Record-Breaking Crowd Sees Historic Home Win

MOORHEAD, Minn. (1/18/14)—Before a record-setting home crowd, No2.-ranked Concordia proved its win over perennial national power Augsburg on Sunday was no fluke as they won eight individual matches against the Auggies and rolled to a 26-6 victory.

The record-breaking crowd got to see a record-setting performance by the Cobbers as Concordia beat the Auggies at home for the first time in program history. CC beat Augsburg 21-15 last weekend at the National Duals in Des Moines, Iowa and did that one better by posting a 20-point victory.

"It was a great team win," commented Concordia head coach Matt Nagel. "All 10 wrestlers stepped up and showed the work ethic they have put up in the room during practice. It was fun to see the hard work the team showed in practice this week pay off in the dual meet."

Concordia, who is ranked second in the nation in the latest NWCA Division III poll, ups its dual-meet record to 9-2 on the year. Augsburg falls for the third straight time and is now 5-3 on the season.

Cobber senior Kyle LeDuc set the tone for the entire match in the very first individual bout. After the coaches decided to draw for the start weight, LeDuc stepped on the mat and dominated his match at 157 and came away with a 10-0 major decision at 157. That would start a string of four consecutive wins to start the dual for the Cobbers. LeDuc, who is ranked 10^th in the nation at 157, improved his season record to 19-7.

Brandon Haluptzok, Sebastian Gardner and Chris Harrison followed LeDuc with wins. Haluptzok's win at 165 was one of the two key wins for the Cobbers. It was only the fifth match of the year for Haluptzok who spent the first semester studying in Australia. Haluptzok avenged a 4-1 loss to Justin Bowland six days ago and came up with a 3-1 overtime win.

Gardner posted the only other "bonus point" victory when he scored an 11-2 win at 174. He nearly pinned his opponent but came away with the nine-point victory after beating Tyrell Martin in overtime last Sunday.

Harrison completed the four-match win streak to open the meet by recording an 11-9 win at 184. His win gave the Cobbers a 14-0 lead. It was Harrison's 18^th win of the year and improved his overall record to 18-5.

Concordia dropped the next two matches but then sophomore Gabe Foltz put the crowd on its feet by scoring a 3-2 win over No.2-ranked Mike Fuenffinger. Fuenffinger entered the match with a 16-1 overall record with his only loss coming at the hands of Dylan Peters from Northern Iowa who is currently ranked seventh in NCAA Division I. Foltz battled through the entire three periods and was able to get an escape in the third period to earn the win.

"I thought I could come up with the win," said Foltz. "Wrestling him in the duals (National Duals) gave me confidence. "It's great to come out of nowhere and get the win."

Jacoby Bergeron, Yonas Gebreab and Jake Long finished off the match by posting wins at 133, 141 and 149. Bergeron entered the dual ranked third in the nation and had to battle until the final period to finally come up with a 6-2 win. He is now 19-6 this season.

Gebreab also won his bout in the final period. He earned a 3-1 victory at 141 and is 19-10 for the year.

Long almost ended the match in style as he had his opponent on his back in the first 30 seconds of his bout at 149. Long couldn't come up with the pin fall but never trailed in the match and got a 9-6 victory. He joined LeDuc and Bergeron in the 19-win club and is now 19-7.

The Cobbers will stay at home and host Jamestown in a dual meet on Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 7 p.m.