Six Flags Roller Coaster Ride Finishes Day 1

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (3/14/14)—Concordia turned the second session of the NCAA National Meet into a roller coaster ride that would have made Six Flaggs Over America envious. The Cobbers went from the highest of highs by placing all seven wrestlers into the All-American round to screaming to a finish which saw a pair of athletes earn All-American honors.

In the end Concordia put up eight wins including three by pin fall on the night session of Day 1 at the national meet and finished in eighth place in the team standings. The Cobbers have 24.0 total team points and trail No.7 Augsburg by just 1.5 points.

Concordia started Friday night by having all seven athletes advance to the All-American round of competition with a win guaranteeing All-American honors. That marks the first time in program history that the Cobbers have had more than five wrestlers get to that stage of the NCAA Meet. While all seven eventually made the prestigious stage of the meet, most took different routes to get to the destination.
 
Jake Long and Jacoby Bergeron were the two Cobbers that broke on through and earned All-American honors. Long earned his second consecutive All-American award and becomes only the sixth athlete in CC history to earn more than one All-American honor. After winning his Round of 16 match in the morning, Long lost his quarterfinal bout 1-0 to Mark Hartenstine of Wilkes who is now 41-1 on the year. Long rebounded from the loss at 149 by battling to a 4-1 decision in Round 2 of the consolation bracket and can finish no worse than eighth place. Long is now 29-10 on the year and can become the 16th wrestler in CC history to win 30 matches in a season by gaining a victory in one of his matches on Saturday.    

Bergeron took a completely different path to earn his first-ever All-American honor. He lost his opening match of the day and then spun his own version of "Friday Night Lights" by winning both matches in the second session at 133. He wore down Chad Bartschenfeld of Augsburg in the consolation first round and won 3-1. Bergeron did the same thing in his All-American match by claiming a 3-1 victory in overtime against No.4-seeded Evan Obert of Luther.  Bergeron is the 15th wrestler in program history to earn All-American honors.  

The most dramatic performance of the night session was turned in by "Heart Attack" Jake Krogstad. Krogstad lost his opening match of the meet at 165 and then pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in school history. Krogstad's NCAA Meet was 10 seconds from ending with two straight losses. He trailed by two seconds with 10-seconds left in his match against No.7-seeeded Derek Mizaur of Dubuque. Krostad then shot the legs and was able to get a takedown with seconds remaining. He then turned Mizaur and pulled off an improbable pin fall with only 2 seconds left on the clock.

Krogstad went on to beat David Shapiro of Baldwin Wallace 5-3 before losing to Collin Crowell of Williams in the All-American match.

The other two pin falls of the second session were recorded by Kyle LeDuc and Chris Harrsion. LeDuc recovered from his opening-match loss at 157 by pinning No.3-ranked Steven DeWitt of Loras in the second period. DeWitt was 31-5 entering the match and hadn't been pinned in 2013-14. LeDuc ended up losing his next match in the All-American round  to No.4-ranked Jon Garrison of Mount Union. LeDuc finishes his senior season with a 26-12 record. He also finishes his Cobber career by recording 70 victories.

Harrison posted his pin fall in his first match of the second session at 184. After losing his only bout in the morning, Harrison regrouped by pinning No.7-seeded Jayden DeVilbiss of Luther. Devilbiss was 30-10 in 2013-14. Unfortunately Harrsion's consolation round momentum would stall in the next round when he ran into No.8-seeded Josh Thompson of Messiah and lost 4-1. Harrison caps his campaign at 26-10 and has served notice that he will be a force in his senior season.          

Sebastian Gardner, Chris Harrison and Cody Kasprick rounded out the Concordia 7 to make the All-American round at the national meet. Gardner ground out one of the toughest victories of the day in the first round of the consolation bracket at 174. He was able to stay on top of Joshua Sibblies of Centenerray (N.J.) for the entire 2-minute third period to earn a 2-0 win. Gardner then ran into a buzzsaw in the second round when he lost to No.8-seeded Zach Zotollo of the College of New Jersey. Gardner ends his year with a 27-14 record.

Kasprick looked to be ready to earn All-American honors after recording a pin fall in his second match of the morning session. He then ran into a pair of wrestlers on a mission and lost two straight in the night session. Kasprick got into a 5-1 hole in his quarterfinal match to start the second session and could never recover. He then battled through a hard-fought 11-4 loss in the All-American match. Kasprick ends his season with a career-high 25 wins. He earned 84 victories in his four years at Concordia and is 14th on the school's all-time win list.

