The Fort Hays State wrestling team won their last home dual of the season with a 22-13 win over Central Missouri Friday night at Gross Coliseum. The Tigers still have three duals remaining on the schedule before heading to the NCAA Division II West Regional/RMAC Championships in Golden, Colo., on February 25th.
The Mules of Central Missouri gave the Tigers plenty to handle as they came storming out of the gates to take a 10-0 lead over FHSU with a major decision and fall in the first two matches of the evening. The matches began at 157 pounds where Josh Pfannenstiel of FHSU lost to Adam Tieben by a major decision of 14-3. Central Missouri made the dual 10-0 very quickly when Vince Bertucci pinned FHSU's Patrick Keane in 25 seconds at 165 pounds.
From there, the Tigers would slowly climb back into the dual. Blake Malloy started the comeback for the Tigers with a hard fought 5-3 decision over Jesse Sheets at 174 pounds. It gave FHSU their first three points of the dual. Mike Howell would pull the Tigers closer at 184 pounds by shutting out Jeremy Hudson by a major decision of 8-0. Howell's win made the score 10-7 in favor of UCM. Tyler Gonzales capped the Tiger comeback before intermission as he posted a 3-2 decision over John Ott at 197 pounds, breaking a 2-2 tie with the riding time advantage in the match.
The Tigers would keep their momentum rolling after the short intermission as #4 ranked Andrew Ubben won a tight battle by a 3-2 decision over UCM's Drew Dawson at the heavyweight class. The decision put FHSU in the lead 13-10. Kory Lira would keep the train rolling for FHSU as he shutout his opponent Seth Norman in the 125-pound match.
The Mules would not give up on the dual though as Keaton Baker pulled UCM back to within three points of the Tigers with a 5-2 decision over Derek Patterson at 133 pounds.
The next match would be the back-breaker for the Mules as James Annon closed the door on a Central Missouri comeback. Annon trailed 5-4 late in the third period, but would easily pick up a point on riding time at completion of the period. Instead of settling for a tie and overtime, Annon flipped Grant Baker on his back getting two takedown points and three back points before time expired. He took the match by a 10-5 decision, giving FHSU breathing room once again with a 19-13 advantage in the dual.
Mikel Delk, ranked #3 in Division II, would have his hands full in the final match of the evening. Delk looked to be in control of the match until halfway through the second period. Mark Carey of Central Missouri scored a takedown on Delk to knot the score at 3-3. In the third period, Delk would finally break the tie with a takedown under 20 seconds remaining, taking a 5-3 advantage. Carey did not give up and quickly scored an escape point, making it 5-4. Carey would try to takedown Delk, but Delk took advantage of Carey's aggression and scored a takedown right before the end of the match for a 7-4 win. The win gave FHSU a 22-13 win in the dual.
FHSU is now 6-4 overall this season in duals. Central Missouri fell to 8-9 this season.
Eight seniors were recognized before the dual before their last dual at Gross Coliseum. Seniors Kory Lira, Devin Schwartz, Derek Patterson, Mikel Delk, Mike Howell, Justin Stevens, Dustin Trego and Andrew Ubben were all recognized for their accomplishments at FHSU. Lira, Patterson, Delk, Howell and Ubben all competed in the dual for the Tigers. All eight wrestlers have been very important to the Tigers' success in recent years.
The Tigers go on the road for their final three duals of the season, all of which are conference match-ups. The Tigers head to Gunnison, Colo., on February 9 to take on Western State College. They will head to Grand Junction, Colo., the next night to take on Mesa State College, a program that just started its wrestling program again. The final dual will come at Nebraska-Kearney on February 15th in Kearney, Neb.
Yours in Wrestling,
The Swayz
