Fantastic Four Punch Return Tickets To Nationals

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (2/25/12)—Concordia will once again send multiple athletes to the NCAA National Meet after the Cobbers completed another successful Great Lakes Regional. Concordia qualified four wrestlers and placed fifth at the regional held at Augsburg on Saturday.  It marks the third straight season that the Cobbers have qualified at least four wrestlers for the national meet.   
 
Despite the reoccurring theme of success at the regional meet, the story line was a little different than expected heading into the meet. Concordia's two nationally-ranked wrestlers, Daron Hohbein and Nate Schmitz, both punched their tickets to the national meet as did Ben Presler and Tom Bouressa. All four will be making their second consecutive trip to the national meet.  

Presler tied for the most wins of any CC athlete at the meet. He went 3-1 and finished third at 125. He won his opening match by a major decision but then fell in his second bout. Presler then came back to win two straight in the consolation bracket and recorded a 5-1 decision in the third place match to earn his second straight trip to the NCAA National Meet.   

Hohbein entered the meet ranked fifth in the nation and had another quality regional meet. He finished second at 133 and scored the most team points (18.5) of any CC wrestler on the day. Hohbein blew past his first two opponents by a pin fall and technical fall. He then claimed a commanding  15-6 decision in the semifinals.  Hohbein lost a tough 5-3 decision in the championship bout to Chad Henle of St. John's.

Schmitz was the lone Cobber wrestler to earn an at-large bid into the NCAA Meet. He finished fourth at 197 but, by virtue of his No.5 national ranking, he was awarded one of the two regional at-large berths. Schmitz won 9-4 in his first match but then lost 4-0 in the quarterfinals. He won his first match in the consolation bracket with a 7-3 decision but then lost to No.2-ranked Dustin Baxter in the third-place match. Schmitz now has a team-leading 27 wins on the year.

Bouressa has pulled off the amazing feat of the season. He didn't start wrestling until the end of January this year and has quickly returned to his All-American form from last year. Bouressa did not allow a single point in his first two matches as he breezed into the championship match. He won 9-0 in the opener and then 4-0 in the semifinals. Bouressa finally lost 10-4 in the championship match against No.1-ranked Chad Johnson of Augsburg.

The Cobbers had three other wrestlers finish in the top six of their weight class. Kyle LeDuc went 3-2 at 149 and finished fourth at 149. LeDuc, making his regional debut, lost his first match but then won three straight matches to earn a spot in the third-place match.

Junior Kevin Fynboh and freshman Chris Harrison both finished sixth in their weight classes. Fynboh won his first two matches to reach the semifinals at 157. Unfortunately he dropped two straight in the consolation bracket after losing to No.1-ranked Orlando Ponce of Augsburg in the semifinals. Harrison also won his first two before dropping three straight matches. He earned a pin fall and major decision to reach the semifinals but then lost to No.3-ranked Josef Rau of Elmhurst in the semifinals.

Concordia will now have a two-week break before heading to the national meet on Mar. 9-10 at UW-La Crosse.   

Concordia NCAA National Meet Qualifiers
125 - Ben Presler
133 - Daron Hohbein
197 - Nathan Schmitz (At-large bid recipient)             
285 - Tom Bouressa

Final Team Results
1. Augsburg - 172.5
2. St. John`s - 110.5
3. Elmhurst - 108.5
4. St. Olaf - 89.0
5. Concordia-Moorhead - 87.5
6. Augustana - 67.5
7. North Central - 53.0
8. Univ. of Chicago - 49.5
9. Milwakee School of Engineering - 41.0
10. Lakeland - 40.5
11. Wheaton - 31.5
12. Pacific - 17.5
13. Concordia-Wisconsin - 16.5
14. Knox - 9.5
15. Maranatha Baptist Bible - 8.0

Cobber Individual Results
125 - Ben Presler went 3-1 and finished 3rd   
133 - Daron Hohbein went 3-1 and finished 2nd
141 - Michael Holman went 0-2
149 - Kyle LeDuc went 3-2 and finished 4th
157 - Kevin Fynboh went 2-3 and finished 6th
165 - Josten Coleman went 2-2
174 - Sebastian Gardner went 1-2
184 - Christian Harrison went 2-3 and finished 6th
197 - Nathan Schmitz went 2-2 and finished  4th
285 - Tom Bouressa went 2-1 and finished 2nd

