February 28, 2025
Something For Everyone On Day 1 At NCAA Regionals
There was a little bit of everything for Concordia on Day 1 at the NCAA Upper Midwest Regional Meet. There was business as usual, some surprises, a dramatic last-minute takedown for a win, an overall team Top 5 point total, and, as in every regional meet, some heartbreak.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (2/28/25)---There was a little bit of everything for Concordia on Day 1 at the NCAA Upper Midwest Regional Meet. There was business as usual, some surprises, a dramatic last-minute takedown for a win, an overall team Top 5 point total, and, as in every regional meet, some heartbreak.
The Cobbers used the strength of seven wrestlers, who all advanced to Day 2 of the meet, to come away with 54.5 team points, which is fourth among the 16 participating teams in the region.
The "business as usual" storyline was turned in by senior All-American Ty Bisek, who cruised to a pair of tech fall wins and will wrestle in the semifinals at 141 for a chance to earn his second trip to the NCAA National Meet in the last three seasons.
Bisek, who is currently ranked No.6 in Division III at 141, opened his meet with a convincing 17-2 win over Carlos Kisokwa from Linfield. Bisek followed that up with a 16-1 victory over Max Sanderfoot from Milwaukee School of Engineering.
The two wins give Bisek 22 for the season and 109 for his career. He will face Jake Penzato of Aurora (Ill.) in the semifinals. Penzato is 27-10 on the year and ranked No.5 in the region.
Junior Aidan Ruddy came up with a "surprise" of the day. He dropped down in weight class for the regional meet and will join Bisek as the two Cobber semifinalists at the meet. Ruddy, who wrestled 149 through December but then moved up to 157 at the start of January, received a bye in his first match at 149 and then posted an 11-0 major decision win over Lakeland's Jesse Burg.
Ruddy is now 17-9 on the year and will face No.1-seeded Zach Soto of Wis.-Eau Claire who is ranked No.5 in DIII.
Kie Anderson, Alex McPhee, Zach Pribyl, Connor Chloupek and Mason Swanson gave Concordia seven wrestlers advancing to Saturday.
Anderson, McPhee, Pribyl and Chloupek all lost in the quarterfinals while Swanson fell in the opener at 285 and then battled his way back on the 3rd-place section of the bracket.
Anderson went 1-1 at 133 after receiving a bye in the first round.
McPhee came up with the last-minute drama moment of the day. He trailed Kris Castro 7-5 in the final minute of their Round 2 consolation match and then came up with a huge takedown at the 35-second mark to come away with an 8-7 victory.
Pribyl recorded a pair of bonus-point wins at 174. He had a tech fall win over Laiken Copeman of St. John's in the first round and came away with an 8-0 major decision victory against Collin Ruiz of Carthage in the second round of the consolation bracket.
Pribyl now has a career-high 21 wins on the season.
Chloupek trekked a similar path as Anderson as he had a bye in the first round, lost in the quarterfinals at 197 and responded with a win in the second round of the consolation side.
The heartbreak of the day came when senior Elijah Hunt lost back-to-back matches after recording a pin in the second minute of the opener at 165. Hunt was primed to make a deeper rn in the regional with a chance at qualifying for nationals but gave up a pin in the quarterfinals and then fell 8-2 in the second round on the consolation side of the bracket.
Hunt finished the season with 16 wins.
The Cobber "7" will look to get into the Top 3 in their weight class to earn a spot at the NCAA National Meet. Concordia will finish off the regional meet on Saturday, Mar. 1 beginning at 11 a.m. at Augsburg.
Upper Midwest Regional Team Standings After Day 1
1. Augsburg – 108.5 points
2. UW-La Crosse – 102
3. UW-Eau Claire – 84.5
4. Concordia-Moorhead – 54.5
5. Milwaukee School of Engineering – 52.5
6. Augustana (Ill.) – 51.5
7. Aurora – 46.0
8. UW-Stevens Pt. – 44.5
9. Carthage – 41.5
10. UW-Platteville – 37.0
11. St. John's – 36.5
12. Lakeland – 24.0
13. Pacific (Ore.) – 19.0
14. UW-Oshkosh – 10.5
15. Concordia (Wis.) – 5.5
16. Linfield – 4.5