MOORHEAD, Minn. – Returning from injury, Augustana’s Tanner Taylor won the 184-pound white division title at the Dragon Open hosted by MSU Moorhead on Saturday. Three Vikings placed at the open tournament with Logan Henning taking second and Mitch Rechtzigel placing fifth.
Taylor posted a 4-0 record with three decision wins which started with a 7-1 win in the opening round. The redshirt freshman then pinned his opponent in 1:14 to advance to the semifinals. A 5-0 decision set up a bout with Anthony Navarro of Northern State and Taylor emerged victorious by way of a 7-4 decision.
Henning looked to give Augustana two titles, but his run in the 174-pound white division ended in the finals. After a first-round bye, Henning pinned his second-round opponent just 31 seconds into the match, advancing to the finals. With an 11-1 major decision, Henning moved onto the finals. Paired against Josh Berg of St. Cloud State, Henning lost 4-1 to finish as runner-up.
Rechtizgel lost his first-round bout, but rebounded and rattled off four straight wins to take fourth place in the 157-pound white division. A sudden victory loss in the first round prefaced three straight decision wins in the wrestle-back. Rechtzigel punched his ticket to the fifth-place bout with a narrow 8-7 win before he easily handled his opponent, an 11-3 major decision win to take fifth.
133 Pounds – Brandon Chesnut: 1-2
149 Pounds – Nate Lynn: 0-2
157 pounds – Mitch Rechtzigel: 4-1
174 Pounds – Logan Henning: 2-1
184 Pounds – Tanner Taylor: 4-0