2012 Great Lakes Regional Results for Concordia-Moorhead
125 - Ben Presler's place is 3rd and has scored 15.50 team points.
    Champ. Round 1 - Ben Presler (Concordia-Moorhead) 13-8 received a bye () (Bye)
    Quarterfinal - Ben Presler (Concordia-Moorhead) 13-8 won by maj. dec. over Sean Ambrocio (Concordia-WI) 31-16 (Maj 11-2)
    Semifinal - Nathan Fitzenreider (North Central) 31-4 won by pin over Ben Presler (Concordia-Moorhead) 13-8 (Pin 1:08)
    Cons. Semi - Ben Presler (Concordia-Moorhead) 13-8 won by major decision over Wesley Azariah (St. Olaf ) 19-14 (Maj 15-4)
    3rd Place Match - Ben Presler (Concordia-Moorhead) 13-8 won by dec. over Sean Ambrocio (Concordia-WI) 31-16 (Dec 5-1)

133 - Daron Hohbein's place is 2nd and has scored 18.50 team points.
    Champ. Round 1 - Daron Hohbein (Concordia-Moorhead) 15-6 won by pin over Eduardo Orihuela (Lakeland) 8-25 (Pin 4:17)
    Quarterfinal - Daron Hohbein (Concordia-Moorhead) 15-6 won by tech fall over Caleb Cardenas (Wheaton) 20-17 (TF 15-0)
    Semifinal - Daron Hohbein (Concordia-Moorhead) 15-6 won by decision over Dalton Bullard (Elmhurst) 18-6 (Dec 7-5)
    1st Place Match - Chad Henle (St. John`s) 23-11 won by decision over Daron Hohbein (Concordia-Moorhead) 15-6 (Dec 5-3)

141 - Michael Holman's place is unknown and has scored 0.00 team points.
    Champ. Round 1 - Andrew Zobac (North Central) 29-6 won by major decision over Michael Holman (Concordia) 1-8 (Maj 13-2)
    Cons. Round 1 - Michael Holman (Concordia-Moorhead) 1-8 received a bye () (Bye)
    Cons. Round 2 - James Woiwor (St. John`s) 2-12 won by maj. dec. over Michael Holman (Concordia) 1-8 (Maj 23-15)

149 - Kyle LeDuc's place is 4th and has scored 8.50 team points.
    Champ. Round 1 - Kyle LeDuc (Concordia-Moorhead) 20-20 received a bye () (Bye)
    Quarterfinal - Tony Valek (Augsburg ) 29-0 won by pin over Kyle LeDuc (Concordia-Moorhead) 20-20 (Pin 4:57)
    Cons. Round 2 - Kyle LeDuc (Concordia-Moorhead) 20-20 won by maj. dec. over Eric Steingruber (Knox) 11-15 (Maj 10-0)
    Cons. Round 3 - Kyle LeDuc (Concordia-Moorhead) 20-20 won by decision over Josh Wengerter (MSOE) 28-23 (Dec 8-1)
    Cons. Semi - Kyle LeDuc (Concordia-Moorhead) 20-20 won by decision over Roberto Frias (Lakeland) 30-13 (Dec 11-5)
    3rd Place Match - Ryan Earley (Elmhurst) 23-5 won by decision over Kyle LeDuc (Concordia-Moorhead) 20-20 (Dec 6-3)

157 - Kevin Fynboh's place is 6th and has scored 4.00 team points.
    Champ. Round 1 - Kevin Fynboh (Concordia) 16-14 won by maj. dec. over Reynaldo Cardenas (Knox) 4-19 (Maj 12-2)
    Quarterfinal - Kevin Fynboh (Concordia-Moorhead) 16-14 won by decision over Devon Range (Univ. of Chicago) 8-9 (Dec 3-2)
    Semifinal - Orlando Ponce (Augsburg ) 20-0 won by pin over Kevin Fynboh (Concordia-Moorhead) 16-14 (Pin 1:23)
    Cons. Semi - Jacob Bohler (St. Olaf ) 23-13 won by decision over Kevin Fynboh (Concordia-Moorhead) 16-14 (Dec 9-8)
    5th Place Match - Joby Bodi (North Central) 27-13 won by decision over Kevin Fynboh (Concordia-Moorhead) 16-14 (Dec 6-5)

165 - Josten Coleman's place is unknown and has scored 3.50 team points.
    Champ. Round 1 - Josten Coleman (Concordia-Moorhead) 12-13 won by pin over Peter Kootstra (MSOE) 21-14 (Pin 2:51)
    Quarterfinal - Ryan Renon (Lakeland) 27-4 won by maj. dec. over Josten Coleman (Concordia-Moorhead) 12-13 (Maj 16-3)
    Cons. Round 2 - Josten Coleman (Concordia-Moorhead) 12-13 won by decision ov