Flourish At The Start, Flounder At The Finish

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (1/03/15)—The start was good. The finish suffered. Concordia won its first three individual bouts at Division II Augustana (S.D.) but dropped the final three matches and lost 21-15 to the Vikings.

The Cobbers held a 15-9 heading into the 184-lb match but then lost the next match by pin fall and the final two by a decision and lost by six. The loss drops Concordia's dual-meet record to 6-3 on the season. Augustana improves to 6-1 on the year.

Jakob Stageberg, Will McCarthy and Jacoby Bergeron staked the Cobbers to a 9-0 lead after the first three matches. All three earned their wins by a decision. Stageberg started the match with an 8-3 win at 125. It was Stageberg's 19th overall win of the season. McCarthy followed with a tight 5-3 win at 133. MacCarthy won his bout by virtue of a takedown in the second period and then an escape at the start of the third after he chose the bottom position to start the period. The win is McCarthy's 11th of the season. Bergeron, who is currently ranked fifth in Division III at 141, recorded his team-leading 22nd of the season with a 2-0 decision. Bergeron had an escape in the second period and then stayed on top of his opponent for the entire third period to gain his second point via riding time.

The Vikings won the next three matches by decisions to tie the overall score at 9-9 before senior Sebastian Gardner put CC back on top with a pin fall at 174. Gardner, who was wrestling at 174 for the first time all year, had a takedown in each of the first and second periods before earning the pin at the 4:30 mark. Gardner is now 14-4 on the season and has won eight straight matches. He has yet to lose to a Division III opponent.

The Cobbers lost the last two individual bouts by a combined nine points. Danny Pike lost 4-0 to Jayd Docken at 197. Docken is currently ranked fourth in all of Division II. Sophomore Justice Davis dropped a 9-4 decision after giving up a pair of takedowns in the third period.

Concordia will now head to the annual NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals on Jan. 9-10 in Ft. Wayne, Ind. The Cobbers placed second at the National Duals Meet last season.  

Final Score:
#5 Concordia-Moorhead 15 vs. Augustana (S.D.) 21
Date: January 3, 2015
Location: Sioux Falls, S.D.
Arena: Elmen Center
Start Time: 4 p.m.
End Time: 5:30 p.m.
Total Time: 1:30

Individual Match Results:
125 - Jakob Stageberg (CC) dec. Javier Vieyra (AC); 8-3 (CC 3-0)
133 - Will McCarthy (CC) dec. Morgan Engbrecht (AC); 5-3 (CC 6-0)
141 - #5 Jacoby Bergeron (CC) decAustin Jordan (AC); 2-0 (CC 9-0)
149 - Jacob Anderson (AC) dec. Yonas Gebreab (CC); 5-1 (CC 9-3)
157 - Bradyn Neises (AC) dec. Ben Cousins (CC); 7-4 (CC 9-6)
165 - Parker Swanson (AC) dec. Jake Krogstad (CC); 11-4 (Tied 9-9)
174 - Sebastian Gardner (CC) pin fall Logan Henning (AC); 4:30 (CC 15-9)
184 - Aero Amo (AC) pin fall Dan Marquette (CC); 3:38 (Tied 15-15)
197 - #4 Jayd Docken (AC) dec. Danny Pike (CC); 4-0 (Augustana 18-15)
285 - Michael Lowman (AC) dec. Justice Davis (CC); 9-4 (Augustana 21-15)

Match Notes:
- Concordia is ranked 5th in the latest NWCA Division III poll.
- #5 Concordia is now 6-3 in dual meets this season.
- Augustana is now 6-1 in dual meets this season.
- Concordia won the first 3 individual bouts in the match.
- Augustana won the last 3 matches in the dual.
- Concordia won 4 overall individual matches.
- Augustana won 6 individual matches in the dual.
- Concordia won all 3 matches by decision and 1 by pin fall.
- Augustana won 6 matches by decision and 1 by pin fall.
- Concordia senior #5 Jacoby Bergeron (141) is now 22-6 on the season.
- Concordia senior Sebastian Gardner (184) is now 14-4 at 184 on the season.
- Concordia freshman Jakob Stageberg (125) is now 19-8 at 285 on the season.
- Concordia senior Will McCarthy (133) is now 11-8 on the season.