All Cobbers From Start To Finish In Dual With Dragons
MOORHEAD, Minn. (11/16/21)---It was all Concordia in its home-opening dual meet against crosstown rival MSU Moorhead. The Cobbers won the first two individual matches of the night, finished by claiming eight of the 10 bouts and rolled to a 31-6 over the Division II Dragons.
Concordia (1-1) never trailed in the team score as they beat MSU Moorhead for the 10th time in the last 11 meetings between the inter-city schools. The Cobbers also claimed the only bonus-point wins of the night with juniors Tyler Bents and Gabe Zierden earning rapid-fire pins.
The 25-point margin of victory is the largest by either team in the series in the last 15 years.
Senior Cole Kubesh set the tone for the night as he never trailed in his match at 125. Kubesh had a pair of takedowns in the first period and finished with a 7-4 decision.
While Kubesh set the spark, freshman Ty Bisek ignited the blaze with his 9-4 win over All-American Cole Jones. Jones was named as the MSUM Wrestler to Watch in the NSIC, but the Cobber first-year wrestler proved to be the on the must-see list at 133.
Bisek scored a pair of reversals after Jones tried to take control of the match with two takedowns. Bisek then got a takedown and a near fall in the third period to get the crowd off their feet with a 9-4 win.
The Dragons claimed one of their two wins of the night at 141, and then Concordia rattled off six straight wins.
Kellen Schauer put up a 10-point second period on his way to a dominating 15-1 major decision at 149.
Bents then pushed flames into full bonfire mode when he scored a pin with 21-seconds left in the third period 157. Bents was clinging to a 1-point lead late in his match when he went for a takedown and came up with a pin. The sudden turn of events changed the team match from a potential 10-6 nailbiter to a 16-3 runaway.
Sophomore Elijah Hunt used the "grind-it-out" mentality to post a 9-6 win at 165 and give CC a 19-3 lead. Hunt rallied from a 6-3 deficit in the second period by getting an escape and a takedown at the end of the second period. He then broke the 6-6 deadlock with a late takedown in the third period.
Kaden Spindler and Ayden Friese followed with shutout wins in their bouts at 174 and 184. Spindler posted a takedown in the first period, a reversal in the second and a near fall late in the third to win 7-0 at 174.
Friese used a second-period escape and riding time to record a 2-0 win at 184.
The most dramatic match of the night came at 197 where Zierden, who was the runner-up at 197 at the NWCA National Meet last year, pulled a "David Blaine" special. Zierden went from having his shoulders on the mat, and seconds away from getting pinned, to a reversal and pin of his own in a span of 10 seconds.
The second pin of the night for CC, and third bonus-point win, gave the Cobbers an insurmountable 31-3 lead.
MSU Moorhead (0-1) won the final bout of the night 7-3 at 285 to bring the final total to 31-6.
UP NEXT: Concordia will return to their multi-team invite schedule they travel to Minneapolis to participate in the Augsburg Invite on Saturday, Nov. 20.
Individual Match Results:
125 - Cole Kubesh (CC) dec. Clayson Mele (MSUM); 7-4 (CC leads 3-0)
133 - Ty Bisek (CC) dec. Cole Jones (MSUM); 9-4 (CC leads 6-0)
141 - Declan Jones (MSUM) dec. Jacob Prunty (CC); 8-2 (CC leads 6-3)
149 - Kellen Schauer (CC) maj. dec. Mason Schulz (MSUM); 15-1 (CC leads 10-3)
157 - Tyler Bents (CC) pin Peyton Ringling (MSUM); 6:39 (CC leads 16-3)
165 - Elijah Hunt (CC) dec. Braydon Ortloff (MSUM); 9-6 (CC leads 19-3)
174 - Kaden Spindler (CC) dec. Justin Dravis (MSUM); 7-0 (CC leads 22-3)
184 - Ayden Friese (CC) dec. Brett Graham (MSUM); 2-0 (CC leads 25-3)
197 - Gabe Zierden (CC) pin Steven Abbott (MSUM); 2:56 (CC leads 31-3)
285 - Jake Erckenbrack (MSUM) dec. Austin Ratliff (CC); 7-3 (CC wins 31-6)
