Johnnies Fall to Cobbers By Criteria, 17-16
COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – No. 18 Saint John’s fell to No. 21 Concordia-Moorhead via criteria (total match points, 51-42) 17-16 on Saturday, Feb. 16, in Collegeville.
SJU (8-5 dual record) fell behind 10-0 before gaining a 16-10 lead with six consecutive wins. Senior Chris Stevermer (Savage, Minn./Prior Lake) weighed in at 149 pounds for the second time this season and improved to 13-5 overall with a 3-2 upset over Jake Long, the 10th-ranked wrestler according to the latest National Wrestling Coaches’ Association (NWCA) rankings released Feb. 13.
Junior Ryan Arne (Orono, Minn.) tallied a 6-1 decision over Kevin Fynboh at 157 pounds before junior Nick Schuler (Roseville, Minn.) tied the match at 10-10 with a 16-8 major decision of Josten Coleman at 165. Schuler is now 14-1 on the year.
Freshman Josh Willaert (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson) earned his team-leading 17th win of the season (17-3 record) with a hard-fought 7-6 win over Sebastian Gardner at 174.
Senior Mitch Hagen (Sunburg, Minn./Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg) recorded a one-point win of his own, 2-1, over Chris Harrison. Hagen, the fourth-ranked wrestler by the NWCA at 184, is now 12-5 on the year.
Sophomore Ryan Michaelis (Monticello, Minn.) lost a close 3-1 decision in overtime to Nathan Schmitz and Tom Bouressa, the fourth-ranked heavyweight in the country (NWCA), ended the dual with a 6-0 decision to tie it at 16-16.
The Johnnies return to action in two weeks at the NCAA West Regional on Saturday, March 2. The meet is scheduled for 9 a.m. at Augsburg’s Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis. The top three wrestlers at each weight advance to the NCAA Division III Championships March 15-16 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Concordia Senior All-Americans Are The Difference In Win At St. John’s
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COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. (2/16/13)—Concordia’s senior All-Americans showed their Cobber character as they turned a six-point deficit into a one-point win in the final matches of CC’s dual at St. John’s. Concordia won the first three matches and then the final two bouts to outfight the No.18-ranked Johnnies 17-16.
The No.21-ranked Cobbers trailed 16-10 heading into the final two matches of the night but then got wins from Nathan Schmitz and Tom Bouressa to tie the match at 16-16 and then Concordia earned the one point decision for total team points.
The dual was a bookend story for the Cobbers who up their dual-meet record to 8-5 on the year. Concordia won the first three matches and the last two matches of the meet. In between, St. John’s won five straight to take, what seemed like, an insurmountable 16-10 lead. However, with a pair of All-Americans at the back end of their line-up Concordia is never out of a dual and Schmitz and Bouressa showed off their pedigree by coming away with the match-deciding wins.
Schmitz needed to go to overtime to earn a 3-1 win at 197. He got a takedown in the extra period to pick up his fifth straight win. He is now 12-3 since returning to the lineup in January. Bouressa, who is ranked fourth at 285, completely dominated the final bout of the night. He scored a 6-0 win and has not given up a point in his last two matches. Bouressa is now 21-3 on the year as he continues his trek for a second All-American honor.
Concordia bolted to a 10-0 lead out of the gate after the first three matches. Will McCarthy and Chase Austvold earned wins by a decision while Jacoby Bergeron scored the only bonus-point win for CC in the meet. McCarthy put the Cobbers on the board with a 4-1 win at 125. McCarthy has started to find his way in the second half of his second collegiate wrestling season. After starting the year 4-8, he has won eight of his last nine matches and is now 12-9 on the year. Bergeron followed the opening-match win with a 16-3 major decision victory at 133. Bergeron was never pushed as he also won his eighth match in the last nine outings. Austvold capped the trio of wins with a 5-2 decision at 141. Austvold, the lone freshman in the CC lineup, is now 16-13 on the season and has won two straight matches.
The Cobbers will now have a two-week break before competing in the NCAA West Regional on Saturday, Mar. 2 at Augsburg College beginning at 9 a.m.
#21 Concordia 17, #18 Saint John’s 16
125: Will McCarthy (CC) dec. Sammy Roundtree, 4-1
133: Jacoby Bergeron (CC) major dec. Dalton Sowers, 16-3
141: Chase Austvold (CC) dec. Evan Guffey, 5-2
149: Chris Stevermer (SJU) dec. #10 Jake Long, 3-2
157: Ryan Arne (SJU) dec. Kevin Fynboh, 6-1
165: Nick Schuler (SJU) major dec. Josten Coleman, 16-8
174: Josh Willaert (SJU) dec. Sebastian Gardner, 7-6
184: #4 Mitch Hagen (SJU) dec. Chris Harrison, 2-1
197: Nathan Schmitz (CC) dec. Ryan Michaelis, 3-1 (OT)
285: #4 Tom Bouressa (CC) dec. John Scepaniak, 6-0