(Photo/FHSU Athletics)

Five Fort Hays State wrestlers placed at the Bob Smith Open on Saturday (Dec. 3) at Gross Memorial Coliseum. Junior Walker Clarke won the 184-pound class and was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler for the Bob Smith Open.

Clarke won all four of his matches by decision and defeated Tanner Keck of Central Oklahoma, 3-2, in the championship match to take first place. Clarke defeated Keck just two days ago by the same score of 3-2 in the Tigers’ 21-18 dual win over Keck’s Bronchos. In his earlier matches, Clarke defeated Zach Aylor (11-4), Alex Ievushenko (5-0) and Chad Wright (12-6) to set up the championship bout.

Three Tigers finished in second place. All-American Mitchell Means, senior Justin Glenn and senior Dustin Dooley all finished as runner-ups.  Means finished second place in the 149-pound class, going 4-1 on the day. The championship match saw Means drop a close 4-2 to Raufeon Stots of Nebraska-Kearney. Before their match, Means defeated Austin Breckenridge by tech fall, Jesse Long by a pin at 4:30, Ky Corley by a 4-3 decision and Josh Hensley by a pin at 0:50.

Dooley also finished his day 4-1 and in second place in the 141-pound class. The senior from Concordia, Kan. was defeated by Julian Feikert in the Champion match via a fall at 1:50. Prior to his loss, Dooley won all four of his matches by decisions. Dooley defeated David Arcangel (7-0), Javon Haines (6-0), Julian Gunnels (7-2) and Carter McElhany (2-0) before the championship bout.

Glenn was the third Tiger to place in second. The senior from Enid, Okla., fell in the 285-pound champion match to Austin Marsden in a tight 7-5 decision. Glenn won two matches by pins over Shawn Meyer (0:39) and Levi Robertson (2:28), while also notching a victory by a 6-2 decision over Jacob Cole. Glenn finished 3-1 on the day.

Derek Koehn placed fourth for FHSU in the 157-pound class. The sophomore from Pittburg, Kan., was 5-2 on the day and used three wins in the consolation bracket to finish fourth. Koehn started the day winning two straight with the two wins over Zach Legino in a major decision (12-3) and Colby Crank in a 7-2 decision. After falling to Cory Dauphin in a close 2-1 decision, Koehn won three-straight decisions over Tyler Mergen (8-4), Zach Skates (9-2) and Daniel Kelly (3-2). The win over Kelly put Koehn in the third-place bout, where Koehn dropped a 6-1 decision to Alex Munoz.

The Tigers return to the mat on Sunday (Dec. 11) at the Newman Invitational in Wichita, Kan. The event starts at 9 a.m.

– FHSU Sports Information –