A Dominant Exhibition

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. (2/06/21)---When is a match not a match but there is a winner without a team score being kept? When it's an exhibition and one team wins eight of the nine individual bouts.

That was the scenario in Collegeville on Saturday where Concordia won eight of the nine contested matches – five by pin – in an exhibition against St. John's. The match was originally scheduled to be a dual but the Johnnies only had six available wrestlers.

The most dramatic match of the night came at 184 where Cobber sophomore Ayden Friese ground out a 5-3 decision in the final minute of the third period. The match was tied at 2-2 heading into the final 60-seconds of the third period when Friese was able to come through with a clutch takedown. SJU senior Jacob Scherber then earned a point for an escape to bring the score to 4-3. Friese earned the 2-point win when Scherber was docked a point for stalling.

No.7-ranked Cole Kubesh had to go the full seven minutes in his match at 125. The Brainerd HS product never trailed in his first bout of the year against an opponent in a different uniform. Kubesh used his experience to record a 6-3 decision and upped his win total to 23 in the last two seasons.

The only other non-pin win for Concordia came in the first match at 285. Junior Jacob Arends, fresh off his win over Chase Dockter in last week's intrasquad dual, cruised to a 9-2 victory over Cade Eversley. Eversley would face Dockter in the final match of the night and Dockter earned the pin at the 3:50 mark of the second period.

Senior Alex Skaare and freshman Connor Chloupek started the dual with consecutive wins by pin. Skaare put his opponent's shoulders on the mat at the 1:05 mark of the second period in the opening match of the night at 165 and then Chloupek recorded his pin at 184 at 1:03 of the opening period.

A pair of underclassmen posted the final two pins of the night for CC. Freshman Elijah Hunt went on the offensive from the very first second of his match at 174. The St. Peter native was finally able to get the pin in the second period at 4:24. Sophomore Tyler Bents took advantage of his opponent's second match of the night and wasted little time in getting the pin. He stopped the bout at 1:29 to record the fifth pin of his collegiate career.

Concordia was able to get four more wrestlers some competitive experience for the year. Senior Benjamin Bogart won 7-4 over teammate Gabe Bellefeuille in a match-up at 133/141 and sophomore Kellen Schauer won by technical fall over fellow Cobber Demetrius Turrentine at 157.

UP NEXT: Concordia will host its home opener on Sunday, Feb. 14 at 2 p.m. Live video and results will be available for the match-up between the top two teams in the MIAC.    

Individual Match Results:
165: Alex Skaare (CC) pinned Logan Edwards (SJU), 4:05
184: Connor Chloupek (CC) pinned Andrew Hamilton (SJU), 1:03
285: Jacob Arends (CC) dec. Cade Eversley (SJU), 9-2
125: No.7 Cole Kubesh (CC) dec. Gabriel Ramirez (SJU), 6-3
174: Eli Hunt (CC) pinned Ben Gilbertson (SJU), 4:24
184: Ayden Friese (CC) dec. Jacob Scherber (SJU), 5-3
165: Tyler Bents (CC) pinned Logan Edwards (SJU), 1:29
174: Ben Gilbertson (SJU) pinned Eli Lanigan (CC), 2:33
285: Chase Dockter (CC) pinned Cade Eversley (SJU), 3:50

Extra Matches:
133/141: Ben Bogart (CC) dec. Gabe Bellefeuille (CC), 7-4
157: Kellen Schauer (CC) tech. fall Demetrius Turrentine (CC), 18-2/5:47


RECAP SPONSOR: Today's recap sponsor is 702 Communications. Cobber athletics is pleased to have 702 Communications in its corner. Their quality and commitment to customer service mirrors the commitment to excellence that Concordia student/athletes possess.