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Tiger wrestlers blow by Mesa State in RMAC dual
1/15/2010
By RANDY GONZALES
rgonzales@dailynews.net
The Tigers dominated the Mavericks.
But Fort Hays State University wrestling coach Chas Thompson thought his squad could have done even better than beating Mesa State (Colo.) College 35-6 in a battle of nationally-ranked teams Thursday night in Gross Memorial Coliseum.
"Always stuff you can work on," Thompson said. "I thought we could have won all the matches. Tonight at '49 and '57, they've got good kids there."
No. 14 Fort Hays started fast against 20th-ranked Mesa State in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference dual. Senior Tommy Edgmon, ranked second in the nation in NCAA Division II, improved to 4-0 with a 7-4 win over freshman Tyler Nelson. Edgemon, last year's national runner-up, had three takedowns.
"Tommy's got to be our sparkplug for us," said Thompson, who also had Edgmon when the Tiger coach was at Pratt Community College. "I expect more out of Tommy. I've had him four years. Tough love."
Tiger sophomore Travis Kuhn got a takedown in overtime to claim a 5-3 victory over freshman Chris Rubalcaba at 133, then Fort Hays (2-3 overall, 1-0 RMAC) picked up six points for a 12-0 lead when Tiger junior Andre Harrison, ranked fifth at 141, was open.
Mesa State (1-2, 1-2) won the next two matches to get within 12-6. First, freshman Tyler Juby defeated Tiger senior Levi Younkin 10-5 at 149 pounds.
Then came the anticipated matchup at 157 between Tiger senior Danny Grater (ranked third in the nation) and Maverick senior Chase Walker (ranked second nationally).
The match was tight throughout, with Walker scoring two points on a takedown with less than a minute remaining to break a 1-1 tie. Grater scored on an escape with two seconds left, but lost 3-2.
"We really wanted that win," Thompson said. "He beat us last year."
Fort Hays rebounded to win the remainder of the matches. Seventh-ranked senior Blake Malloy beat freshman Matthew Chavez 7-2 at 165 pounds, then Tiger senior Shawn Kuhlman won 17-2 for a technical fall over sophomore Justin Grosse at 174 pounds.
Fort Hays junior Chance Rencountre pinned Mesa State junior Chris Cielinski at 2:03 of the first period, followed by an overtime win by Tiger freshman Steven Kyler at 197 pounds. Mesa State junior Shane Miller got a point for a technical violation with three seconds left in the third period to force the overtime. Kyler got a takedown in OT for an 8-6 win.
The Tigers won the final match, at 285 pounds. Sophomore Justin Glenn pinned Maverick sophomore Trevor Stapp at the 1:15 mark of the first period.
"Happy to get some big wins, some big pins at the end," Thompson said.
Thompson said the Tiger were happy to be at home for the first time since Dec. 5.
"We were looking forward to it," Thompson said. "It's always nice to be home. Crowd of almost 300 -- that's good for wrestling."
Fort Hays returns to action on Tuesday against Newman University in Wichita.
| Scoreboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Score |
| BB | 03/17 | Missouri S&T | W 2-1 (10) |
| SB | 03/17 | Bethany | W 6-1 |
| SB | 03/17 | Bethany | W 8-1 |
| BB | 03/16 | Misosuri S&T | L 13-4 |
| MB | 03/14 | Central Missouri | L 80-73 |
| BB | 3/13 | NW Missouri | W 13-10 |
| BB | 03/13 | NW Missouri | W 4-3 |
| MB | 03/13 | Central Oklahoma | W 80-64 |
| SB | 03/08 | Fort Lewis | W 5-4 |
| BB | 03/07 | No. 9 Emporia State | L 13-7 |
| BB | 03/06 | No. 9 Emporia State | L 16-4 |
| BB | 03/06 | No. 9 Emporia State | W 3-0 |
| MB | 03/05 | Emporia State | L 65-61 |
| BB | 03/05 | No. 9 Emporia State | L 10-3 |
| WB | 03/04 | No. 15 Emporia | L 72-66 |
| WB | 02/28 | No. 12 Emporia State | L 87-80 |
| MB | 02/28 | Emporia State | W 94-47 |
| SB | 02/28 | Quincy | L 6-0 |
| SB | 02/27 | Mo Southern | W 9-3 |
| SB | 02/27 | Missouri S&T | L 8-3 |