Late-Match Heroics Lead To Win

MOORHEAD, Minn. (11/18/15)—No.24-ranked Concordia used huge wins from three freshmen and their overall conditioning to beat MSU Moorhead 16-15.

The Cobbers earned the match-winning points in the third period in four of their five individual wins as they beat the Division II Dragons for the sixth straight dual meet. The six-match win streak dates back to the 2009-10 season.

The one-point win was different than last year's 22-13 home victory. The Cobbers had to win four of the final five matches to erase a four-point deficit and earn the win. On Wednesday Concordia lead wire-to-wire as they came away with wins in three of the first four individual bouts.    

Freshmen Ben Baumgartner, Parker Jackson and Hunter SantAmour all came up with huge third-period performances to give Concordia keys wins at 149, 165 and 197.

No.10-ranked Jakob Stageberg, who was named the Scheels Cobber Male Athlete of the Week earlier in the day, put Concordia out in front when he scored a dominant 13-3 major decision at 125. He set the tone for the third-period theme as he blanked his opponent in the final period and had a takedown and tacked on riding time to win by 10.

Head coach Matt Nagel credited Stageberg for giving the Cobbers the early momentum by stating, "I think it was pivotal for us to start out at 25 (125) with Stageberg and set the tone."  

No.5-ranked Gabe Foltz dropped his first match of the season with a 9-4 loss at 133 before Adam Presler gained an escape in the third period to win 6-5 at 141.

Baumgartner then gave the Cobbers a 10-3 lead in a pivotal swing match. He scored seven points in the third period of his match at 149 and won 13-7. Baumgartner had never beaten MSUM junior Isaac Novacek before Wednesday and was clinging to a one-point lead heading into the final period. He then exploded for a reversal and a pair of two-point near falls.

The Cobbers had another nationally ranked wrestler fall in the next match. No.10-ranked Ben Cousins was never able to generate offense and lost 6-2.

Jackson then made sure the Dragons wouldn't tack on back-to-back wins. He methodically went through the first two periods at 165 and trailed 2-1 heading to the third. He won the match on a takedown late in the final period to earn a hard-fought 3-2 win.

MSU Moorhead rallied to win the next two matches and bring the team total within one at 13-12.

The most key non-win for the Cobbers came at 174 where Jake Johnson trailed 12-2 at the end of the first period and was staring at a big bonus point loss. He then found the strength to outscore his opponent 10-6 in the final two periods and didn't give up any bonus points in the overall team score.    

SantAmour cemented the overall team victory by coming up with a late takedown in the third period. The match was tied at 1-1 when SantAmour was able to get inside and grab the takedown. He gave up an escape late to make the final 3-2 but was able to defend against a potential match-winning takedown late in the third period.

Jake Briggs lost 3-2 at 285 but did a great job of not giving up a bonus-point win. He kept his opponent at arm's length and made sure not to give up the major decision, tech fall or pin fall which would have swung the final score in the Dragon's favor.

WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia will host the annual Finn Grinaker Cobber Open on Saturday, Nov. 21 starting at 9 a.m.

Final Score:
#24 Concordia-Moorhead 16, Minnesota State Moorhead 15
Date: November 18, 2015
Location: Moorhead, Minn.
Arena: Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse (MSU Moorhead)
Start Time: 7 p.m.
End Time: 8:40
Total Time: 1:40
 

Individual Match Results:
125 - Jakob Stageberg (CC) maj. dec. Jonathan Lewis (MSUM); 13-3 (Concordia 4-0)
133 - Blake Bosch (MSUM) dec. Gabe Foltz (CC); 9-4 (Concordia 4-3)
141 - Adam Presler (CC) dec. Kristian Vazquez (MSUM); 6-5 (Concordia 7-3)
149 - Ben Baumgartner (CC) dec. Isaac Novacek (MSUM); 13-7 (Concordia 10-3)
157 - Garrett Hoffner (MSUM) dec. Ben Cousins (CC); 6-2 (Concordia 10-6)
165 - Parker Jackson (CC) dec . Adam Blees (MSUM); 3-2 (Concordia 13-6)
174 - Brayden Kuntz (MSUM) dec. Jake Johnson (CC); 18-12 (Concordia 13-9)
184 - Austin May (MSUM) over Dane Ringquist (CC); SV-1 6-4 (Concordia 13-12)
197 - Hunter SantAmour (CC) dec. Austin Warren (MSUM); 3-2 (Concordia 16-12)
285 - Michael Urban (MSUM) dec. Jacob Briggs (CC); 3-2 (Concordia 16-15)

Match Notes:
- Concordia is ranked 24th in Division III in the latest NWCA national poll.
- Concordia is now 1-0 in dual meets this season.
- MSU Moorhead is now 0-1 in dual meets this season.
- Concordia has beaten MSU Moorhead in six straight dual meets dating back to 2009.
- Concordia won three of the first four individual bouts and 5 of the 10 in the match.
- Concordia won 4 bouts by decision and 1 by major decision.
- MSU Moorhead won three of four matches from 157-184.
- MSU Moorhead won all five of their bouts by decision.
- No.10-ranked Jakob Stageberg from Concordia is now 11-2 on the year.
- No.5-ranked Gabe Foltz suffers his first loss of the year and is now 4-1.  
- No.10-ranked Ben Cousins is now 3-4 on the season.