DUBUQUE - Jim Miller has got vertical.

The question that remained was whether his son, T.J., was going to catch him.

Moments after the younger Miller fulfilled every father's dream by becoming a national champion, an emotional coach and father lept into his winning son's arms.

It was part of a stellar finish for the Wartburg Knights on Saturday at the Division III National Wrestling Championship in the Five Flags Center. Miller captured his first national title with an 11-3 victory over Buena Vista's Ben Strandberg at 197 pounds.

"No, I wasn't sure," said Miller if he thought T.J. would catch him. "I wasn't sure I was even going to do it. I thought, 'I'm going jump into his arms instead of him onto me,' because I thought he was going to crush me. It was a great moment to share with my son."

A ball of nerves seen pacing for much of the championship night, Coach Miller said he wasn't comfortable until T.J. hit a banana split late in the first period to take a 5-0 lead over Strandberg.

From there, T.J., a junior who next year can match his dad's two Division II national titles won at Northern Iowa, controlled the match to the finish.

"It's the best feeling ever," said T.J. "Knowing what he did in his career when he was in college … winning championships. It is what I've always wanted to do … be like him."

The other headlining story featuring Wartburg belonged to that of Blake Gillis, the former short and squatty middle-school kid who blossomed into one of the best heavyweights in the United States.

Gillis is no longer considered short and squatty. He's also no longer considered a national runner-up.

The Wartburg senior threw the proverbial monkey off his back by claiming his first national title, beating Bryan Kmetz of Baldwin-Wallace, 4-0, to become the Knights' 25th national champ.

Three times before Gillis had reached the national finals, but all three times he lost to Wisconsin-La Crosse's Ryan Allen.

"It feels pretty good right now, but I'm stubborn," said Gillis, when asked if all his previous disappointments had been washed away. "I wish I had those other ones, but it does feel pretty good right now."

Gillis left little to doubt against Kmetz, controlling the match from start to finish.

"I'm so happy for Blake," said Coach Miller. "He's been such a rock for us in our lineup for four years. We've been blessed to have him. What a great ending to a career."

Gillis became the first Iowa Conference wrestler to become a four-time national finalist when he pinned Trevor Hiffa of Oneonta State in 1:59 of the semifinals. Gillis finished his stellar career at 138-14.

With Miller and Gillis' victories, Wartburg has now had a national champ five consecutive years.

The Knights, however, fell short of repeating as national champions as Augsburg College ran away with its 10th national title.

Wartburg edged Wisconsin-La Crosse for second, the Knights' eighth runner-up finish, 99 1/2 to 92 1/2. Luther College was fourth with 86.

For Wartburg, Jake Helvey was fifth at 133, Aaron Wernimont sixth at 157, Jason Knipp fifth at 165 and Romeo Djoumessi fourth at 184.

"I feel awesome," said Jim Miller. "At the beginning of the year if you told me we would win the conference title, finish second in the nation and get a couple of national champions, I'd be ecstatic and I am ecstatic."

Augsburg accumulated 135 1/2 points and crowned three national champs, including Marcus LeVesseur at 165, as he became the first four-time national champ in Division III history. Teammates Quincy Osborn at 141 and Jeremy Anderson at 157 also claimed titles.

The Auggies' victory marked the 12th consecutive year either Augsburg or Wartburg have won the team title. Ithaca College in 1994 was the last non-Auggie/Knight winner.

"They keep us working as hard as we do and we keep them working as hard as they do," said Augsburg coach Jeff Swenson. "I don't know if any wrestling division can say they've dominated so much over the last 12 years. It is quite a deal.

"And, you know what? When we get away from it all, we respect each other a lot. We're actually kind of friends … as much as you can be friends when your livelihood depends on beating each other."

LeVesseur beat the College of New Jersey's Mike Guenther, 3-0, to finish his career unblemished at 155-0. He is only the second wrestler, in any division, to finish with four championships and a perfect record. Cael Sanderson went 159-0 while winning four Division I national titles for Iowa State.

LeVesseur started at the University of Minnesota, where he redshirted a season, before transferring to Augsburg. He won his first three titles at 157 before moving up to 165 after taking a year off.

"There is nothing that is going to top what happened here this weekend and here tonight," said LeVesseur. "It sounds like a dream in a fantasy world, but it was a dream that came true."

Matt Pyle's story at Luther has been well documented. He finished third in the nation as a freshman in 2004 and promptly transferred to Kansas State to be closer to home and planned on never wrestling again. But he changed his mind, returned to Decorah and will leave as the Norse's most decorated wrestler.

Pyle capped off an outstanding senior season by pinning Mount St. Joseph's Jason Roush in 2 minutes and 4 seconds of their 149-pound national championship match.

With the win, Pyle became Luther's first two-time national champ and first four-time all-American. He dominated the tournament and a weight class that featured two other national champs besides himself - Wisconsin-La Crosse's Jake Larsen and Heidelberg's Joe Pflug.

Pyle beat Pflug, the defending 157-pound champ, 6-2, in the semifinals. His other three wins in the tournament were all by fall.

