Five Tiger Wrestlers Qualify For Nationals

The Fort Hays State wrestling squad competed at the RMAC Championships/NCAA Division II West Regional on Saturday (Feb. 28) in Kearney, Neb. The Tigers finished fourth in the team standings, and had five individuals qualify for the national tournament. Those wrestlers include Danny Grater (157), Tommy Edgmon (125), Troy Lussenhop (165), James Annon (141) and Tyler Gonzales (184).
Grater was the only Tiger to reach the championship match of his respective weight class. He lost to Noomis Jones in the first tiebreaker period of overtime by a 2-1 decision, placing second at 157 pounds. Grater defeated Phil Bullington of Chadron State, Travis Wokasch of Colorado Mines, and Kennen Funk of Colorado State-Pueblo to reach the finals. Grater will make his third appearance at the national tournament for FHSU.

Tommy Edgmon placed third at 125 pounds. After losing to Curtis Schurkamp of San Francisco State in the semifinals, he defeated Michael Abril of Nebraska-Kearney and Devlon Webb of Chadron State to win the consolation side of the bracket.

Troy Lussenhop was also a third place finisher for FHSU, coming at 165 pounds. After losing to Skye Wells of Western State in the semifinals, he defeated Cole Johnson of Mesa State and Jordan Larsen of Colorado Mines to win the consolation side.

James Annon needed a little bit of luck to qualify for nationals at 141 pounds. In the brackets, Annon finished fifth, but was able to take the fourth and final qualifying spot for nationals since he had defeated the fourth place finisher earlier in the tournament. He suffered two consecutive losses by 3-2 decisions, which put him in the fifth-place match. He defeated Daren Hockett of Western State earlier in the tournament, which gave him the nod. It will be Annon’s third appearance at nationals, as he was FHSU’s only All-American last year with a fifth-place finish.

Tyler Gonzales finished fourth in the brackets at 184 pounds. He was challenged in a true fourth-place match by fifth-place finisher Ty Brown of Chadron State, but defeated Brown by a 9-6 decision to secure his spot at nationals. It will be the third appearance in the national tournament for Gonzales, after qualifying at 197 pounds the two previous years.

Western State won the event as a team, followed by Adams State and Nebraska-Kearney.

The NCAA Division II Championships are being held in Houston, Texas this year. The event is set for March 13-14.