Great Lakes Regional Recap

Courtesy of GoCobbers.com, Release: February 18

Great Lakes Regional Results

(all results are in pdf format)

Regional Meet Recap

CHICAGO, Ill.-- Heading into the NCAA Great Lakes Regional the smart money was on Concordia senior Lee Rahrlien or freshman John Fradette to make a strong push to qualify for the NCAA National Meet. On Saturday at the University of Chicago, Luke Vetsch stole the spotlight from the two winningest wrestlers on this year's team and almost came from nowhere to claim a spot at nationals.

Vetsch ran the table in his first three matches to earn a spot in the championship bout at 174. Knowing that he would have to win the title match in order to claim the automatic spot at nationals, Vetsch's dream came to a sudden halt as he lost to #1-seeded Josh Rupprecht of Elmhurst (Ill.). In the end, Vetsch's 3-1 record at the regional meet wasn't enough to earn a wild card spot at nationals. He was passed over for #2-seeded Robert Gotreau of Augsburg who lost in the quarterfinals to the wrestler who Vetsch pinned in the semifinals.

Vetsch's determination set the tone for Concordia who placed five wrestlers in the top six of their respective weight classes at the meet. The Cobbers finished seventh in the team standings with a total of 57.0 points. They were only four points behind host University of Chicago for sixth place. Perennial national power Augsburg won the regional meet with 162.0 points.

Rahrlien, who needed to finish in the top two of the 165-pound weight class to have a chance at the national meet, lost in the semifinals to #1-seed Ryan Valek of Augsburg 4-2. The semifinal match was one of the best of the entire meet. Rahrlien then lost in the third place match to finish fourth with a 3-2 record. His three wins pushes his season total to 27 and caps his career total at 90. He finishes tied with Harlan Leopold for seventh place on the school's all-time victory list.

Fradette entered the meet with a team-best 25 wins. He posted a 2-2 record and finishes the season tied with Rahrlien with 27 victories. Fradette won his first match of the day but then fell to eventual weight-class winner Josh Hansen of Augsburg. Fradette won his first consolation match and then dropped a 10-0 decision to #5-seeded Charlie Sadder of St. John's.

Leland Brincefield and Cody Salo picked up sixth place finishes for Clay Nagel's team. Brincefield lost in the semifinals at 125 and then lost the next two matches in the consolation bracket. Salo lost his first match but then won three straight to get into the top six.

Perhaps the best surprise of the day for Concordia came in the heavyweight division. Cobber junior Jordan Hepp entered the meet with a 13-14 record on the year and proceeded to fight all the way through the consolation bracket and finish fifth. After losing his first match, he won his next two bouts, including a 2-0 decision over 6th-seeded Aaron Bales of Pacific.

Cobber Results at the Great Lakes Regional

125- Leland Brincefield 1-3 (Sixth Place)

133- Smokey McBride 0-2

141- John Fradette 2-2

149- P.J. Mack 1-2

157- Cody Salo 3-3 (Sixth Place)

165- Lee Rahrlien 3-2 (Fourth Place)
174- Luke Vetsch 3-1 (Second Place)

184- Tony Neumann 0-2

197- Ed Oehlers 0-2

HWT- Jordan Hepp 3-2 (Fifth Place)