Young Cobbers Square Up At Matman

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa (1/16/16)--- Aaron Dick led a select group of Cobbers at the Matman Invite held at Cornell College in Mount Vernon.

Dick posted a third-place finish in the 125-lb weight class and Concordia placed 11th at the multiple-team invitational.

Cobber head coach chose to take his younger wrestlers to the meet which featured the top teams in Division III including No.1-ranked Wartburg.  Dick was one of three CC athletes to place in the top 8 of a weight class. Freshman Nick Gravdahl placed fourth at 165 while sophomore Jake Johnson was eighth at 174.

Dick entered Saturday with a 9-7 record on the year and went 3-2 on Saturday. He started the day by posting a 10-4 decision over Ernesto Garcia from Buena Vistas. Dick then advanced to the semifinals by recording an 18-3 technical fall over Connor Murphy from Luther in the quarterfinals.

Dick lost 15-6 in the semifinals but then rallied to win 14-10 against Fletcher Green of Coe in the semifinals on the consolation side of the bracket. He then finished off the day with a loss in the third-place match against Tanner Terry of #1 Wartburg.

Gravdahl's fourth-place finish marks the second straight meet he has finished in the top 4. Last weekend he also placed fourth at the Ridgewater Open.

Gravdahl went 6-2 at the Matman Invite. He started his busy day with an 8-2 decision over Brice Duhe from Wartburg. He was then sent to the wrestleback section with an 11-6 loss in Round of 16. Gravdahl began the long trek to the third-place match by beating teammate Joe Heinz 8-6. He then scored a 7-6 win against Branden Madsen of Wartburg. Gravdahl then enjoyed a pair of wins because of medical forfeits. He advanced to the third-place match courtesy of a 9-4 decision over Mitchell Fucile of Lakeland.  Gravdahl then fell 10-4 in the third-place bout.

Gravdahl has now won 11 of his last 15 matches and is 14-8 on the season.

Johnson, who was one of the few CC athletes at the meet who participated in the NWCA National Duals Meet last weekend, won four matches on the day.

Johnson won his opening match 7-1 over Tyler Lutes from Wartburg. In the Round of 16 he came up one point short in the second overtime period. Johnson started his comeback trail in similar fashion as Gravdahl. He pinned teammate Blake Bergeron at 3:28. Johnson then recorded his second bonus point win by scoring a 19-2 technical fall over Cory McLeary from Central. He then got the better of his second teammate when he won 6-3 over Dane Ringquist.

Johnson's day finished with a pair of losses in the consolation semifinals and seventh-place match. He is now 12-15 for the year.
         
WHAT'S NEXT
Concordia will renew their annual former MIAC rivalry with Augsburg when they host the No.8-ranked Auggies in a dual meet on Friday, Jan. 22 at 7 p.m.