The Concordia wrestling team opened its season this past Saturday as they hosted the annual Finn Grinaker Cobber Open. The Cobber wrestlers were able to have a strong start to the winter season, walking away with multiple top five finishes.
Headlining the group for the Cobbers was junior NWCA All-American Gabe Zierden, who competed in the gold division at 197 pounds, finishing in second place.
Also in the gold division was Ty Bisek, who went 3-1 and took home third at 133 pounds, Kellen Schauer went 2-2 and finished fourth at 149 pounds and junior Ayden Friese also went 2-2 and finished fourth at 184 pounds. Nathan Kisgen also turned in a two-win performance in at 174 pounds.
Sam Kulseth was the top finisher for Concordia in the maroon division at 141 pounds. He finished in second place after a 2-1 record on the day. First-year David Platt had the most wins on the weekend for Concordia, winning four times as he took home fourth in a tough 149 bracket, and Alex McPhee finished in fifth place at 157 after three victories for him on the day.
Being the first meet of the season means guys will probably be shaking off a little bit of rust, but head coach Quincy Osborn was pleased with what he saw from his squad on Saturday.
“I think we need to initiate the action and attack positions, not just go for scoring moves, but I saw some guys go out and attack their game plan, in particular some underclassmen,” said Osborn. “We had success when we stayed disciplined and attacked the position.”
This is the first of many meets and matchups the Cobber grapplers will have this year, and Osborn has high hopes for what this team can accomplish.
“This is a very talented team with great leadership that exemplifies our CobberUp lifestyle, which means a dedication to our academics, athletics and being good citizens,” said Osborn.
The Concordia wrestling team has set goals of an average team GPA of 3.5, top 8 at NWCA National Duals, top 3 in the Upper-Midwest NCAA Regionals and top 4 at NCAA nationals.
Concordia will look to keep rolling as they head to Aberdeen to take on Northern State University in a dual Thursday, Nov. 11.
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