GOLDEN, Colo. – Fort Hays State is sending four wrestlers to the NCAA Division II Championships on Friday and Saturday in Birmingham, Ala. After the conclusion of the NCAA West Super Regional on Saturday. At the NCAA West Super Regional on Saturday (Feb. 25), Brandon Ball claimed the 141-pound title while Jon Inman (197) finished runner-up for the second consecutive year. Greg Tooley (157) placed third and Christian Lance (285) was fourth.
After going 3-0 on day one and sealing his birth at nationals, 11th-ranked Ball cruised to a 6-2 decision in the finals over Joshua Ailey from Central Oklahoma. With the regional title, Ball becomes the first Tiger since Trey Page (285 pounds) in 2014-15 to claim a super-regional title.
Inman, the No. 3 ranked wrestler at 197 pounds advances to the NCAA National Championships for the fourth year in a row. The second-place finish by Inman ties his career-best at the regional after finishing runner-up last year at 184 pounds. Inman only had to wrestle in the finals on Saturday (Feb. 25) but came out on the short end of a 5-2 decision against Jacob Waste, the No. 1 ranked wrestler at 197 pounds.
Tooley, the No. 3 ranked wrestler at 157 pounds bounced back strong on day two after going 2-1 on Friday to slip to the consolation bracket. He dominated the two matches he wrestled on his way to a third-place finish. Tooley picked up an 18-1 technical fall in the consolation semifinals before punching his ticket to the NCAA Championships with a 15-3 major decision over Kyle Fantin of Colorado State-Pubelo.
Christian Lance started the day in the consolation bracket by dropping a 3-1 decision to Paul Head of California Baptist. Luckily, at the regional tournament wrestlers have a chance to win a “true fourth place” so he had another shot to advance to nationals but needed some luck on his side and two consecutive wins. Fortunately, that is exactly what happened. After winning the fifth-place match with a 2-0 decision, Lance had to have Paul Head of California Baptist win the third place match to force a true fourth-place bout. Head complied knocking off Chadron State’s Cooper Cogdill. Lance would then get the better of Cogdill in the fourth-place match with a 3-1 decision.
FHSU Sports Information