The 19th-ranked Fort Hays State wrestling team finished 2-1 at the Central Missouri Duals in Warrensburg, Mo., on Tuesday evening (Jan. 8). The Tigers fell to No. 18 Ashland in the first dual of the evening by a tight 22-16 margin, but bounced back to defeat Central Missouri 31-9 in conference action and then knocked off No. 10 Ouachita Baptist 33-11 in their final dual of the evening. Fort Hays State is now 6-3 overall and 1-1 in the MIAA.
No. 18 Ashland 22, No. 19 Fort Hays State 16
Ashland looked to be running away with the dual early up 12-0 after the first three matches, but a pair of major decisions by Noah Killip (149 pounds) and No. 4 ranked Derek Koehn (157 pounds) and a tech fall by Sam Thoman at 165 pounds closed the gap in a hurry and gave FHSU a 13-12 lead through six matches.
A Josh Rodriguez decision at 174 pounds extended the FHSU lead to 16-12, but a major decision by Bryson Hall of Ashland over Zack Grimes knotted the dual at 16-16 with two matches remaining.
That set up the feature match of the dual, No. 3 ranked Joe Brandt of Ashland against No. 6 ranked Tanner Kriss of FHSU. Brandt edged Kriss by a tight 4-3 decision to give Ashland the upper hand 19-16.
The dual came down to the heavyweights and it proved to be a thriller as John Close of FHSU and Kurt Schaefer of Ashland were tied 1-1 at the end of regulation. Unfortunately, the Tigers could not come up with the tie or better as Schaefer got a takedown in overtime for the sudden victory.
No. 19 Fort Hays State 31, Central Missouri 9
Fort Hays State evened up its MIAA record for the season cruising to a 31-9 win over host Central Missouri. The Mules had the upper hand early, taking the 125 and 133-pound matches for a 6-0 lead. C.J. Napier, ranked No. 6 at 141 pounds, erased that lead in a hurry with a pin just before regulation expired to tie the dual.
FHSU would keep the momentum and take the next two matches as Mitchell Means (149) and Brad Little (157) each won by decision to give FHSU a 12-6 advantage. UCM picked up its final points of the dual at 165 pounds to close the gap back to 12-9.
FHSU rolled from that point with a major decision from Josh Rodriguez (174), a pair of pins by Zack Grimes (184) and No. 6 ranked Tanner Kriss (197), and a decision by John Close (285) for the final 22-point spread.
No. 19 Fort Hays State 33, No. 10 Ouachita Baptist 11
After falling behind 4-0 after the 125-pound match, FHSU put on a furious rally against No. 10 ranked Ouachita Baptist with 15 points over the next three matches to take an 11-point lead.
Symon Seaton (133) pinned his opponent in 3:27 to instantly give FHSU the lead, then in a match-up of ranked wrestlers, No. 6 C.J. Napier of FHSU defeated No. 5 Josh Myers of OBU by a 4-3 decision. Mitchell Means (149) then pinnned his opponent in 1:39 to give the Tigers plenty of momentum.
In another marquee match-up, No. 5 Bobby Williams of OBU defeated No. 4 Derek Koehn of FHSU 6-1 at 157 pounds to close the FHSU lead to eight at 15-7. Koehn defeated Williams earlier this year in the championship match of the Jet Invitational hosted by Newman University.
Sam Thoman delivered another key blow in the big Tiger win with a pin in 5:09 at 165 pounds to push FHSU to a 21-7 lead. A Josh Rodriguez decision at 174 put the Tigers nearly in the clear for the dual win, but third-ranked Dallas Smith of OBU scored a major decision at 184 to make it 24-11.
Sixth-ranked Tanner Kriss would leave no doubt for the Tigers, pinning his opponent in 2:49 to secure the victory for FHSU. John Close put the icing on another 22-point win for the Tigers with a decision in the heavyweight match.
Fort Hays State will travel to the NWCA National Duals in Springfield, Ill. this coming weekend (Jan. 12-13). Fort Hays State is slated to face No. 2 ranked Newberry (S.C.) in the opening round. Following that match, FHSU will face either No. 7 Notre Dame (Ohio) or Augustana (S.D.). The duals are set to begin at 9 am on Saturday.
– FHSU Sports Information –