It's Go Time For #23 Cobbers At Upper Midwest Regionals
MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/29/24)---It's go time for the No.23-ranked Cobbers. They've waited all season to get to this point. The wait is over and the NCAA Upper Midwest Regional is upon Concordia when they travel to Stevens Point, Wis. on Mar. 1-2.
The Cobbers will be looking to build on last year's regional meet when Ty Bisek qualified for nationals by finishing in third place at 133 and went on to earn All-American honors. CC also had seven wrestlers finish as place-winners at last year's meet.
This year head coach Quincy Osborne will be hoping to push multiple wrestlers to the NCAA National Meet. Experience will be on CC's side this year as they have five wrestlers back from last year's regional lineup. Concordia also returned to the NWCA National Duals this year which will give the Cobbers even more experience on a national stage.
The Cobbers will bring a their veteran nationally-ranked tandem of Bisek and Gabe Zierden back to the regional meet and will have six other athletes with double-digit win totals on the year.
TICKET INFORMATION: Fans can buy all-session tickets for $15 for adults, $12 for students and seniors, $15 for extra team members, $12 for children and children five and under are free. For a single day, it is $10 for adults, $8 for students and seniors, $8 for children and children under five are free.
WHAT: NCAA Upper Midwest Regional Meet
WHEN: Friday, Mar. 1 at 1 p.m. and Saturday, Mar. 2 at 10 a.m.
WHERE: Stevens Point, Wis. (UW-Stevens Point)
TEAMS: Augsburg, Aurora, Carthage, Concordia Moorhead, Elmhurst, Lakeland, MSOE, Pacific, Saint John's Linfield, Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Wisconsin-La Crosse, Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Wisconsin-Platteville, Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Wisconsin-Whitewater and Wheaton.
TOURNAMENT LINKS:
2024 NCAA West Regional Meet Website
Live Video (via Trackwrestling)
Live Results
HOW TO QUALIFY FOR NATIONALS: In order to qualify for the NCAA National Meet, which will be held on Mar. 10-11 in Roanoke, Va., wrestlers have to finish in the Top 3 of their weight class during the 2-day regional tournament.
THE FAVORITE: Junior Ty Bisek enters his third regional meet as a returning All-American, ranked fourth in Division III and first in the region. He brings an impressive 23-2 season record into the regionals and all signs point to Bisek earning his second straight trip to nationals.
THE SENTIMENTAL FAVORITE: Senior Gabe Zierden is still looking for his first trip to the NCAA National Meet. He finished second at the NWCA National Meet during the Covid season of 2020-21. Since then he has finished fourth in two straight regional meets. Zierden is on a mission this year. He is ranked 11th in the country and third in the region and has a team-leading 31 wins on the year. Zierden also needs two more victories to reach the 100-win milestone.
REGION RISERS: Concordia has four other wrestlers ranked in the Top 8 of the region who could all make a run at a trip to nationals. The top candidates bookend the weight classes. Sophomore Kie Anderson has fought off a season-long injury and is primed to peak at the right time. He is ranked fifth in the region at 125 and has won four of his last seven matches.
Tyler Bents, Elijah Hunt and Nathaniel Kisgen round out the regionally-ranked wrestlers for the Cobbers. The most consistent of the three this year has been Hunt at 165. He has a career-best 18 wins on the year and placed seventh at last year's regional. He could be ready to make a deep run in 2024.
Bents has been in and out of the lineup this year at 157 and is ranked eighth in the region. He placed fifth last year at the regional meet. This year he battled an injury and returned in January to record a 6-4 mark. Bents have tons of experience to draw on as he has 54 career wins.
Kisgen is one of the most dynamic wrestlers on the Cobbers as he enters the regional meet ranked seventh at 184. Kisgen has 14 wins on the year and nine have come via a pin. His top outing of the year came in December when he finished third at the MSU Moorhead Dragon Open.
SLEEPER: The sleeper story of 2024 could come from senior Kellen Schauer who is appearing in his third regional meet, has posted a pair of past podium finishes and knows what it takes to make a run in a multi-team meet. He is 12-8 on the year and led CC in wins at the Pete Wilson Invite when he went 4-2 against quality competition.
THE WILD CARD: The wild card for head coach Quincy Osborne will come at the heavyweight slot where senior Ayden Friese beat out regionlly-ranked Mason Swanson for the spot in the regional lineup. Friese is no stranger to NCAA Region competiton as he has competed in two NCAA regionals and posted a 7th-place finish in 2022. Both of his previous regional appearances came at 184.
Concordia 2024 NCAA Upper Midwest Regional Lineup
125 – Kie Anderson (6-3)
133 – No.4 Ty Bisek (23-2)
141 – Gabe Bellefeuille
149 – Kellen Schauer (12-8)
157 – Tyler Bents (6-4)
165 – Elijah Hunt (18-8)
174 – Zach Pribyl (13-9)
184 – Nathaniel Kisgen (14-10)
197 – #11 Gabe Zierden (31-3)
285 – Ayden Friese (12-8)