1-Point Table Turned Against Dragons
After beating MSU Moorhead by a single point in two of the past four seasons, Concordia had the table turned as they dropped a 20-19 decision to the Dragons.
MOORHEAD, Minn. (1/23/20)---The streak eventually had to come to an end. Concordia had beaten Division II MSU Moorhead for nine straight seasons with the last four wins coming by a combined total of 12 points and two duals being decided by a single point. On Thursday the Dragons turned the table as they won four of the final five individual bouts and claimed a 1-point 20-19 victory.
The Cobbers won three of the first five bouts in the dual, which started at the 184-lb weight class, and grabbed a 16-6 lead. The Dragons then won three bouts by decision and came up with a key pin at 149 to record the victory.
Concordia won four individual matches – three of which were bonus point wins.
After the Cobbers lost a decision in the opening match at 184, freshman Gabe Zierden responded with a pin in the first minute of the second period. Zierden was up 4-0 when he put his opponents on his back at the 3:41 mark.
The win is Zierden's 14th of the season which is tied for second most on the team. The pin was also his fourth of the year.
The bout at 285 featured Cobber freshman 2-sport athlete Chase Dockter who was wrestling in his first collegiate match. He took a 1-0 lead into the third period after getting an escape to start the second. Dockter's opponent tied the match with an escape to start the third and then won the bout with a pair of takedowns to push the final score to 5-2.
Junior Cole Kubesh broke the 6-6 deadlock when he won by pin at 125. Kubesh was on the attack from the start of the and recorded a takedown and a near fall before winning at the 2:10 mark.
The pin was Kubesh's team-leading ninth of the year and he is now 15-7 in all matches. The 15 wins leads the Cobbers in 2020.
Jacob Prunty then pushed the Cobber lead at 16-6 when he scored a 13-5 major decision at 133. Prunty did the bulk of his work in the third period when he put up four takedowns. The match was scoreless after one period but then Prunty took a 4-2 lead after two with a pair of takedowns.
Prunty is now 14-3 this year with eight wins being of the bonus point variety. He is now 8-0 in matches determined by major decision, technical fall or pin fall.
Concordia's final win of the dual came at 157 where freshman Tyler Bents blanked his opponent with a 3-0 win. All the points in the match came in the second period when Bents got an escape from the opening clinch and then recorded a takedown later in the period.
Bents is now 12-9 in his first collegiate season.
UP NEXT: Concordia will have an 8-day break before hosting St. John's in a dual meet on Friday, Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. The Johnnies are 1-3 in dual meets this season.
MSU Moorhead 20, Concordia-Moorhead 19
Date: January 23, 2020
Location: Nemzek Fieldhouse
Start Time: 7:00 p.m.
End Time: 8:30 p.m.
Total Time: 1:30
Individual Match Results:
184 - Mitchell Kotschevar (MSUM) dec. Ayden Friese (CC); 3-2 (MSUM leads 3-0)
197 - Gabe Zierden (CC) pins Logan Rhode (MSUM); 3:41 (CC leads 6-3)
285 - Jordan Magnuson (MSUM) dec. Chase Dockter (CC); 5-2 (Score tied 6-6)
125 - Cole Kubesh (CC) pins Cameron Williams (MSUM); 2:10 (CC leads 12-6)
133 - #7 Jacob Prunty (CC) maj. dec. Joey Nerdahl (MSUM); 13-5 (CC leads 16-6)
141 - #15 Mason Schulz (MSUM) dec. Cade Lundeen (CC); 5-0 (CC leads 16-9)
149 - Zachary Scott (MSUM) pins Kellen Schauer (CC); 3:22 (CC leads 16-15)
157 - Tyler Bents (CC)) dec. Tell Ward (MSUM); 3-0 (CC leads 19-15)
165 - Justin Dravis (MSUM) dec. Alex Skaare (CC); 5-4 (CC leads 19-18)
174 - #14 Evan Foster (MSUM) dec. Ian Frenzel (CC); 6-2 (MSUM 21-19)
Final score is 20-19 after MSUM loses a point for unsportsmanlike conduct