GOLDEN, Colo. – Fort Hays State saw four wrestlers advance to the second day of the NCAA Division II West Super Regional on Friday. Brandon Ball, ranked No. 11 at 141 pounds and Jon Inman, ranked No. 3 at 197 pounds, locked up berths to the NCAA Championships by advancing to the finals on Saturday.
Greg Tooley (157) and Christian Lance (285), will try to make it through the consolation rounds to keep their season alive as they are now in a win-or-go home situation.
Ball started the day with a 17-0 technical fall over Ouachita Baptist’s Harrison Bamman then reached the semifinal bout with a 5-0 decision over Dylan Udero of Adams State. From there he sealed a spot in the championship bout Saturday, as well as a trip to the NCAA Division II Championships, thanks to a 7-1 over No. 7 ranked Daniel Salazar from Colorado Mesa. Ball will face Central Oklahoma’s Josh Ailey in the championship, a wrestler he has defeated twice this year.
Inman started the day with a 4-0 decision over Nebraska-Kearney’s Trey Schlender and then found himself in the semis with an 8-3 decision over Cody Johnson from Colorado State-Pueblo. In the semis, Inman squared off with No. 2 ranked Greg Wilson of Central Oklahoma, whom he was 1-2 against this year entering the match. This time around Inman took advantage of a quick reversal and four-point near fall combination in the second period to coast to a 6-0 decision sending him to the NCAA Division II Championships for the fourth-consecutive year.
Like Ball, No. 3 ranked Tooley also started his day with a technical fall, 20-3, over Adams State’s Gaven Davy and then moved on to the semifinal bout thanks to an 11-4 decision over Colorado Mines’ Ethan Ruby. In the semis he had a chance to take the lead with a late takedown but an untimely slip gave the takedown to Bryan Dutton of Central Oklahoma with 20 seconds to go. He dropped the match 3-1.
Lance, the No. 8 wrestler at 285 pounds, took advantage of a bye in the first round. From there he defeated Jerhett Lee of Ouachita Baptist with a 4-2 decision securing his spot in day two by advancing to the semifinals. There Lance met up with Nebraska-Kearney’s Kevin Barrett, a wrestler Lance has fallen victim to twice this season. Lance took the match to the brink of overtime, but a takedown by No. 3 ranked Barrett with six seconds remaining broke a 1-1 tie.