More Successful Than The Ride Home
Concordia led all teams with 10 pin falls and had 30 wins at the Don Parker Open but then had their bus break down on the way home.
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (2/04/17)--- Concordia will be hoping its final month of the season will be a lot smoother than their ride home from the Don Parker Open hosted by Wis.-Eau Claire. The Cobbers had their bus break down on Interstate 94 on the road back to Moorhead and were stranded by the side of the road.
Concordia's bus troubles overshadowed a stellar performance in the team's final multi-team invitational of the year. The Cobbers had 17 wrestlers compete in the tournament which featured teams from NCAA Division I, II and III.
Concordia tied for the team lead in pin falls during the tournament with 10 and amassed 30 individual wins.
The Cobbers were led by Jacob Johnson and Aaron Dick who earned Top 3 finishes on the day. Johnson won his first four matches on the day, went 4-1 and finished second in the 174-lb weight class. Johnson lost to Jacob Covaciu of Division I Wisconsin 3-2 in the championship bout.
Dick, who recently dropped down to the 125-lb weight class, won two matches and finished third.
Concordia had three other wrestlers lose in their first match of the day but then advance to the consolation championship bout.
Ty Johnson dropped a decision in his opener at 149 but then rattled off four straight wins to go 4-1 and win the consolation title. Along the way he recorded three pin falls – two of which came in the first two minutes of the opening period.
Travis Deegan won three straight on his path to the consolation championship bout at 165. He fell 1-0 in the first match but then claimed a pin fall and two decisions to advance to the title bout where he lost 2-0.
Ricky Briggs lost 3-2 in his opener and then won four straight matches to win the consolation title at 184. He started his comeback with a pin fall and then earned a victory in overtime and a 12-9 decision to get to the consolation championship match. Briggs then won 6-3 over Nick Sundberg from Wis.-Whitewater.
COBBER RESULTS BY WEIGHT CLASS
125 – Aaron Dick 2-1, third place
141 – Adam Presler 0-2
149 – Ben Baumgartner 2-2; Ty Johnson 4-1
165 – Nick Gravdahl 1-2; Joe Heinz 2-2; Parker Jackson 2-2; Travis Deegan 3-2
174 – Jake Johnson 4-1, second place; Joseph Grove 1-2, Collin Dolej 1-2; Jake Berens 1-2
184 – Ricky Briggs 4-1
197 – Jacob Briggs 0-2; Hunter SantAmour 0-2; Kody Van Den Eykel 1-2
285 – Brandon Knisley 1-2
WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia will now have two dual meets before hosting the NCAA West Regional Meet on Feb. 25. The Cobbers will travel to Northfield to take on St. Olaf on Thursday, Feb. 9 and then return home to battle Southwest Minnesota State on Thursday, Feb. 16.