A Nationally-Ranked Friday Night Battle
No.25-ranked Concordia led Division II nationally-ranked Northern State after the first five matches, but then the Wolvers were able to come through with a late-meet surge and grab a 29-13 victory.
MOORHEAD, Minn. (1/06/23)---No.25-ranked Concordia led Division II nationally-ranked Northern State after the first five matches, but then the Wolvers were able to come through with a late-meet surge and grab a 29-13 victory.
The Cobbers took three of the first five bouts against No.21-ranked Northern State to take a 13-10 lead, before the Wolves earned three decisions and a major decision to put the match away.
Concordia is now 5-3 in dual meets with all three defeats coming at the hands of teams ranked in the Top 25 of their division.
Northern State improves to 3-2 in dual meets on the year.
The biggest roar from the crowd came after the match at 141, where Cade Lundeen beat the buzzer at the end of the first period to earn a pin and give Concordia a 10-6 lead. Lundeen was able to get a late-period takedown and then put his opponent's shoulders to the mat in the final second of the opening period.
The win was Lundeen's 14th of the season which is tied for the team lead.
Lundeen had to earn a win in his match to stay level with sophomore Ty Bisek who got the Cobbers on the board with an 8-0 major decision win at 133. Bisek went on the offensive from the first move, and recorded his fifth straight win.
Bisek's win got CC within two points after the Wolves came out of the gate and recorded a pin in the first match.
Northern State claimed a major decision win at 149 to tie the match at 10-10, but then Tyler Bents outlasted his opponent at 155 to put CC back in the lead at 13-10. Bents earned his 7-3 win by posting a pair of takedowns in the second period, one more in the third and then tacking on the bonus point for riding time.
Bents is now 7-3 on the year and has won two straight matches.
The Wolves won the next three bouts to take a 20-13 lead which set the stage for one of the most exciting matches of the night. Cobber senior Gabe Zierden battled No.2-ranked Cole Huss all the way to the final buzzer. The match at 197 featured seven points in the first period, and then Zierden recorded his second reversal of the match in the second period.
UP NEXT: Concordia will return to its multi-team invitational schedule when they compete at the Al Hanke Invite at Elmhurst College in Illinois on Saturday, Jan. 14.
