably why I was not seeded. You've got to wrestle tough guys anyways at nationals.

"I knew conditioning would be important because the Augsburg guy was going to be a well-tuned athlete. I tried to stay in good position and keep pushing him. I felt good on my feet. It was probably one of my better matches moving, which is hard with the (knee) brace."

Augsburg's Marcus LeVesseur, who has returned to the mats after a year away and is trying to become the first four-time national champion in Division III, made a successful start. He pinned Loras' Dave Early in 1 minute, 21 seconds in the opening round.

Weight-by-weight capsules
125 pounds
Top seed - Nate Hansen (Luther)
Returning All-Americans - Hansen 4th-125; Felipe Queiroz (Wilkes) 6th-125; Chris Heilman (Cornell) 7th-125.

What happened: All but one seeded wrestler made it through the opening round. The exception was No. 7 seed Jake Oster of Elmhurst, who was pinned in 1 minute, 31 seconds by Brian Clement of Coe. Third seed Seth Flodeen of Augsburg survived a scare, beating Felipe Queiroz of Wilkes 4-2 on a takedown in sudden victory. It was the only win of the round that wasn't a major decision, not including the pin by Clement. The other winners were Nate Hansen of Luther, Eracieo Vallejo of Manchester, Mike McInally of Rochester Institute of Technology, Chris Heilman of Cornell, Robert Struthers of Wartburg and Brandon McDonough of Johnson and Wales. There is a key matchup in the quarterfinals when Flodeen and Struthers meet. They split against each other in the regular season.

133 pounds
Top seed - David Morgan (Kings)
Returning All-Americans - Jafari Vanier (Augsburg) 2nd-133; Jestin Hulegaard (Buena Vista) 3rd-133, 5th-133 in 2005; Morgan 6th-133; Adam Johnson (North Central) 7th-133; Sean Cullen (Lycoming) 6th-133 in 2005; Jordan Kolinski (Wisconsin-La Crosse) 7th-125 in 2005.

What happened: Justin Seifried, a freshman from Ithaca who was a New York state runner-up last year, pulled off the only first-round upset. He pinned fifth seed Adam Johnson of North Central in 2:21. Augsburg survived another close call here in the first round, as 2006 national runner-up Jafari Vanier recorded a takedown with a second left to beat Nick Nothern, a freshman from Cornell, 3-1. Top seed David Morgan of Kings and No. 6 seed Raymond Sarinelli of the College of New Jersey had first-round byes. Also winning were Jordan Kolinski of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Jacob Helvey of Wartburg, Jestin Hulegaard of Buena Vista and Sean Cullen of Lycoming.

141 pounds
Top seed - Quincy Osborn (Augsburg)
Returning All-Americans - Andrew Lacroix (Roger Williams) 3rd-141; Paul LeBlanc (SUNY-Cortland) 4th-141; Mike Gaeta (Springfield) 5th-141, 7th-141 in 2005, 4th-141 in 2004; Zach McKray (Wartburg) 8th-133.

What happened: The first upset of the tournament came in the pigtails at this weight, and one more seed lost in the first round. Tyler Branham of The College of New Jersey beat returning All-American Andrew Lacroix, the eighth seed from Roger Williams, 3-0 in the preliminary round. Branham also won his first-round match. Myanganbayar Batsukh of St. John's beat third-seeded Paul LeBlanc of SUNY-Cortland, who took fourth last year, 10-9. Other first-round winners were Quincy Osborn of Augsburg, Jared Creason of Coe, Mike Gaeta of Springfield, Michael Bonora of Rhode Island College, David Manoogian of Case Western and Ricky LaForge of Delaware Valley. Osborn recorded a technical fall and LaForge had a pin.