In addition, was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament for his efforts.

"With three national champions in there it was obviously on our mind all year," said Pyle. "But the coaches never lost their belief in me, and I never lost belief in myself that I could make it back to the top.

"Last year was disappointing, and it motivated me to work hard."

After winning his first title in 2005, Pyle lost a close semifinal match to Larsen last year and settled for fourth place.

The Norse had one other champion, senior Nate Hansen at 125, making that just the second time in school history the program had two national champs in the same year. The previous instance was in 2005 when Pyle and Garrett South claimed crowns.

Hansen wrapped up his senior campaign by becoming the 10th national champ in Norse history. He used a first-period takedown and a third-period escape to beat Augsburg's Seth Flodeen, 3-2, at 125.

"It is something I wanted to do ever since I came in as a freshman at Luther," said Hansen. "It is something I knew I could do. Luckily, it happened finally my senior year. My coaches and teammates are all a huge part of it … they helped me get here."

Two other wrestlers finished their careers as four-time all-Americans - Wisconsin-La Crosse's Jason Lulloff was third in 2003, fourth in 2004, third in 2006 and third again this year at 184.

Springfield College's Mike Gaeta was fifth three times, including this year at 141. He was also seventh in 2005.

Wisconsin-LaCrosse's Dave Malecek, a former Wartburg assistant, was named the meet's Rookie Coach of the Year.

Contact Jim Nelson at (319) 291-1521 or jim.nelson@wcfcourier.com

Championship matches

125 - Nate Hansen (Luther) dec. Seth Flodeen (Augsburg) 3-2.

133 - David Morgan (King's) dec. Jafari Vanier (Augsburg) 4-3

141 - Quincy Osborn (Augsburg) dec. Ricky LaForge (Delaware Valley) 7-3.

149 - Matt Pyle (Luther) pinned Jason Roush (Mt. St. Joesph), 2:04.

157 - Jeremy Anderson (Augsburg) dec. Joseph Galante (TCNJ) 5-2.

165 - Marcus LeVesseur (Augsburg) dec. Michael Guenther (TCNH) 3-0.

174 - Josh Chelf (UW-La Crosse) dec. Kyle Vanderhyde (Olivet) 9-0.

184 - Terrance Madden (Hunter) dec. Stephon Sair (SUNY-Cortland) 4-2.

197 - T.J. Miller (Wartburg) dec. Ben Strandberg (Buena Vista) 11-3

285 - Blake Gillis (Wartburg) pinned Bryan Kmetz (Baldwin Wallace) 4-0.

125 POUNDS

SEMIFINALS - Nate Hansen (Luther) pinned Chris Heilman (Cornell), 2:49; Seth Flodeen (Augsburg) dec. Brandon McDonough (Johnson&Wales) 14-7.

CONSOLATION QUARTERFINALS - Eracieo Vallejo (Manchester) dec. Jake Oster (Elmhurst) 1-6; Kyle Flickinger (York) dec. Brian Clement (Coe) 7-5.

CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS - McDonough dec. Vallejo 12-6; Heilman dec. Flickinger 19-7.

SEVENTH - Oster pinned Clement, :37

FIFTH - Vallejo dec. Flickinger 7-4.

THIRD - McDonough dec. Heilman 12-4.

133 POUNDS

SEMIFINALS - David Morgan (King's) dec. Jake Helvey (Wartburg) 5-2; Jafari Vanier (Augsburg) dec. Jestin Hulegaard (Buena Vista) 7-5.

CONSOLATION QUARTERFINALS - Adam Johnson (North Central) dec. Gannon Hjerleid (Coe) 11-5; Jordan Kolinski (UW-La Crosse) dec. Justin Seifried (Ithaca) 13-1.

CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS - Johnson dec. Helvey 5-2; Hulegaard dec. Kolinski 9-8.

SEVENTH - Seifried dec. Hjerleid 11-6 SV.

FIFTH - Helvey dec. Kolinski 4-0.

THIRD - Johnson dec. Hulegaard 11-8.

141 POUNDS

SEMIFINALS - Quincy Osborn (Augsburg) dec. Mike Gaeta (Springfield) 15-3; Ricky LaForge (Delaware Valley) dec. Mike Bonora (Rhode Island) 8-6.

CONSOLATION QUARTERFINALS - Jared Creason (Coe) dec. Tyler Branham (TCNJ) 9-6; Zach Chambers (UW-Platteville) technical fall over Travis Grawin (Luther) 17-1, 4:51.

CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS - Creason dec. Bonora 10-5; Chambers dec. Gaeta 11-5.

SEVENTH - Grawin pinned Branham, 5:27.

FIFTH - Gaeta dec. Bonora 6-5.

THIRD - Creason dec. Chambers 18-11.

149 POUNDS

SEMIFINALS - Jason Roush (Mt. St. Joesph) dec. Jared Evans (Augsburg) 2-1; Matt Pyle (Luther) dec. Joe Pflug (Heidelberg) 6-2.

