Bisek Leads Eight Top 5 Finishers At Augsburg Invite

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (11/19/22)---Sophomore Ty Bisek earned his second individual tournament title of the season and led a group of eight Cobber wrestlers who all posted Top 5 finishes at the Augsburg Invitational.

Gabe Zierden, Cade Lundeen, Kellen Schauer, Alex McPhee and Connor Chloupek joined Bisek with Top 5 finishes in the gold division, while Xander Spray and Mason Swanson claimed Top 5 finishes in the freshmen division.    

Bisek, who is ranked 10th in the first NWCA national rankings, went 4-0 in the gold division of the 133-lb weight class to claim the individual championship, and add that to the title he won at the Jamestown Invite earlier in the month. Bisek is now a perfect 8-0 on the year and is 35-6 in his Cobber career.

He started Saturday with a pin against Trevor Pearson from Wis.-La Crosse. Bisek then beat DII wrestler Isaiah Mlsna of Minnesota St. Mankato, and cruised into the finals with his second pin of the day in the quarterfinals against Christian Chavez of Luther. Bisek finished off his day by claiming a 5-4 decision against another DII athlete – Kaden Anderlik from Upper Iowa.

Zierden, Lundeen and Chloupek all suffered their first losses of the season after winning titles at the Jamestown Invite and then posting victories in the team's dual win over MSU Moorhead on Thursday.

No.15-ranked Zierden rolled into the championship match at 197 by posting a pair of pins and an 8-2 decision in the quarterfinals over Jacob Steenhoek. His pins came against Levi Henry of Wartburg and DII athlete Dylan Butts of Minnesota St. Mankato. Zierden got caught in the second period of his championship match against Parker Venz of Augsburg, and lost by a pin at the 3:36 mark.

His second-place finish gives him seven Top 3 finishes in multi-team invites in his Cobber career.

Lundeen went 3-1 and finished in third place at 141. His lone loss came in the semifinals against DII wrestler Tate Murty of Upper Iowa. Lundeen responded by posting a 5-3 decision over Austin Gabbert of Augsburg. Lundeen is now 8-1 for the season.

Chloupek, who entered the weekend with a 5-0 record, and a weight-class championship at Jamestown, won his opener at Augsburg to advance to the semifinals at 184. He then lost in the semifinals to Donovan Corn of Augsburg, and fell in the 3rd-place match to finish in fourth place.

Schauer placed fourth at 149 after going 1-2 on the day. He claimed a 7-4 decision in the quarterfinals before losing a pair of decisions in the semifinals and 3rd-place match. Schauer is now 6-3 on the season.

McPhee was the final Cobber veteran to record a Top 5 finish. He went 2-2 at 157 and finished in fourth place. He won a 12-7 decision in the opener, and then advanced to the semifinals via a medical forfeit. McPhee lost in the semifinals to eventual weight-class champ Eric Faught of DII Upper Iowa.

Spray continued his early-college career success on Saturday. He placed third at 133 at the Jamestown Invite, and then backed that up with a 5th-place finish at Augsburg. Spray went 2-2 on the day with pins over Seth McGrew of Neb. Wesleyan.

Swanson, who was seeing his first competition of the season after playing for the Cobber football team in the fall season, went 2-2 at heavyweight and finished fourth. He clamed his first collegiate win with a 3-0 decision over Austin Schlangen of Ridgewater CC. His other win also earned him another college first when he pinned Hayden Hearne of Central in the consolation semifinals.

UP NEXT: Concordia will have a break for Thanksgiving, and then host Ridgewater CC in a dual meet on Friday, Dec. 2 before participating in the MSU Moorhead Invite on Dec. 3.