March 1, 2025
Numbers Add Up To A Very Successful Regional Meet
2 NCAA National Meet qualifiers, 4 Top 5 Finishes, 7 podium finishes and a Top 5 team finish. The numbers all add up to a very successful two days in Minneapolis for the Cobbers.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (3/01/25)---2 NCAA National Meet qualifiers, 4 Top 5 Finishes, 7 podium finishes and a Top 5 team finish.
The numbers all add up to a very successful two days in Minneapolis for the Cobbers.
Concordia used the strength of Ty Bisek and Aidan Ruddy's championship match performances to finish fourth at the Upper Midwest Regional Meet – their highest finish at a regional meet since 2017.
"This group really wrestled to the best of their ability," head coach Quincy Osborn commented. "I am really proud of them."
Bisek and Ruddy were joined by Connor Chloupek and Mason Swanson as Top 5 finishers and that quartet was joined by Kie Anderson, Alex McPhee and Zach Pribyl as the Group of 7 helped the Cobbers earn 96.0 team points which is also the most since 2017.
Bisek claimed his first region championship title with no drama. He pinned Jake Penzato of Aurora in the semifinals at 141 and then accepted a forfeit in the championship match after Sam Lorenz of UW-La Crosse couldn't answer the bell because of an injury.
Bisek becomes the second Cobber to win a region championship in as many years after Gabe Zierden claimed the title at 197 last year.
While Bisek was the "ho hum, yawn" national meet qualifier of the meet, junior Aidan Ruddy was the "jaw dropping, wow" qualifier.
Ruddy advanced to the semifinals with a win on Friday and then pulled off the upset of the meet by edging Zach Sato of UW-Eau Claire, who was 34-3 on the year and ranked fifth in Division III heading into the meet in the semifinals at 149. Ruddy fell behind early but then fought his way back into the match and scored an escape in the final second of the third period to earn a 7-6 decision and his first-ever trip to the NCAA National Meet.
Ruddy ended his regional meet with a 9-0 loss to No.6-ranked Matt Randolph of Augsburg.
Chloupek and Swanson both finished fifth in their weight classes. Chloupek went 3-2 at 197 to record his highest finish at a regional and Swanson went 4-2 at 285 to come away with his highest regional finish.
Zach Pribyl was the other Cobber wrestler to record three wins for the meet. He went 3-3 and finished sixth at 174. Like Chloupek and Swanson, it's his highest finish at an NCAA regional meet.
Anderson and McPhee both came home with 8th-place finishes.
Bisek and Ruddy will now have a 2-week break before heading to Providence, R.I. for the NCAA National Meet.
NCAA Upper Midwest Regional Place Winners for Concordia
133 – Kie Anderson (1-3) – 8th Place
141 – Ty Bisek (4-0) – 1st Place
149 – Aidan Ruddy (2-1) – 2nd Place
157 – Alex McPhee (2-3) – 8th Place
174 – Zach Pribyl (3-3) – 6th Place
197 – Connor Chloupek (3-2) – 5th Place
285 – Mason Swanson (4-2) – 5th Place
Upper Midwest Regional Final Team Standings
1. UW-La Crosse – 192.5 points
2. Augsburg – 186.0
3. UW-Eau Claire – 144.5
4. Concordia-Moorhead – 96.0
5. Augustana (Ill.) – 83.0
6. Milwaukee School of Engineering – 74.5
7. UW-Stevens Point – 73.0
8. Carthage – 64.5
9. Aurora – 59.0
10. St. John's – 57.0
11. UW-Platteville – 42.5
12. Lakeland – 36.0
13. Pacific (Ore.) – 28.0
14. UW-Oshkosh – 17.5
15. Concordia (Wis.) – 5.5
16. Linfield – 4.5