By McKENZIE CUNNINGHAM
Fort Hays State University’s Ball brothers made their way to the top of the brackets this past Sunday at the Bob Smith Open in Hays.
Brandon Ball, junior ranked fourth in the 141-pound weight class, went undefeated and won the title after taking two weeks off to get healthy and down to weight at a good pace.
“I feel really good after coming back to the mat after taking a week plus Thanksgiving break off,” Brandon Ball said. “I’ve already made the weight cut and hit 141, so it should be a lot easier for the upcoming dual next Friday.”
Jonathan Ball, redshirt freshman at the 149-pound weight class, took second in his bracket. Only wrestling four or five opens his true freshman year, wrestling in the elite division this year was a bit of a switch.
“I beat an Oklahoma State kid today, which is a Division I athlete, which is just crazy,” Jonathan Ball said. “I made some small mistakes kinda similar to other tournaments, and I really need to clean up on those mistakes. But in practice, our room is so incredible with coaches and athletes right now. I think I am doing a lot of things to move in the right direction to fix those mistakes.”
With eight individual placers at the home tournament, head coach Chas Thompson was pleased.
“It is always pretty hard to grade your guys. Some do how you expect them too, and some fall a little short,” he said. “Whether it is them having a bad day, or stiff competition, it is what it is.”
The Tigers begin the dual portion of their season at 7 p.m. Friday at the University of Central Oklahoma.
“UCO is a tough team; they’re actually a lot like us, pretty young. … We’re just gonna have to work and wrestle a little bit sharper on that day,” Thompson said.
Other wrestlers who placed in the tournament include:
Second place
157-pound weight class and No. 4 ranked Efe Osaghae; 165-pound weight class, Aryus Jones; 174-pound weight class, Nick Meck.
Third place
133-pound weight class, Cole Zebley; and 184-pound weight class, Micquille Robinson.
Fourth place
165-pound weight class, Isaiah Luellen.