149 pounds
Top seed - Jared Evans (Augsburg)
Returning All-Americans - Jacob Larsen (Wisconsin-La Crosse) 1st-149, 4th-149 in 2005; Joe Pflug (Heidelberg) 1st-157; Jason Roush (Mount St. Joseph) 3rd-149, 3rd-149 in 2005, Evans 4th-149; Matt Pyle (Luther) 5th-149, 1st-149 in 2005; Timothy Bohlman (York) 6th-141; Don Ooten (SUNY-Brockport) 8th-149.

What happened: The weight that includes three national champions had no upsets, as the top eight seeds all moved on to the quarterfinals. Fourth seed Jason Roush and 2005 national champion Matt Pyle of Luther recorded pins, while Joe Pflug of Heidelberg, last year's national champion at 157, recorded a major decision. Defending champion Jacob Larsen of Wisconsin-La Crosse, the fifth seed, won 3-1. Other winners were Jared Evans of Augsburg, Ryan Higgins of Wisconsin-Platteville and Don Ooton of SUNY-Brockport. No. 7 seed Timothy Bohlman of York received a bye. Higgins was cradled by Wartburg's Adam Weber for three near-fall points that tied the match at 9-9 but battled back to win.

157 pounds
Top seed - Jeremy Anderson (Augsburg)
Returning All-Americans - Anderson 2nd-157; Ross Needham (Wisconsin-La Crosse) 3rd-157; Jacob Malone (St. John's) 4th-157; Bobby Gingerich (North Central) 5th-157; Elliot Spence (Mount St. Joseph) 8th-157; Joseph Galante (College of New Jersey) 4th-157 in 2005.

What happened: One seed fell in the first round. Jesse Milks, a freshman for Wisconsin-Platteville who won the Illinois Class A state title at 140 pounds a year ago for Dakota High School, pinned fifth-seeded Elliot Spence of Mount St. Joseph. Buena Vista's Kyle Forness, who knocked off fourth-seeded Jared Evans of Augsburg 4-3 in the first round last year at 149, almost repeated the feat in the first round this year. Only a takedown with 3 seconds left allowed fourth seed Bobby Gingerich of North Central to beat Forness 5-4. Cornell's Pat McAuley, the eighth seed, avoided a first-round upset when he beat Ryan Herwig of Delaware Valley 10-8 on a takedown 14 seconds into sudden victory. McAuley trailed 8-7 in the final seconds but tied the match on a penalty point for stalling with 1 second left in regulation. Also winning first-round matches were Aaron Wernimont of Wartburg, Joseph Galante of The College of New Jersey, Daniel deLalla of Wesleyan and Ross Needham of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Wernimont and Galante recorded major decisions.

165 pounds
Top seed - Marcus LeVesseur (Augsburg)
Returning All-Americans - Steve Martell 4th-165; Gerald Bowne (York) 5th-165; Shaheim Bradshaw (SUNY-Brockport) 6th-157, 5th-157 in 2005; LeVesseur 1st-157 in 2005, 1st-157 in 2004, 1st-157 in 2003.

What happened: There was an early upset here, when Zach Bogardus of SUNY-Cortland defeated eighth seed Corey Murphy of Thiel 4-3 in the preliminary round. Augsburg's Marcus LeVesseur started his quest to become the first four-time champion in Division III by pinning Loras' Dave Early in the first round. Other first-round winners were Bogardus, Jason Knipp of Wartburg, Gerald Bowne of York, Steve Martell of Johnson and Wales, Michael Guenther of The College of New Jersey, Shaheim Bradshaw of SUNY-Brockport and Tim Palmer of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Knipp and Guenther recorded first-period pins. Bowne had the longest match of the session, beating Joseph Hoover of Manchester in a 2-2 on a riding-time point in the final overtime tiebreaker. Hoover appeared to get an advantage with a reversal to start the first tiebreaker of the second sudden death, but Bowne also got a reversal in the final 30-second tiebreaker and had the riding-time advantage.

