#5 Ranked Western State Holds Off Tigers' Upset Bid
Feb. 8, 2008

The Fort Hays State wrestling squad hosted Western State College on Friday evening (February 8) at Gross Memorial Coliseum. Western State entered the dual as the #5 ranked team in the nation. The Tigers gave the Mountaineers all they could handle, but Western State prevailed in the end by a score of 21-15.
The dual opened at 197 pounds. Tyler Gonzales of Fort Hays State faced #5 ranked Donavan McMahill. McMahill won the match by a score of 6-3, giving Western State an early 3-0 lead.

Dustin Martin would tie the dual score up at 3-3 with a 5-2 decision over Andrew Skinner at heavyweight.

Western State would claim the next two matches of the dual. At 125 pounds, #8 ranked Eddie Lopez of WSC defeated Kyle Patton of FHSU by a 12-4 major decision. Then, at 133 pounds, #4 ranked Jesse Cruz of WSC defeated Blake Fisher of FHSU by a 5-2 decision. Western State took a 10-3 lead at that point.

Fort Hays State pulled within four of Western State heading into intermission with James Annon scoring a 9-7 decision over Kyle Francis.

At 149 pounds, #2 ranked Camille DuPont of Western State cruised to a 12-2 major decision over Eric Johnson, extending the WSC lead to 14-6.

The Tigers would make the dual interesting once again when Danny Grater pinned Neil Samples at 157 pounds in 2:48. FHSU pulled within two points at 14-12.

The #1 ranked wrestler in Division II, Zach Lee of Western State, gave Western State another major decision win by a 12-4 count over Troy Lussenhop in the 165-pound match. Lee scored two points with one second remaining and added one point for riding time to pick up the four team points. Western State led 18-12.

Fort Hays State would make the Mountaineers earn the dual win with Blake Malloy grabbing a hard-fought 3-2 decision over Skye Wells at 174 pounds, making the dual 18-15 in favor of Western State.

Shawn Kuhlman was the last wrestler of the night for the Tigers at 184 pounds and looked to give FHSU the upset win. Kuhlman came out strong against #5 ranked Lars Lueders, scoring several points early. But, too many takedowns by Lueders would ultimately be the backbreaker for the Tigers’ upset bid, with Lueders eventually winning the match by a 14-8 decision.

The Tigers are now 5-5 overall and 3-3 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The Mountaineers moved to 14-3-1 overall and 4-1 in the RMAC. The Tigers host Grand Canyon University on Saturday evening (February 9) at 7:00 p.m. Be on hand at Gross Memorial Coliseum as there will be special presentations in honor of head coach Cody Bickley and FHSU’s first wrestling All-American, the late Dale Votapka. There will be free admission to everyone and a post-match reception is open to the public as well.

Tigers Celebrate Special Evening With 51-0 Shutout Victory Over Grand Canyon
Feb. 9, 2008

The Fort Hays State wrestling team was in action on Saturday evening and hosted Grand Canyon University. On a night in which head coach Cody Bickley was honored for becoming the new all-time duals winner in FHSU wrestling history, the Tigers would win all 10 matches and shut out the Antelopes by a final score of 51-0. FHSU would benefit from five GCU open weights.

The dual began at 125 pounds. Kyle Patton of Fort Hays State would get the Tigers on the board first as he would defeat Grand Canyon’s Tony Covert, by a 10-1 major decision. The win gave the Tigers a quick 4-0 lead.

Grand Canyon would then be open at the next three weights giving FHSU a commanding 22-0 lead. Those Tigers picking up victories were Kyle Cook at 133 pounds, Dylan Loyd at 141 pounds, and Josh Pfannenstiel at 149 pounds.

In the last match before intermission at 157 pounds, it was Fort Hays State’s Danny Grater winning by fall at 1:53 over Grand Canyon’s Stephen Towne. The win by Grater gave the Tigers a 28-0 lead at intermission.

Following intermission at 165 pounds, it was FHSU’s Troy Lussenhop defeating the Antelopes’ Dan Grayson by technical fall (16-0), to give the Tigers a 33-0 lead.

Next up in the 174 pound match, it was the Tigers’ Blake Malloy picking up his 20th win of the season defeating GCU’s Jack Porter by a 5-3 decision.