Long and Bergeron will now battle to help the Cobbers move up in the team standings and have a chance to post a top 5 finish at the national meet. Long will face No.7-seeded Vincent Fava of Delaware Valley while Bergeron squares off against No.7-ranked Silas Murray of Rhode Island College. Both wrestlers are assured of having at least two matches on the final day of competition.         

NCAA Division III National Meet - Standings After Day 1
1. Wartburg (Iowa) 56.5
2. Messiah (Pa.) 38.0
3. Wisconsin-Whitewater 35.5
4. SUNY-Cortland 30.5
5. Johnson & Wales (R.I.) 28.5
6. Coe 28.0
7. Augsburg (Minn.) 25.5
8. Concordia-Moorhead 24.0
9. Wabash (Ind.) 21.5
10t. Ithaca (N.Y.) 18.0
10t. Wisconsin-Oshkosh 18.0

NCAA National Meet - Individual Results for Concordia
133 - Jacoby Bergeron (28-9) placed 8th and scored 4.00 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Jimmy Nehls (UW-Whitewater) 24-6 dec. Jacoby Bergeron (CC) 28-9 (7-4)
Cons. Round 1 - Jacoby Bergeron (CC) 28-9 dec. over Chad Bartschenfeld (Augsburg) (3-1)
Cons. Round 2 - Jacoby Bergeron (CC) 28-9 SV-1 over Evan Obert (Luther) 28-7 (SV-1 3-1)

149 - Jake Long (29-10) placed 8th and scored 6.50 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Jacob Long (CC) 29-10 pin fall Mark Pinero (Wartburg) 30-12 (6:09)
Quarterfinal - Mark Hartenstine (Wilkes) 41-1 dec. over Jacob Long (CC) 29-10 (1-0)
Cons. Round 2 - Jacob Long (CC) 29-10 dec. over Joey Gaccione (Johnson & Wales) 27-8 (4-1)

157 - Kyle LeDuc (26-12) place is unknown and scored 2.50 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Jorge Lopez (Williams) 29-2 dec. over Kyle LeDuc (CC) 26-12 (9-3)
Cons. Round 1 - Kyle LeDuc (CC) 26-12 pin fall Steven DeWitt (Loras) 31-6 (4:00)
Cons. Round 2 - Jon Garrison (Mount Union) 37-6 dec. over Kyle LeDuc (CC) 26-12 (8-2)

165 - Jake Krogstad (22-11) place is unknown and scored 3.00 team points.
Prelim - Dylan Foley (Springfield) 41-7 dec. over Jake Krogstad (CC) 22-11 (5-3)
Prelim - Jake Krogstad (CC) 22-11 pin fall Derek Mizaur (Dubuque) 18-10 (6:58)
Cons. Round 1 - Jake Krogstad (CC) 22-11 dec. David Shapiro (Baldwin Wallace) (5-3)
Cons. Round 2 - Collin Crowell (Roger Williams) 31-5 dec. over Jake Krogstad (CC) 22-11 (7-5)

174 - Sebastian Gardner (27-14) place is unknown and scored 1.50 team points.
Prelim - Sebastian Gardner (CC) 27-14 dec. James Roach (St. Olaf) 26-7 (10-5)
Champ. Round 1 - A.Bonaventura (Waynesburg) 38-4 dec. over S.Gardner (CC) 27-14 (8-3)
Cons. Round 1 - Sebastian Gardner (CC) 27-14 dec. Joshua Sibblies (Centenary) 18-7 (2-0)
Cons. Round 2 - Zach Zotollo (TCNJ) 24-5 maj. dec. Sebastian Gardner (CC) 27-14 (12-3)

184 - Christian Harrison (26-10) place is unknown and scored 2.50 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Brian Broderick (TCNJ) 17-3 dec. over Christian Harrison (CC) 26-10 (4-2)
Cons. Round 1 - Christian Harrison (CC) 26-10 pin fall Jayden DeVilbiss (Luther) 30-11 (3:35)
Cons. Round 2 - Josh Thomson (Messiah) 43-6 dec. over Christian Harrison (CC) 26-10 (4-1)

285 - Cody Kasprick (25-12) place is unknown and scored 4.00 team points.
Prelim - Cody Kasprick (CC) 25-12 dec. over Mackenzie Green (Trine) 31-7 (2-1)
Champ. Round 1 - Cody Kasprick (CC) 25-12 pin fall Matan Peleg (Ursinus) 16-12 (4:37)
Quarterfinal - Jacob Minske (UW-La Crosse) 22-6 dec. Cody Kasprick (CC) 25-12 (7-4)
Cons. Round 2 - Cody Lovejoy (Ohio Northern) 42-4 dec. Cody Kasprick (CC) 25-12 (11-4)