1977-78 Cobber Wrestling, Concordia Moorhead

1977-78 Concordia Wrestling

Bennett Leads Cobber Wrestlers

The 1977-78 Concordia wrestling team, anchored by the near-perfect wrestling of senior heavyweight Barry Bennett, captured third place in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship held at the Concordia Memorial Auditorium. The Cobber matmen picked Up 52½ total points and finished behind only Augsburg (92½) and St. Thomas (73).

Concordia's wrestlers, under the direction of veteran coach Finn Grinaker, posted a very respectable 9-5 dual meet record this season. This year's team boasts two nationally-competing grapplers, Barry Bennett and Mark Jensen.

Bennett, football All-American and native of North St. Paul, MN, continued his total domination of the heavyweight division. Extending his personal win streak to 68, Bennett nailed down his third consecutive MIAC title and maintained a season mark of 2-0.

Junior standout Mark Jensen, Brainerd, MN, claimed the 150-pound title and was awarded the Carl Larson Memorial Trophy as the MIAC tournament's outstanding wrestler. He finished the season at 25-3.

Coach Grinaker will lose six mainstays of this year's squad to graduation, Barry Bennett; Randy Hansen (177) of Brainerd, MN; Gerald Howard (177) of Eden Prairie, MN; Jeff Poliak (158) of Albert Lea, MN; Charles Thompson (134) also from Albert Lea; and Doug Tweet (158) of Perham, MN, who have helped make 1977-78 a successful season for the Cobber wrestling team.

Wrestling Roster

Others on the roster were Tim Bye,
Brian Clark, Mike Clark, Chuck Flickinger, Vic Galfano, Tom Gruhlke, Steve Hanson, Randy Hanson,
Gerald Howard, Mark Jensen, Jim McLeod, Jeff Poliak, Rob Pain, Craig Rothfuss, Ken Smith, Terrry
Schrupp, Chuck Thompson, and Doug Tweet.

Results for the season were:
St. Cloud Tournament: 8th place out of 16 teams (Bennett - 1st place)
North Country Invitational: 2nd place out of 9 teams (Bennett - 1st place)
All-Lutheran Tournament: 4th place out of 9 teams (Bennett - 1st place)
MIAC Conference Meet: 3rd place out of 9 teams (Bennett - 1st place)
NCAA Division III Meet: 9th place out of 90 teams (Bennett - 1st place)
Dual Meet Record: 9 wins, 5 losses
Concordia 26 Valley City State 16
Concordia 28 Moorhead State 27
Concordia 13 North Dakota State 37
Concordia 28 St. Thomas 26
Concordia 20 St. John’s 31
Concordia 46 Northwestern College 10
Concordia 24 St. Olaf 21
Concordia 37 Gustavus 18
Concordia 12 Augsburg 36
Concordia 48 Bethel 0
Concordia 20 Bemidji State 21
Concordia 33 Hamline 9
Concordia 49 St. Mary’s 6
Concordia 21 UND 24