Late-Match Magic Over The Marauders
WEST FARGO, N.D. (12/01/16)---No.7-ranked Concordia remained unbeaten in dual meets in 2016 as they won six of the final seven individual bouts against the University of Mary and beat the Marauders 26-9.
The Cobbers used four bonus point wins to beat Mary for the sixth consecutive dual and up their record to 2-0 in dual meets this season.
The dual meet was held at West Fargo HS and was the second half of the "Border Battle" night which also featured Moorhead HS and West Fargo HS squaring off immediately before the college dual.
The Cobbers trailed briefly after the match at 141 but then Concordia rattled off three straight and six of the final seven to win by 17 points.
Junior All-American Jakob Stageberg started the night out for the Cobbers in front of an excited crowd. Stageberg put Concordia up 4-0 with an 11-3 major decision. Stageberg is now 4-1 on the year and unbeaten in dual meets for CC.
The University of Mary (0-1) would claim decisions at 141 and 149 before the Cobbers were able to turn the momentum with sophomore Blane Tschida at 157. Tschida was in complete control of his match from the very first second and came away with a 22-6 technical fall. Tschida has now won four of his last six matches on the year and is 6-3.
Fellow sophomore Nick Gravdahl then stepped on the mat at 165 and proceeded gave CC its third bonus point win of the night by scoring a 1303 major decision. His 4-point victory helped the Cobbers start to pull away from the Marauders with a 13-6 lead.
Jacob Johnson was locked in the closest match of the night at 165. He was able to get a takedown in the first overtime period and earned a 7-5 decision.
A 7-3 decision by Mary at 174 brought the score to 16-9 for Concordia but then the Cobbers finished off the dual with three straight victories including another bonus point win at 184 from No.9-ranked Ricky Briggs.
Briggs won 16-5 to grab the major decision and up the lead to 20-9. The win was Briggs' fourth of the year and he is now 4-6.
Jacob Briggs then followed his brother and won 8-4 at 197 before senior Justice Davis capped the match with a 3-0 win at 285. The win for Jacob Briggs snaps a three-match losing skid and moves his record to 3-5.
Davis methodically grinded out the final win of the night – not allowing his opponent to get inside to attempt any scoring tries. He has now won three of his last four bouts and is 8-3 for the season.
Individual Match Results:
125 - Jakob Stageberg (CC) maj. dec. Josh Jensen (UM); 11-3 (Concordia leads 4-0)
133 - Tate Barnhardt (UM) dec. Aaron Dick (CC); 9-5 (Concordia leads 4-3)
141 - Reed Cronin (UM) dec. Adam Presler (CC); 7-5 (U Mary leads 6-4)
149 - Blane Tschida (CC) tech. fall Noah Huff; 22-6 (Concordia leads 9-6)
157 - Nick Gravdahl (CC) maj. dec. Dane Fischer (UM); 13-3 (Concordia leads 13-6)
165 - Jake Johnson (CC) dec . Paul Michaelson (UM); SV-1 7-5 (Concordia leads 16-6)
174 - Austin Eichmann (UM) dec. Parker Jackson (CC); 7-3 (Concordia leads 16-9)
184 - Ricky Briggs (CC) maj. dec. Jonathan Pelach (UM); 16-5 (Concordia leads 20-9)
197 - Jacob Briggs (CC) dec. Jake Green (UM); 8-4 (Concordia leads 23-9)
285 - Justice Davis (CC) dec. Dom Tudor (UM); 3-0 (Concordia leads 26-9)
10-WIN CLUB: Concordia now has two athletes with double-digit win totals for the season. Nick Gravdahl used his win at 165 to collect his team-leading 12th win of the year. Jake Johnson's win at 174 kept him right behind Gravdahl. He is now 11-3 this year and has won 30 bouts in the last two years combined.
WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia will head to Wisconsin to take part in the Wis.-La Crosse Candlewood Suites duals tournament on Saturday, Dec. 3. The Cobbers will face off against Wis.-Stevens Point, No.4-ranked La Crosse and No. 15-ranked Wis.-Whitewater.