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Tiger wrestlers dominate
2/9/2008
By CONOR NICHOLL
Hays Daily News
Fort Hays State University head wrestling coach Cody Bickley and his Tigers enjoyed a perfect evening Saturday night at Gross Memorial Coliseum.
First, the Tigers shut out Grand Canyon (Ariz.) University 51-0, the first time Fort Hays wrestling has blanked a team in a dual this season.
Then, Fort Hays celebrated Bickley breaking the school record for all-time wins in Victor E. Lounge. Bickley, who broke Dave Winter's school mark of 54 wins set from 1963-70, earned his 55th victory when Fort Hays defeated Newman University last month.
"It is a humbling deal," Bickley said of the record. "I am extremely proud to be a part of it. I have been here for awhile and I have seen how the program has evolved. A lot of it simply comes back to the administration, President Hammond and Curtis Hammeke are great, and Mark Pahls. They really do support us.
"We are starting to build our fan base," he added. "Our fan base is getting bigger. We have got a few things going. We are excited about where the program is at. We just need to take a few more steps."
His record was punctuated in the ceremony that included more than 100 people inside Victor E. Lounge. Several people, including athletic director Curtis Hammeke, booster Stan Jackson and Bickley, spoke.
"I have been very impressed," Jackson, who has been associated with the program since 1985, said to the crowd. "You have brought class to this organization that I have not seen before. A tip of my hat to Cody Bickley."
Fort Hays also delivered a video tribute to Bickley, featuring scenes from matches, practice, and congratulations from Hammeke. Multiple wrestlers, including sophomore 157-pounder Danny Grater, senior heavyweight Dustin Martin and sophomore 197-pounder Tyler Gonzales offered praise and stories.
On Friday night, though, Fort Hays started the weekend with a 21-15 home loss to No. 5 Western State (Colo.) University. It was the fifth ranked team Fort Hays has faced this season and fourth one in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
The Tigers are 1-4 against ranked teams this year, but wrestled No. 12 Chadron State to a four-point margin and Western State to a six-point differential. The dual against Western State came down to the last match at 184 pounds.
Shawn Kuhlman scored several points early against Lars Lueders, the No. 5 wrestler in the country at 184 pounds and a champion earlier this season at the Bob Smith Open at Fort Hays.
However, Lueders eventually came back to win 14-8.
"Definitely this late in the season, it is definitely a confidence," Bickley said of his team. "I felt we responded well."
A night later, Fort Hays crushed Grand Canyon, a team that hadn't won a dual all season and dropped to 0-4 in the conference. Grand Canyon only brought five wrestlers to Fort Hays and defaulted at five weight classes.
"It is hard as a team to get geared up for that," Bickley said of facing a team with few wrestlers. "An individual can think, 'oh, they have five forfeits.' I thought the five guys who wrestled tonight did a great job and I felt like we had some good wins out of those guys. It is coming together at the right time and I feel very comfortable with where we are at."
Senior 125-pounder Kyle Patton, Grater, junior 157-pounder Troy Lussenhop, junior 174-pounder Blake Malloy and Martin won their matches. Grater pinned Stephen Towne, Grand Canyon's best wrestler. Grater improved to 19-7, one win behind Malloy's 20-7 mark for best on the team.
"That is a quality kid, a talented tough kid," Bickley said of Towne. "He had some big wins against some other conference guys. That was a big win for Danny."
Martin won his match in overtime over Jed Jobe, a transfer from Div. I Arizona State University, and moved to 13-5.
"I felt that was a great win for Dustin," Bickley said.
"Dustin is another one of those guys. We have got a few guys that are starting to turn the corner and get some confidence right now."
Coupled with the win against Grand Canyon, Fort Hays moved to 4-3 in the RMAC and 6-5 in duals this season.
Fort Hays will finish the regular season against University of Nebraska-Kearney, the No. 4 team in the country, on Feb. 19. They will wrestle in the West Regional/RMAC Championships on March 1 before nationals comes in mid-March.
"I feel good about where we are at right now," Bickley said. "We know that our conference is loaded. It is going to be tough, we know that we are going to finish up with another really tough team."
| 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 |
