ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Minnesota State University Moorhead wrestlers Jacob Bennett and Gerad Fugleberg placed at the Husky Open, the final tournament of the Dragon season, Saturday in St. Cloud, Minn.
Gerad Fugleberg earned the most wins by a Dragon with a 4-1 record. Fugleberg started strong by taking a 16-2 major decision over Kevin Pattain (Minnesota State). Fugleberg’s lone loss came to the hands of Matt Wyss by way of a pin in two minutes and seven seconds. Moving on to the fifth place bracket, Fugleberg corrected his mistakes and would not lose again. Fugleberg First handled Casey Johnson (Southwest Minnesota State) by pinning the Mustang in 1 minute and 36 seconds. Fugleberg then moved on to defeat Alex Andel (Unattached) in another pin that took five minutes. To take the fifth place finish Fugleberg earned an 8-0 major decision over James Malechek (University Wisconsin Parkside).
Jacob Bennett also placed fifth in the 165 class with a record of 3-1. Bennet would fall in a 9-6 decision to Montrail Johnson (University Wisconsin Parkside). From that point Bennett would not lose again, earning to decisions and a pin. Bennet first defeated fellow Dragon Jesse Puncochar and Cody Tibbets (Unattached of St. Cloud State), 8-5 and 4-3 respectivley. The fifth place match took Bennett 6 minutes and 30 seconds to put Connor Pariseau (University of Minnesota, Duluth) on his back to earn the fifth place finish.
Eric Lehmann finished 2-2 in the 197 division. Lehmann’s first three matches were decided by pins, two of them in favor of Lehmann. The Dragon wasted no time earning his first pin against Chris Brassell (St. Cloud State), pinning the Husky in 3 minutes and 16 seconds. The next match would give Lehmann his first loss in the form of a pin, 4 minutes and 56 seconds in to Scott Schiller (Minnesota). Lehmann got his revenge by pinning Schiller’s teammate, Jonathan Volp in just 1 minute and 21 seconds. In an attempt to make the fifth place match, Lehmann faced Hudson Black (Unattached of North Dakota State). Lehmann ultimatley fell in an 8-1 decision.
Connor MacGregor and Jesse Puncochar ended the day with a 1-2 record in the 149 and 165 class, respectivley. Both Dragons earned their victories in the first round, MacGregor in a 13-2 major decision over Ryan Schroepfer (Unattached of St. Cloud State) and Puncochar in a 4 minute and 11 second pin over Connor Parieau (University of Minnesota, Duluth).
The Husky Open marked the conclusion of the Dragons 2011 schedule while 2012 dual action will start on Jan. 11 at Dickinson State.