FHSU Athletics

WARRENSBURG, Mo. – Fort Hays State’s Isaiah Luellen and Reese Cokeley placed at the Roger Denker Open, hosted by the University of Central Missouri on Sunday (Jan. 20). They were the only two Tigers to participate in the tournament.

Luellen was the champion of the 165-pound bracket. After a first round bye, he cruised into the semifinals with a 19-4 technical fall over Stephen Duffy of Concordia University. A 9-5 decision over Martell Boone from the University of Missouri pushed him into the finals, where he defeated another University of Missouri wrestler, Peyton Mocco, by an 11-4 decision. Luellen moved to 19-3 on the year, all in tournament action. This is the third tournament win for Luellen this year, going along with the Dan Harris Open, UNK Holiday Inn Open.

After helping the team to a Kansas Cup title last Sunday, Cokeley finished in a tie for fifth in the 141-pound class. He recorded a fall in 4:01 in the first round over Caleb Osborn of Truman State University. He then edged Daide Agnew of Central Missouri by a score of 8-7 in the quarterfinals. Nick Nasenbeny from the University of Missouri got the best of Cokeley in the semifinals by a score of 7-0, then Cokeley had to bow out of the tournament by medical forfeit in the consolation semifinals. Both wrestlers making the fifth-place match were unable to wrestle, so Cokeley shared the placement with George Benoit of Grand View.