6 Place Winners = 5th Place At Matman

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa (1/13/18)----Kody Van Den Eykel, Ty Johnson and Jacob Johnson led a group of six place winners for Concordia at the Matman Invite hosted by Cornell College.

The six Top 8 finishers helped the Cobbers place fifth at the meet that featured 17 total teams and several of the top squads from the Upper Midwest Region.

Van Den Eykel was the top finisher for Concordia at the meet as he went 3-1 and finished in second place at the 197-lb weight class. Van Den Eykel started his day by claiming a pin at 2:24 in his Round of 16 match. He then won a 6-3 decision in the semifinals before claiming a 5-3 victory in the semifinals over Adam Gusky of Wis.-Platteville. Van Den Eykel was pinned in the final match to Guy Patron of Loras who is currently ranked third in Division III.

Ty Johnson cruised through his first two matches of the meet – winning both on pins – on his way to a third-place finish with a 3-1 record at 149. Johnson earned his first two pins in the first minute of each match. He won his opener at the 47-second mark and then won in 51 seconds in the quarterfinals. John's championship trek ended in the semifinals with a 10-0 loss to Anthony Wesley from Iowa State. Johnson would then win by a medical forfeit in the third place match.

Jacob Johnson finished with a 3-2 record and recorded a fourth-place finish in the 174-lb weight class. Johnson started the meet with a pin at 1:22. He then scored a 13-1 major decision in the Round of 16 which was followed by a 4-1 win in the quarterfinals. Johnson then lost the most dramatic match of the day, falling in overtime to Tanner Vassar from Augsburg. Vasser is ranked sixth in the latest NWCA poll. Johnson would fall 4-3 in the third-place match.

Jake Nohre, Alex Skaare and Joe Heinz were the other three place winners for the Cobbers. Nohre and Heinz led Concordia in wins on the day as both wrestlers earned four victories in the meet.

Nohre went 4-2 and finished sixth at 125. Heinz was also 4-2 and placed seventh at 165. Skaare was 2-3 for the meet and placed eighth at 149.

FINAL MATMAN INVITE TEAM STANDINGS
1. Augsburg (Minn.) 133.0
2. Wisconsin-Platteville 106.5
3. Stevens Tech (N.J.) 98.0
4. Cornell (Iowa) 85.5
5. Concordia-Moorhead 84.5
6. Wartburg (Iowa) 68.0
7. Wisconsin-La Crosse 65.5
8. Loras (Iowa) 63.0
9. Grand View (Iowa) 59.5
10. Luther (Iowa) 55.0
11. Augustana (Ill.) 39.5
12. Iowa State Club 38.5
13t. Coe (Iowa) 37.5
13t. Dubuque (Iowa) 37.5
15. Simpson (Iowa) 31.0
16. Buena Vista (Iowa) 25.0
17. Lakeland (Wis.) 4.0

COBBER RESULTS BY WEIGHT CLASS
125 - Jake Nohre 4-2, 6th place
133 - Aaron Dick 1-2
149 - Ty Johnson 3-1, 3rd place; Alex Skaare 2-3, 8th place
157 - Keaton Long 1-2, Patrick Griffin 0-2
165 - Joe Heinz 4-2, 7th place; Travis Deegan 1-2
174 - Jake Johnson 3-2, 4th place; Nick Gravdahl 2-2
197 - Kody Van Den Eykel 3-1, 2nd place
285 - Bryce Kallenbach 1-2
        
WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia returns home to face the top-ranked team in Division III in a dual meet. The Cobbers will host No.1 Augsburg on Thursday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m.