FHSU continued to add up points as Grand Canyon was open at both 184 pounds and 197 pounds. Picking up wins for the Tigers were Shawn Kuhlman at 184 pounds and Tyler Gonzales at 197 pounds. The two forfeit wins gave Fort Hays State a 48-0 lead heading into the final match of the dual.

In the last match at 285 pounds, it was FHSU’s Dustin Martin defeating GCU’s Jed Jobe by a 3-2 overtime decision, to preserve the shutout for the Tigers. The win gave FHSU a 51-0 victory.

With the victory, the Tigers are now 6-5 overall and 4-3 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Grand Canyon University fell to 0-23-1 and 0-4 in their first season as a member of the RMAC. FHSU will next be in action a week from Tuesday when the team hosts RMAC rival and current #4-ranked Nebraska-Kearney. The dual on February 19, begins at 7:00 p.m. from Gross Memorial Coliseum. Also honored in the dual against Grand Canyon was the late Dale Votapka, FHSU's first Wrestling All-American and serving as an honorary coach was another former Tiger All-American Vic Lyczak.

Lopers Top Tigers In Final Dual Of The Season
Feb. 19, 2008

The Fort Hays State wrestling squad hosted #4 ranked Nebraska-Kearney in its final dual of the 2007-08 season. The Tigers battled tough all night, but too many close matches swung in Kearney’s favor, giving the Lopers a 27-12 win in Hays on Tuesday night (February 19).

The dual began at 125 pounds. Michael Abril put UNK on the board first with an 11-7 decision over Kyle Patton. Then FHSU took the lead from the Lopers at 6-3, with Kearney open at 133 pounds, giving Blake Fisher the forfeit win.

Then, the Tigers looked hungry for a win after James Annon upset #3 ranked Jeff Rutledge at 141 pounds with a 6-5 decision. Annon and Rutledge were tied with less than 30 seconds remaining, and Rutledge had enough riding time to score a point after time expired. Annon needed a takedown to have any chance of winning the match and got it in the last 15 seconds. The win gave FHSU a 9-3 lead.

The lead would be short lived, though, with Josh Pfannenstiel losing to #6 Ryan Etherton of Nebraska-Kearney by fall at 2:08 in the 149-pound match. The dual was tied at 9-9.

At 157 pounds, Danny Grater nearly had #2 ranked Joe Ellenberger pinned twice and built a 9-1 lead by the end of the second period. But Ellenberger would somehow find a way to come all the way back and pass Grater for a 13-11 decision, getting three back points and a point for riding time just before time expired. The decision swung the momentum back in Kearney’s favor, with the Lopers leading 12-9.

Then, at 165 pounds, FHSU was on the verge of six points again when Troy Lussenhop had #8 ranked Keenan McCurdy in a near-pin position for about 20 seconds. But, McCurdy would fight back and nearly pin Lussenhop on a reversal. McCurdy came away with an 8-3 decision in the match to give UNK a 15-9 lead.

The 174 pound match was another thriller, as Blake Malloy and #3 ranked Marty Usman went to overtime. Each wrestler scored one escape point in regulation. Usman finally broke through with a takedown to score a 3-1 sudden victory in the extra period. It gave UNK an 18-9 lead.

At 184 pounds, Paul Sutton gave UNK a 21-9 lead with a 10-3 decision over Shawn Kuhlman.

The last thriller of the night came at 197 pounds with FHSU’s Tyler Gonzales against Derek Ross of UNK. Like the 174-pound match, the wrestlers each scored one escape point and were looking for a takedown inside the final minute of the match. Gonzales would get that takedown with just under 15 seconds remaining to score a 3-1 decision and put the dual score at 21-12. However, the decision was not enough to keep the Tigers in the dual.

At 285 pounds, #1 ranked and undefeated Tervel Dlagnev of UNK faced Dustin Martin. Martin gave a gutty effort, but Dlagnev would finally win by fall at 4:35 to give Nebraska-Kearney a 27-12 win in the dual.

The Tigers finished the dual season at 6-6 overall and 4-4 in the RMAC. Nebraska-Kearney went to 12-6 overall and 6-2 in the RMAC.

Five Fort Hays State seniors were recognized before the match with it being their last year in the program. Those wrestlers included Eric Johnson, Dustin Martin, Kyle Patton, Josh Pfannenstiel and Lyndon Wagner.