174 pounds
Top seed - Josh Chelf (Wisconsin-La Crosse)
Returning All-Americans - Chelf 3rd-174, 6th-174 in 2005; Robert Gotreau (Augsburg) 4th-174; Jon Dolan (Williams) 6th-174, 7th-165 in 2005.

What happened: Top seed Josh Chelf of Wisconsin-La Crosse picked up a major decision, and Williams' Jon Dolan, the No. 4 seed, and McDaniel's Andrew Winfield, the No. 7 seed, received byes. Two seeds fell. Luther's Paul Meirick, the Iowa Conference champion, defeated No. 8 Gregory Osgoodby of The College of New Jersey 16-5, and Adam Dorner of Wisconsin-Oshkosh beat fifth-seeded Jason Zastrow of Wartburg, who took third in the Iowa Conference, 8-2. Other first-round winners were Kyle Vanderhyde of Olivet, Treavor LeBlanc of SUNY-Cortland and Robert Gotreau of Augsburg.

184 pounds
Top seed - Jason Lulloff (Wisconsin-La Crosse) 
Returning All-Americans - Lulloff 3rd-184, 4th-184 in 2004, 3rd-184 in 2003; Stephon Sair (SUNY-Cortland) 1st-174, 4th-174 in 2005; Terrance Madden (Hunter) 6th-184; Ryan Summers (John Carroll) 2nd-184 in 2005.

What happened: The fifth, sixth and seventh seeds all lost first-round matches. Gabe Youel of North Central defeated No. 5 Elliot Smith of Springfield 6-5, Nichalos Calandrino of Ithaca pinned No. 6 Jay Figgins of Loras in 2:14 and 2005 runner-up Ryan Summers of John Carroll defeated No. 7 George Lynaugh of Augsburg 3-2. Top seed Jason Lulloff of Wisconsin-La Crosse and No. 3 Romeo Djoumessi of Wartburg picked up major decisions, while No. 2 Stephon Sair of SUNY-Cortland, last year's champion at 174, Brett Giehl of SUNY-Brockport and Terrance Madden of Hunter also won.

197 pounds
Top seed - Tyler Miller (Wartburg)
Returning All-Americans - James Swanson (Wisconsin-La Crosse) 2nd-197, 5th-197 in 2005; Miller 4th-197; Matthew Loesch (Muhlenberg) 6th-197; 4th-197 in 2005.

What happened: The sixth and seventh seeds also lost first-round matches here. Buena Vista's Ben Strandberg, who transferred from Nebraska-Omaha last year, beat No. 6 Tyler Wozniak of Wisconsin-Stevens Point 7-3, and Diego Crespo of Johnson and Wales beat No. 7 Philip Archer of SUNY-Cortland 3-2. Top seed Tyler Miller of Wartburg got a technical fall, No. 4 Alec Bonander of Luther recorded a pin and No. 3 James Swanson of Wisconsin-La Crosse edged Paul Burger of Baldwin-Wallace 5-4. Mike Schmidt of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Keith Garrard of Wabash and Matthew Loesch, of Muhlenberg, the No. 2 seed, all had first-round byes.

Heavyweight
Top seed - Blake Gillis (Wartburg) 
Returning All-Americans - Gillis 2nd-Hwt, 2nd-Hwt in 2005, 2nd-Hwt in 2004; John Miller (Luther) 8th-Hwt.

What happened: Dan Laurent of Wisconsin-La Crosse was the only seed to fall in the first round. Laurent, seeded eighth, lost 3-2 to Ryan Bowers of Heidelberg. Top seed Blake Gillis of Wartburg, who has lost in the finals the past three years to Ryan Allen, opened with a technical fall in the first round. Other winners were Trevor Hiffa of Oneonta State, John Miller of Luther, Bryan Kmetz of Baldwin-Wallace, Jacob Taylor of Oswego State and Kyle Brown of Thiel, while second seed Arkadiy Levitin of Hunter got a bye. Kmetz recorded a 42-second fall, and Miller and Taylor also picked up pins.