Solid 6 At 21st Annual Grinaker Open
Concordia had six wrestlers finish in the Top 6 at the 21st annual Finn Grinaker Cobber Open.
MOORHEAD, Minn. (11/16/19)---Concordia had six Top 6 finishes at the 21st annual Finn Grinaker Cobber Open.
Concordia welcomed wrestlers from 16 colleges as they competed against athletes from NCAA Division I, II and NAIA insitutions as well as a trio of junior colleges. It was the first multi-team invitational of the season for the Cobbers.
Concordia had four wrestlers record Top 5 finishes on the day. CC was led by sophomore Jacob Prunty who finished third in the 133-lb weight class. Prunty went 3-1 on the day with his only loss coming in the semifinals against a wrestler from Division II powerhouse St. Cloud State. Prunty rallied from his semifinal loss and posted a 5-3 win in the consolation semifinal and closed out the tournament with a pin fall at 1:36 of the third-place finish.
Sophomore Bret Wilson and freshman Gabe Zierden both finished fourth in their weight divisions.
Wilson was 4-2 on the day and finished fourth at 157. His four wins tied for for the most by a Cobber in the tournament. Like Prunty, Wilson also lost in the semifinals. He then won 10-7 over a wrestler from Minot State in the consolation semifinals before falling 4-1 in the third-place match to a DII athlete from Northern State.
Zierden created the most buzz on the day. Seeing his first collegiate action, Zierden started the invite by posting a 10-2 major decision over a wrestler from DII MSU Moorhead. He would then lose a tight 6-4 decision in the semifinals before recording his second major decision of the day in the consolation semifinals. Zierden then lost in the third-place bout to a junior from St. Cloud State. Zierden finished the day with a 3-2 mark and placed fourth at 197.
Jacob Arends tied Wilson with four wins on the day as he placed fifth at 184. Arends lost his first bout but then rattled off two straight wins before falling in the in the consolation semifinals. Wilson then claimed an 8-0 major decision win in the fifth-place match.
Ayden Friese and Ian Frenzel were the two other Top 6 finishers for CC and both placed sixth in their weight classes. Friese was sixth at 184 and had a pair of wins for the invite. Frenzel also posted two victories and was sixth in the maroon division of the 174-lb weight class.
UP NEXT: Concordia will host its first dual meet of the season when they square off against Northern State on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. The Wolves are 1-0 in dual meets this year. They beat St. John's 42-3 in their season opener on Nov. 7.
Saturday recaps sponsored by Bufffalo Wild Wings: Grab your friends and get to B-Dubs on Sunday nights for College Nights at 9 p.m. 50% off 1 food item with ID and $3 apps at the Buffalo Wild Wings located on Hwy 10 in Moorhead.
