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Tiger wrestlers ready for Bob Smith Open

12/4/2009

By CONOR NICHOLL

cnicholl@dailynews.net

Andre Harrison is a Freeport, N.Y. native who earned junior college All-American honors at Nassau Community College. Chance Rencountre, a Pawhuska, Okla. native, transferred from Labette Community College after he picked up junior college All-American recognition, too. This season, the two successful wrestlers have collected hardware in their first year of wrestling for Fort Hays State University.

Through two tournaments, Harrison is 4-3 with a fifth place finish at the season-opening Central Missouri Open on Nov. 14. Rencountre stands at 3-4 after he was sixth in the 197-pound Elite Division at the University of Nebraska-Omaha meet on Nov. 21.

The two newcomers have cracked a veteran FHSU starting lineup, competed Thursday night in the season's first dual against No. 5 University of Central Oklahoma and will also wrestle Saturday at the Bob Smith Open at Gross Memorial Coliseum. Action starts at 9 a.m.

"They have been wrestling at a high level so we have confidence in them," second-year Tiger coach Chas Thompson said.

The Tigers, ranked No. 13 in the country, have had multiple early season injuries to several top wrestlers, many of whom either returned Thursday night or will miss the next month.

"It would be nice to have those guys there," senior 149-pounder Levi Younkin said. "Obviously they are really good. I know they are going to be there at the end of the year, so that's all that matters to me."

Senior Tommy Edgmon, the defending runner-up at 125 pounds, has not competed all season because of a knee injury. He will likely not wrestle until the University of Nebraska-Kearney Open on Jan. 12.

"For right now, just getting back in the room, just seeing how it feels," he said. "Keep playing it by year. Just keep doing my therapy and see how it goes in the room. If it feels good, feels like I can compete on it, I may go wrestle at Kearney."

Senior Shawn Kuhlman, who placed at Central Missouri and led the Tigers in falls last season, is out until January after he had his knee scoped last Friday. Senior Tyler Gonzales, a three-time national qualifier, wrestled his first match Thursday night and will compete Saturday.

"After this weekend, we are going to assess him and see where he is at as far as his (shoulder) injuries go," Thompson said.

Heavyweight is still undetermined for Fort Hays. Junior Carl Wilkinson has wrestled in the early season, but sophomore Justin Glenn, a defensive lineman who had six tackles and a sack for the 6-5 football team, just joined the wrestling squad.

"Glenn will go at the Bob Smith for the first time, Carl has been training longer," Thompson said. "We have not determined who is the No. 1 guy out of those yet. We are going to match up those two this weekend or sometime after."

Fort Hays has never several known quantities at other weights, including Younkin and senior Danny Grater, a returning national qualifier at 157 pounds who placed at Central Missouri and is ranked No. 3 in the country. Senior Blake Malloy, who redshirted last season after he reached the national tournament his junior year, is the lone Tiger to place at both early season meets. He finished second at Central Missouri and sixth in the Elite Division at UNO.

However, Fort Hays has two solidified spots with new wrestlers are 141 and 197 pounds. Harrison and Rencountre have made Fort Hays stronger than the squad that finished 17th at nationals last year.

"I think on paper, it's a better team," Thompson said. "We have to prove it out there on the mat. We have all of those seniors returning, plus those guys that came in that we already had on the team."

Harrison, who was a two-time junior college national qualifier and finished seventh in NJCAA at 149 pounds in 2007-08, redshirted the 2008-09 Fort Hays season behind All-American James Annon.

He earned two awards at the team's postseason banquet last spring: most active redshirt and best preseason weightlifting gains. Thompson recognized Harrison's talent, but has said little.

Harrison was fifth at Central Missouri, including two wins against Central Missouri's Cory Bloodgood, ranked fourth at 141 pounds. Harrison defeated Bloodgood 8-3 early in the tournament and then won by major decision, 16-5, in a medalist match.

"He is a darkhorse," Thompson said. "I have intentionally not said some things about him. He is going to do hopefully some really good things for us. He trains hard. He loves the sport. He is an academic- a great student-athlete. Hopefully he will have a consistent season and do what he is capable of. He is not even ranked right now. Eventually, I am sure he will be ranked, but right now, I am fine with him sitting there flying under the radar not being recognized by the national rankings."

After he earned All-American honors at 197 pounds, Rencountre was part of a five-person class that Fort Hays announced in the summer.

"Chance is one of those guys I love to sign because he has had to work for everything he's earned," Thompson said in a release last summer. "It may not all come natural to Chance, but he'll sure work his hardest to get where he needs to be."

Rencountre did not compete at Central Missouri, but earned sixth place at UNO with a 3-3 record. That included a 4-3 win against University of Central Oklahoma's Jarrett Edison when Rencountre earned a takedown in the final seconds. The match earned Rencountre a medal.

"Both stepping up as leaders on this team," Thompson said of Harrison and Rencountre.

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