Acuna's First-Place Finish Leads 12 Placewinners At Season Opener

STEVENS POINT, Wis. (11/01/25)---First-year wrestler Chris Acuna (Billings, Mont.) led a group of 25 Cobbers at the season-opening Wis.-Stevens Point Pointer Open.

Acuna posted a 4-0 record and won the 157-lb weight class in the silver division of the tournament.

Concordia had eight athletes compete in the gold division and 17 in the silver bracket at the Pointer Open with Acuna being one of 12 wrestlers to post a podium (Top 8) finish. The silver division is designated for first-year or sophomore athletes.

Acuna started his college career by posting a 5-0 decision over Jack O'Connor from Whitewater. He then came up with another decision victory in the quarterfinals before scoring his first pin in the semifinals when he pinned Antione Gilford of Augustana (Ill.) at the 5:00-minute mark. Acuna captured the crown by grinding out a 5-2 win over Raydon Bipes of Wis.-Stevens Point, who won 43 matches last year in high school and was the Minnesota state tournament runner-up at 152.

Nate Kisgen was the lone podium finisher in the gold division for the Cobbers. He won his first two matches at 184 but then had to retire in the semifinals due to a lower body injury. Kisgen opened his senior season with a 9-5 win and then claimed a win by pin over Caden Gousetis in the quarterfinals.

First-year wrestler Aiden Russell and sophomore Jack Major had the other Top 3 finishes on the day.

Russell went 2-1 in his first collegiate tournament and placed second at 174 in the silver division. He opened his career in maroon and gold with a 17-7 major decision against Nathan Lenz-Messman of Wis.-Oshkosh in the semifinals and added a second major decision win the semifinals with a 22-11 victory over Kenny Vaughn of Wis.-Whitewater.

Major had four wins at 141 in the silver division and placed third. He won his first two matches of the day by pin, lost in the quarterfinals but then rallied to post his third pin of the day in the fourth round of the consolation bracket and won a 10-7 decision in the third-place match over Carter De La Cerna of North Central.

Concordia had four other wrestlers record four wins on the day. First-year athletes Zaniyan Iron Eyes, Zachary Thompson and Kaullen Hegney all put up a quartet of victories in the silver division.

Iron Eyes went 4-1 at 141 in the silver division, Thompson lost his opening match but then rattled off four straight wins at 149 and Hegney finished fifth at 165 with a 4-2 mark.

Sophomore Dante Novembre came through with a fourth-place finish at 197 in the silver division. LikeThompson, Novembre lost his first match but then went on a 4-match roll and ended the day with  4-2 record.

Concordia will open its dual-meet season when they travel across the Red River to take on Division I North Dakota State on Thursday, Nov. 13 at 6 p.m.