Super 7 Set For Nationals - NCAA Meet Preview
MOORHEAD, Minn. (3/13/14)—No.5-ranked Concordia is headed to the NCAA Division III National Meet with an unprecedented seven wrestlers in tow hoping to break the school record of three All-Americans in a single season.
The Cobbers, who broke the school record for dual-meet victories this season and tied a program record by having eight wrestlers win at least 20 matches will compete in the Division III National Meet at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Friday, Mar. 14 and Saturday, Mar. 15.
"It is definitely within reach," said head coach Matt Nagel when referring to the possibility of having four wrestlers earn All-American honors. "The athletes that will be wrestling all have the capability to string together multiple wins at the national meet and get up on the podium."
In order to come away with All-American status at the NCAA National Meet a wrestler must finish in the top 8 of his weight class. The Cobbers had three wrestlers in the top 8 back in the 2009-10 season when Phil Moenkedick won the first of his two national championships and Justin Berns and Ross Dankers also finished in the top 8 of their weight class.
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Concordia will enter the national meet with only two of the seven wrestlers earning a top 8 seeding. Senior Cody Kasprick is the No.3 seed at 285 and Jake Long is the No.6 seed at 149. Long is a returning All-American after finishing fifth at last year's national meet. He is also one of only two Cobber wrestlers that have NCAA meet experience. Jacoby Bergeron is making his second straight trip to nationals. He finished with a 1-2 record at 133 in last year's NCAA Meet.
Kasprick has been ranked in the top 10 at 285 the entire season and is currently ranked third in the latest AWCA rankings. He is 23-10 on the year and has won seven of his last eight matches by pin fall. He will face Mackenzie Green from Trine University in a first round match-up on Friday morning. The winner will head into the Round of 16 and face Matan Peleg from Ursinus. Kasprick owns an 82-43 career record.
Long has been ranked in the top 10 at 149 for most of the year and enters the NCAA National Meet with a team-best 27-8 record. He is 75-50 in his three-plus seasons and coming off his second straight West Region title. He is 7-0 in regional meets the past two seasons and will hoping to improve on his fifth-place finish in 2013. Long is also hoping to become only the fifth wrestler in Concordia history to earn multiple NCAA All-American honors. Long starts his trek at the national meet against Mark Pinero of Wartburg. Pinero is 28-10 on the season.
Bergeron carries a 26-8 record into the weekend. He was 4-1 at 133 at the regional meet two weeks ago and finished in third place. Bergeron dropped his first match at the national meet before coming back to win his first match of the consolation round. He eventually lost 5-2 in the second consolation round. Bergeron opens up the 2014 NCAA Meet by squaring off against No.6-seeded Jimmy Nehls of UW-Whitewater. Nehls is 22-5 and won the 133-lb weight class at the Midwest Regional. Bergeron and Nehls faced each other during the season with Nehls coming up with a 5-1 decision. Bergeron enters the national meet with a 52-26 career record.
Kyle LeDuc earned his first trip to nationals in his senior season by finishing second at 157 at the West Regional Meet. He went 3-1 with his only loss coming against the No.1-ranked wrestler in the nation. LeDuc is 25-10 this year and has won six of his last seven matches. He is 69-40 in his career in maroon and gold and will open the national meet with a bout against No.6-seeded Jorge Lopez of Williams College. Lopez won the Northeast Regional after upsetting defending national champion Devin Biscaha of Springfield College.
The three surprises of the season for Nagel's crew have been Jake Krogstad, Sebastian Gardner and Chris Harrison. The trio is all making their first trip to the national meet and all three have at least 20 wins on the season.
Krogstad earned his spot at the NCAA Meet by finishing in third place at 165 at the West Regional. He was 4-1 at the region meet and came up with a late takedown in the third-place match to grab a 7-6 victory. Krogstad is 10-3 in his last 13 matches and is now 20-9 on the season. He opens the NCAA Meet by facing Dylan Foley of Springfield College. Foley is 38-6 on the year and finished third at the Northeast Region Meet. The winner of the first-round match will face No.5-seeded Nicholas Carr from Washington & Jefferson in the Round of 16. Krogstad is 44-32 in his first two-plus seasons at Concordia.
Gardner placed third at the West Region Meet at 174 by going 3-1. Gardner hadn't posted a winning record in his two previous region meet experiences before earning his first trip to nationals. He is 56-40 in his career and 25-12 on the season. Gardner has won seven of his last eight matches and will begin his quest for All-American status by facing a familiar foe in the first round. Gardner matches up against James Roach of St. Olaf on Friday morning. The two have faced each other twice during the season with Roach earning decisions in both bouts.
Harrison was the breakout champion at 184 at the West Region meet. He went 3-0 at the region meet and cruised to his first regional championship. Harrison was 5-5 in his previous two region meets and is now 26-8 on the season. He had recorded a total of 35 victories in his first two seasons at CC before stepping into the spotlight this season. Harrison now owns a 61-37 career record and starts his national meet on Friday by facing the winner of the first-round match between Thomas Reyhons of Augustana (Ill.) and Brian Broderick from the College of New Jersey.
In addition to their quest to claim a school-record four All-Americans, Concordia will be looking to post its fifth straight top 15 finish at the NCAA National Meet. Last year the Cobbers placed 13th. CC's top finish at nationals came in 2011 when they finished in seventh place with a school-record 52.0 total team points.
