WICHITA, Kan. – The Fort Hays State wrestling team finished fourth place as a team after recording 65 team points in the Reece Wright-Conklin Jet Invitational on Sunday (Dec. 10). The Tigers left the tournament with five placers and one champion. Redshirt-freshman Efe Osaghae (157 lb) claimed his first individual title as a Tiger. Jordan Davis ended his day with a runner-up finish in the 197-pound weight class. Brody Lewis (149 lb) and Marty Verhaeghe (165 lb) captured third place finishes while Micquille Robinson earned a fourth place finish in the 184-pound weight class.
Brody Lewis took to the mat for the Tigers in the 149-pound weight class. Lewis dropped his first round match to Marqual Graham of Northeastern Oklahoma, falling to him by a 6-4 decision. He rebounded well when we defeated Jake Hattabaugh of Newman in the second round with a 9-3 decision. Lewis dropped his round match to Will Steltzlen of Central Oklahoma by pin in 1:21. He earned a 4-0 decision over Dakota Schutter of Truman State in the fourth round. Lewis pinned Madison Leanio of Kansas Wesleyan in 4:44 in the fifth round. Lewis finished the day with a 3-2 record.
Efe Osaghae opened his day in the 157-pound weight class with a first round pin of Devin Conklin from Kansas Wesleyan in 2:20. He defeated Zeke Rubio of Northeastern Oklahoma in third round match with a 15-3 major decision. Osaghae defeated Tyler Mies of Newman with a 6-3 decision in the fourth round. He ended his day with a 2-1 record.
Marty Verhaeghe started off his day on a good note with a 15-3 major decision over Zach Taylor of Truman State in the first round. Verhaeghe dropped his match in the second round to Wyatt Jordan of Northeastern Oklahoma by a 13-0 major decision. He pinned Noah Perkins of Newman in the third round in 4:27. Verhaeghe dropped his fourth round match to Mason Thompson of Central Oklahoma in a 9-3 decision. He defeated Nick Desch of Bethany College with a 17-4 major decision in the fifth round. Verhaeghe finished his day with a 3-2 record.
Micquille Robinson was pinned in his first round match today at the hands of Alex Kauffman from Northeastern Oklahoma in 5:35. Robinson returned the favor in the second round as he pinned Shane Gallagher of Truman State in 4:51. He picked up a 9-1 major decision over Tanner O’Donnell in the third round. Robinson dropped his last two matches of the day to Noel Torres of Newman (6-1 decision) and Joel Dixon of Central Oklahoma (fall, 2:51).
Jordan Davis pinned his first opponent, Joe Steve of Bethany College, in 4:15. He defeated his second round opponent, Gus Boyd of Northeastern Oklahoma, with an 11-5 decision. Davis dropped his round three match to Colton Looper of Central Oklahoma via a fall in 1:34. He bounced back with back-to-back pins over Jules Joseph of Truman State (3:49) and Jacob Stoneberger of Newman (2:26). He finished his day with a 3-1 record.
The Tigers are back in action next weekend (Dec. 16-17) as they travel to Indianapolis, Ind. to compete at the Midwest Classic.