CONSOLATION QUARTERFINALS - Don Ooton (SUNY-Brockport) dec. Tim Bohlman (York) 5-3; Jake Larsen (UW-La Crosse) dec. Ryan Higgins (UW-Platteville) 3-1.

CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS - Evans dec. Ooton 4-0; Pflug dec. Larsen 11-3.

SEVENTH - Bohlman dec. Higgins 10-4.

FIFTH - Ooton dec. Larsen 9-3.

THIRD - Pflug dec. Evans 6-3.

157

SEMIFINALS - Jeremy Anderson (Augsburg) dec. Bobby Gingerich (North Central) 7-3; Joseph Galante (TCNJ) dec. Ross Needham (UW-La Crosse) 2-1.

CONSOLATION QUARTERFINALS - Jacob Malone (St. John's) pinned Pat McAuley (Cornell), 1:45; Aaron Wernimont (Wartburg) dec. Elliot Spence (Mt. St. Joesph) 13-5.

CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS - Needham dec. Malone 3-1; Gingerich pinned Wernimont, 5:49.

SEVENTH - McAuley techncial fall over Spence 17-2, 6:59.

FIFTH - Malone dec. Wernimont 3-2.

THIRD - Gingerich dec. Needham 4-1.

165 POUNDS

SEMIFINALS - Marcus LeVesseur (Augsburg) dec. Jason Knipp (Wartburg) 10-2; Michael Guenther (TCNH) dec. Shaheim Bradshaw ((SUNY-Brockport) 8-5.

CONSOLATION QUARTERFINALS - Gino Russo (Baldwin Wallace) dec. Phil Kruzel (Chicago) 9-5; Tim Palmer (UW-La Crosse) dec. Steve Martell (Johnson & Wales) 11-2.

CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS - Bradshaw pinned Russo, 6:58; Palmer dec. Knipp 5-3 SV.

SEVENTH - Martell dec. Kruzel 9-3.

FIFTH - Knipp dec. Russon 15-5

THIRD - Palmer dec. Bradshaw 3-2.

174 POUNDS

SEMIFINALS - Josh Chelf (UW-La Crosse) pinned Jonathan Dolan (Williams), 6:15; Kyle Vanderhyde (Olivet) dec. Robbie Gotreau (Augsburg) 8-5.

CONSOLATION QUARTERFINALS - Andrew Winfield (McDaniel) dec. Trevor LeBlanc (SUNY-Cortland) 8-2; Eric Bath (UW-Stevens Point) dec. Adam Dorner (UW-Oshkosh) 5-2.

CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS - Dolan dec. Winfield 8-5; Bath dec. Gotreau 6-4.

SEVENTH - LeBlanc dec. Dorner 5-1.

FIFTH - Gotreau dec. Winfield 2-1.

THIRD - Bath pinned Dolan, 5:19.

184 POUNDS

SEMIFINALS - Terrance Madden (Hunter) dec. Jason Lulloff (UW-La Crosse) 3-2; Stephon Sair (SUNY-Cortland) dec. Romeo Djoumessi (Wartburg) 8-2.

CONSOLATION QUARTERFINALS - Nick Calandrino (Ithaca) pinned Ryan Summers (John Carroll), 4:09; Nick Coleman (New York) dec. Jay Figgins (Loras) 3-2.

CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS - Lulloff pinned Calandrino, 4:26; Djoumessi dec. Coleman 8-2.

SEVENTH - Figgins dec. Summers 6-2.

FIFTH - Calandrino dec. Coleman 9-7.

THIRD - Lulloff dec. Djoumessi 7-6.

197 POUNDS

SEMIFINALS - T.J. Miller (Wartburg) dec. Keith Garrard (Wabash) 10-2; Ben Strandberg (Buena Vista) dec. Matt Loesch (Muhlenberg) 12-6.

CONSOLATION QUARTERFINALS - Jason Reilly (Kings) pinned Wally O'Connor (Augsburg), 1:46; Alec Bonander (Luther) dec. Philip Archer (SUNY-Cortland) 8-3.

CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS - Reilly pinned Garrard, 3:09; Bonander medical forfeit over Loesch.

SEVENTH - Archer dec. O'Connor 10-4.

FIFTH - Garrard medical forfeit over Loesch.

THIRD - Bonander dec. Reilly 10-4.

285 POUNDS

SEMIFINALS - Blake Gillis (Wartburg) pinned Trevor Hiffa (Oneonta State), 1:59; Bryan Kmetz (Baldwin Wallace) dec. Arkadiy Levitin (Hunter) 3-0.

CONSOLATION QUARTERFINALS - Andrew Neumann (Augsburg) pinned Kyle Brown (Thiel), 3:27; Jason Rutledge (Knox) dec. Wade Hammen (Buena Vista) 3-2, TB1.

CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS - Hiffa dec. Neumann 7-2; Rutledge dec. Levitin 4-3.

SEVENTH - Hammen dec. Brown 3-1.

FIFTH - Neumann dec. Levitin 9-2.

THIRD - Rutledge pinned Hiffa, 4:01.