Can't
get to the game? Don't worry, we've got ya covered.
Tigers fare well in Open
12/1/2007
BY CONOR NICHOLL
Hays Daily News
Sophomore Tyler Gonzales had wrestled little in the last several weeks. He has been sidelined by back problems and sickness, and had spent recent practices doing cardio and bike work.
On Saturday morning, Fort Hays State University head wrestling coach Cody Bickley decided to put Gonzales in the annual Bob Smith Open at Gross Memorial Coliseum, one of the biggest early season tournaments in the country.
After a first round bye, Gonzales, the No. 4 seed in the 197-pound bracket, responded with three straight victories and advanced to the championship match. Gonzales eventually fell to No. 7 seed Lars Lueders, an unattached wrestler, 3-1 in overtime.
"Given that I am not 100 percent healthy, I have to be pleased with four solid matches," Gonzales said.
"This is the best I have wrestled this year."
Gonzales' runner-up performance was one of three second places Fort Hays collected Saturday. James Annon, a 141-pound junior, and 157-pound sophomore Danny Grater, each earned runner-up honors in their respective classes.
Senior Kyle Patton, the No. 3 seed in the 125-pound division, lost in the semifinals, but recovered to take third place after he won two matches in the wrestlebacks., along with Ben Evans at 197.
"This is a quality tournament with some good teams and some good competition. Getting in that top four means a lot," Bickley said.
The Tigers had a chance for three first place championships. Annon, the No. 2 seed in his bracket, easily won his first three matches, including a 5-1 win over No. 3 seed Lyubomir Kumbarov in the semifinals.
"I have been working on my shape a lot this season and I knew coming in that my shape was going to be better than a lot of these guys," Annon said. "The whole time I stayed in good position, other guys got tired."
Annon faced top-ranked Kyle Evans in the championship. Evans is one of the top wrestlers for University of Central Oklahoma, currently the No. 1 Div. II program.
He went undefeated (including several wins over Div. I opponents) and won the Div. II national championship last season. Evans, the top-ranked wrestler in Div. II in his weight class, had easily defeated Annon last season.
This year was similar. Evans, who was tested by just one opponent Saturday, led 4-1 after the first period and won 11-1.
"It's guys like that you strive in practice everyday for," Annon said. "I will see him a few more times this year and hopefully I will close the gap a little bit."
Grater, the No. 2 seed at 157 pounds, also faced a UCO product in his final round match. Jason Leavitt, the Div. II national runner-up last season, took a 1-0 lead on Grater after the first two periods.
Grater tied the match at one apiece, but a mistake in the third period shifted the momentum to Leavitt. Grater eventually lost 8-3.
"Danny messed up on one move in the third period," Bickley said. "It was a tight match that swung it (Leavitt's) way and that kind of cost him some."
Gonzales, Fort Hays' last finalist, won his first three matches by a combined score of 13-5, including a 5-3 victory against Northern Colorado's Paul Carey in the semifinals.
"We were skeptical (he could wrestle)," Bickley said. "He has not been on the mat as much as the other guys. There is a difference in that type of conditioning and wrestling conditioning. He did a good job. A lot of that was off sheer heart."
Because of his injuries and sickness, Gonzales couldn't make many quick moves and played conservatively against Lueders, the heavyweight wrestler for Western State (Col.) College last season.
"I just haven't gotten to where I can open up yet," Gonzales said.
The philosophy worked through the first two periods. After a scoreless first period, Gonzales took a 1-0 lead after the second period and was less than 90 seconds from a championship.
Lueders tied the match with 1:15 remaining and sent it into overtime.
"I knew Lars was going to be tough to deal with," Gonzales said.
Lueders eventually made a move with 19 seconds left in the one-minute overtime and earned two points for the championship.
"This tournament helped to build that base and he will keep on improving. He will be fine," Bickley said. "He had to battle through it. He was sick a little bit. We have just been being real careful with that so we can obviously keep him around for dual season."
Sports reporter Conor Nicholl can be reached at (785) 628-1081 Ext. 127 pr by e-mail at
cnicholl@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 |
