Wrestling
#3 Central Oklahoma Outlasts #20 Fort Hays State In Dual Action
Jan. 17, 2008
The #20 ranked Fort Hays State University wrestling team hosted the University of Central Oklahoma on Thursday evening (January 17) in Hays. Central Oklahoma won the dual by a score of 30-10, winning 7-of-10 matches in the dual.
The dual began at 125 pounds with Kyle Patton of Fort Hays State against Nick Rice of Central Oklahom. Patton put the Tigers on the board first with a 3-0 lead, after winning by a 6-0 decision in the match.
Central Oklahoma would rebound as Tim Elliott of Central Oklahoma remained undefeated this season with an 11-1 major decision over Blake Fisher. From that point, Central Oklahoma would claim the next four matches to build a commanding 18-3 lead on the Tigers.
At 141 pounds, Kyle Evans of UCO, ranked #1 in NCAA Division II, won by an 11-2 major decision over James Annon. In the 149-pound match, #7 ranked Colby Robinson of UCO defeated Josh Pfannenstiel by an 8-0 major decision.
In one of the most exciting matches of the evening, #5 ranked Jason Leavitt of UCO defeated Danny Grater by a 9-6 decision. Grater kept the pressure on Leavitt, attempting to score a takedown to tie the match in the third period, but Leavitt held off the charge.
At 165 pounds, Paul Mayfield of Central Oklahoma handed FHSU’s Troy Lussenhop his first loss of the season with a 10-3 decision. With 11 seconds remaining in the match, it looked as though Mayfield seriously injured his leg in the ankle area, but gutted out the rest of the time to pick up the win.
Fort Hays State made things interesting when Blake Malloy scored a 12-4 major decision over Kenny Meredith at 174 pounds, bringing the Tigers within striking distance as UCO led 18-7 with three matches to go.
At 184, FHSU’s Shawn Kuhlman was aggressive early against #4 ranked Heath Jolley of UCO, jumping out to a 2-1 lead in the first period. But late in the opening period, Jolley caught Kuhlman off-guard and won by fall at 2:49, securing the dual win for the Bronchos.
Tyler Gonzales would pick up the final three points of the night for FHSU with a thrilling 3-1 decision over UCO’s Jarrett Edison. With 12 seconds remaining, Gonzales scored the decisive takedown, breaking a 1-1 tie and avoiding overtime.
In the final match at heavyweight, Central Oklahoma’s Dustin Finn won by fall over Dustin Martin of FHSU in 1:57.
Unless there would have been a tie, both coaches were going for a milestone on Thursday night. With Central Oklahoma victorious, head coach David James reached the 300th win of his career, becoming the 33rd coach in collegiate history to reach the mark. James is in his 26th year and now has a career record of 300-102-4.
Fort Hays State head coach Cody Bickley will get another shot to break the FHSU record for wins by a coach when the Tigers wrestle at #12 ranked Chadron State this Saturday in Chadron, Neb. Bickley currently has 54 wins in his career at FHSU, tied atop the wins list with former coach Dave Winter. The dual at Chadron State begins at 8:00 p.m. mountain time, or 7:00 p.m. central time, on Saturday.
