32 Wins & 2 Podiums At Eau Claire
Concordia had 32 wins and a pair of podium finishes at the highly competitive Don Parker Wis.-Eau Claire Open which featured wrestlers from DI and DII.
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (2/08/20)--- A duo of freshmen led Concordia at the highly competitive Don Parker Open at UW-Eau Claire on Saturday. Gabe Zierden and Cade Lundeen both earned their way onto the podium and came away with fourth-place finishes in a tournament that included Big Ten wrestlers from Iowa and Minnesota.
When the mats had finally been rolled up, the Cobbers came away with 32 wins which included 18 bonus-point victories.
Lundeen and Zierden both started the day with byes. Zierden then picked up a win by fall in his first match at 197 and Lundeen defeated an Augsburg wrestler by a major decision at 141. Both of the Cobber freshmen then punched their tickets to the semifinals with decision wins.
Zierden and Lundeen both trailed early in their quarterfinal bouts, but they stormed back late to ensure their podium positions.
Lundeen and Zierden were only kept from the finals by a defending national champion and a DI wrestler. Both wrestlers finished the day with three wins. Lundeed dropped his semifinal match to David Flynn of Augsburg who won last year's DIII title at 141. Lundeen now has 16 wins on the season.
Zierden fell to Zach Glazier from Iowa who was a 2-time Minnesota State High School champion. Zierden's three victories on the day give him 18 for the year which is second on the team this year.
Many other Cobbers excelled in the consolation bracket and were only kept from placing by the NCAA's daily match limit rule.
Junior 165-pounder Alex Skaare led all Cobber wrestlers in wins on the day. He lost his first match of the day but then came back to record four straight wins, three of which came by pin.
Junior 125-pounder Cole Kubesh also went unbeaten after an opening round loss. Concordia's season wins leader, Kubesh picked up three wins, including a pin, and is now 19-8 on the season.
Joining Kubesh in the 3-wins club were freshman Kellen Schauer at 149 and fellow first-year athlete Ian Frenzel at 174.
Schauer had a terrible opening-round draw as he had to face a fifth-year senior from Iowa. Schauer came back from that opening loss to win his next three matches by a major decision, tech fall and pin. Schauer now has 12 wins on the year.
Frenzel lost an overtime heartbreaker to a wrestler from DII powerhouse St. Cloud State to start the day, but pinned his next opponent before winning two more hard-fought decisions. Frenzel is now 13-10 for the year.
Junior 133-pounder Benjamin Bogart, sophomore 149-pounder Bret Wilson, freshman 157-pounder Tyler Bents, freshman 184-pounder Ayden Friese and freshman 285-pounder Chase Dockter all added two wins to the Cobbers' tally.
The two wins for Frieze brings his season total to 10. Concordia now has nine wrestlers with at least 10 wins on the year.
Bogart, Wilson, and Friese each pinned one opponent, while Bents earned two major decision victories. In Wilson's second win, he used a buzzer-beating reversal and an overtime takedown to get the thrilling victory.
UP NEXT: Saturday's Don Parker Open was the last meet of the season for many of the Concordia wrestlers. The Cobber starting 10 will take on No.2-ranked Augsburg in a dual meet on Thursday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. in Minneapolis. CC will then have a break for training before competing at the NCAA Regional Tournament at Augsburg on Feb. 28-29.
Saturday recaps sponsored by Bufffalo Wild Wings: Grab your friends and get to B-Dubs on Sunday nights for College Nights at 9 p.m. 50% off 1 food item with ID and $3 apps at the Buffalo Wild Wings located on Hwy 10 in Moorhead.
