A Trio Of Top 2 Finishes At The Finn
Concordia had a trio of Top 2 finishes at the annual Finn Grinaker Cobber Open. Kaden Spindler won his bracket while Nick Gravdahl and Bret Wilson had runner-up finishes.
MOORHEAD, Minn. (11/17/18)---Senior Nick Gravdahl and freshmen Kaden Spindler and Bret Wilson led Concordia in the gold and maroon divisions at the annual Finn Grinaker Cobber Open.
The invitational, named after the Concordia Hall of Fame coach, is split into two divisions with experienced collegiate wrestlers competing in the gold division and college newcomers participating in the maroon bracket.
Gravdahl posted a pair of pin falls, went 2-1 and finished second in the 174-lb weight class in the gold division. Spindler won the 165-lb weight class in the maroon division. He went 5-0 on the day with a trio of pin falls and then put up a pair of close decision victories in the semifinals and finals to earn his championship trophy. Wilson was second at 141 in the maroon division.
Gravdahl earns his second-place finish after placing fifth at the season-opening Jamestown Invite on Nov. 3. He is now 4-2 on the year.
Spindler continues to be one of the breakout wrestlers for head coach Phil Moenkedick's freshman class. Spindler finished third at Jamestown, won his bout in the dual at Northern State and is now 9-1 on the season.
Wilson went 3-1 on the day for his runner-up finish. He won by decision in the first round and then recorded a pair of pin falls in the next two rounds. Wilson ended the day by falling in the title bout to a Division I wrestler from St. Cloud State.
The Cobbers had four other athletes post Top 5 finishes at the open. Cole Kubesh, Benjamin Bogart and Alex Skaare had podium finishes in the gold division while first-year wrestler Noah Carter was fifth at 285 in the maroon division.
Kubesh was fifth at 125 while Bogart went 2-2 and was fourth at 133 and Skaare was fifth at 157.
Carter went 3-2 on his way to a fifth-place finish for the day. He had the longest day of any Cobber as he won two matches in overtime and dropped another in a sudden-victory situation. Carter has now posted two Top 5 finishes on the year. He was second at Jamestown and is now 7-3 on the season.
UP NEXT: The Cobbers will host cross-town rival MSU-Moorhead in the annual 8th-street dual match on Tuesday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. The dual will be the first of the season for the Dragons.