Bergeron Reaps Benefits Of Offseason Regimen

Article reprinted courtesy of Fargo Forum and reporter Eric Peterson.


Moorhead-- Jacoby Bergeron wrestled at 133 pounds last season for Concordia and he wasn't happy.

Even though he had a successful season, making weight wasn't easy, having to adhere to a strict diet.

"The weight cut was (tough)," Bergeron said. "I wasn't enjoying coming to practice."

That's why Bergeron went to work this past offseason. Four times a week, he would hit the weight room at 6 a.m.

"I knew if I was going to go up a weight class, I had to get stronger," he said.

His diligence paid off.

The Cobbers senior took first place at 141 pounds at the NCAA West Regional wrestling tournament at the end of February to qualify for the national tournament for a third consecutive season.

The Division III tournament starts today in Hershey, Pa. Bergeron (35-6) is the No. 3 seed at 141 for the national tournament.

"His biggest attribute is his endurance," Cobbers head coach Matt Nagel said. "He wrestles extremely hard and he's strong and he just wears people down. There are no gimmicks to it, but you are going to have to wrestle hard for a whole seven minutes."

Bergeron, who is 5-foot-6, needs three wins to tie the Concordia record for victories in a season.

"My expectation is to go there and win it," said Bergeron, from Thief River Falls, Minn. "I believe I can go there and take the whole thing home."

In addition to his weight training, Bergeron also wrestled two to three times a week last summer.

He worked his training around his job with Access of the Red River Valley.

Bergeron worked with children and adults with special needs, a job he found fulfilling. He has worked at Access the past two summers.

"It's gratifying helping other people that maybe are not able to do certain things," said Bergeron, who is a biology major.

Bergeron plans to go to chiropractic school after Concordia. Wrestling has been his top sport for as long as he can remember.

Dale Bergeron, his father, wrestled in high school. His older brother and uncles were also wrestlers.

"I was pretty much born into wrestling," said Jacoby, a Minnesota Class 2A state champion in his sophomore year of high school. "I never played basketball or hockey or any other sports, I just wrestled."

Bergeron is one of nine Concordia wrestlers who qualified for the Division III tournament. Nagel said the team goal is to finish in the top four.

"To have nine is just outstanding," Nagel said. "It shows how strong of a program we are. Year in and year out, we're here to battle every year."