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Tiger wrestlers pinned with loss
2/20/2008
By NICK McQUEEN
Hays Daily News
In the middle three matches, only nine points and an overtime takedown separated the Fort Hays State University wrestling team from No. 4 ranked University of Nebraska-Kearney.
The close wins --¬ all three by Kearney -- were enough to help the Lopers get out of Gross Memorial Coliseum on Tuesday night with a 27-12 victory over Fort Hays in the Tigers' final dual of the regular season, and the fifth against a ranked team this year.
"There were two huge momentum swings in that dual,"¬ Tiger coach Cody Bickley said. "We got some things going, but they answered and we just didn't get things going our way again. It was a heartbreaker."
Fort Hays, which finished its dual season 6-6 overall and 4-4 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, had a 9-3 lead on the high-powered Lopers. Junior 141-pounder James Annon provided an unlikely spark with a win over two-time All-American and No. 3 ranked Jeff Rutledge to get things going. Annon scored a late takedown for a 6-5 win. It was only one of two matches the Tigers could muscle out.
"James Annon had a huge win to really get us going against a two-time All-American," Bickley said. "After that, Kearney got the momentum back and we really never regained control. We had close matches and if we could have got one or two of those to swing our way, it would have made a big difference."
The next match at 149 pounds, senior Josh Pfannenstiel got down early and ended up getting pinned early in the second period to No. 6 ranked Ryan Etherton. From there it was all Kearney (12-6, 6-2) until Tiger sophomore Tyler Gonzales picked up win No. 17 on the year with his 3-1 victory at 197.
It was the middle of the order, though, that Bickley said made the match. At 157, 165 and 174 where all three Kearney wrestlers were ranked in the top 8, Tiger sophomore Danny Grater, junior Troy Lussenhop, and junior Blake Malloy were all involved in tight matches.
"Those could have gone either way and we really needed those," Bickley said. "If we could have found a way to get those first two, Blake probably would have found a way to get it done."
Grater had a 9-1 lead after the first period at 157 over the No. 2 ranked wrestler in Joe Ellenberger, but ended up losing 13-11, giving Kearney a 12-9 lead. At 165, Lussenhop fell 8-3 to No. 8 ranked Keenan McCurdy after having McCurdy in a near-pin. Grater also had Ellenberger in pin position twice.
Malloy and No. 3 ranked Marty Usman of Kearney each scored an escape point to finish regulation with a 1-1 tie, before Usman scored the takedown win.
"We knew they had a good squad coming in and we had a very tough dual season,"¬ Bickley said.
It was the third top 5 team the Tigers faced at GMC this season, and all three ended up in losses. Two weeks ago, the Tigers fell to No. 5 ranked Western State (Colo.) College in a similar close dual.
"The last two duals (against ranked teams) were exactly the same,"¬ Bickley said. "We needed a couple matches to swing our way. That happens and we knock off two top 5 fives at our place.
"I'm please with that aspect but I don't want to get caught in the mentality of settling with just competing against good teams. We're a good program, a great team and we're going to be ready for the postseason."
At 197, Gonzales defeated sophomore Derek Ross, a St. Francis product.
Now that a grueling dual season is over, the Tigers travel to Las Vegas, N.M., on March 1 for the NCAA Division II West Regional/RMAC Championships.
"The slate is wiped clean though, and from here on out, it's postseason," Bickley said. "The guys can go in there and be the 10th seed and still come out of there conference champion. The goal is to get as many through to Iowa (nationals) as we can. We have a chance for several."
Assistant sports editor Nick McQueen can be reached at (785)628-1081, Ext. 128, or by e-mail at
nmcqueen@dailynews.net.
| Scoreboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Score |
| BB | 5/11 | Central Missouri | L 4-2 |
| BB | 5/10 | Missouri Western | W 4-3 |
| BB | 5/09 | Emporia State | L 6-5 |
| BB | 5/04 | Pittsburg State | W 17-5 |
| BB | 5/04 | Pittsburg State | L 4-3 |
| BB | 5/03 | Pittsburg State | L 15-7 |
| BB | 5/03 | Pittsburg State | L 5-4 |
| SB | 5/02 | Central Missouri | L 3-1 |
| SB | 5/02 | Missouri Western | W 3-2 |
| SB | 5/01 | Pittsburg State | W 6-0 |
