FHSU Sports Information Department
BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – Fort Hays State got a glimpse into the future of the program by sending seven wrestlers, including five redshirts, to the Dan Harris Open at Baker University. Wrestling unattached were Vikash Hypio, Jake Schoenfeld, Greg Tooley, Jordan Davis, and Rakim Dean, while Derrick Gates and Jace Nordyke also competed.
Gates took fourth place at 165 pounds for the Tigers. After receiving a first-round bye, he defeated Mason Baum (unattached) with technical fall. He fell to Baker University’s Connor Middleton in the semifinals by a 3-1 decision. After a major decision in the consolation round over Benedictine’s Bryce De Camargo (12-3), Gates took on Tanner Ogden (unattached) in the third-place match but fell by decision 12-11.
Nordyke also wrestled at 165 for Fort Hays State. He went 3-2 on the weekend with victories over Wentworth’s Bradley Loveland by fall at 1:58, Ottawa’s Zachary Sanders by a 2-0 decision, and Mason McCarthy (unattached) by fall at 0:46.
Vikash Hypio picked up three wins in the 125-pound weight class going 3-2 on the weekend. Hypio defeated Andres Lopez (unattached) by a 5-3 decision, Baker’s Logan McDowell by a 7-5 decision, and Jay Maxville (unattached) by a 3-1 decision.
Greg Tooley took third place wrestling unattached at 157 pounds. After a bye in the first round, Tooley defeated Barton (Kan.) Community College’s Kade Sander by decision (15-8) before getting pinned by Colby Crank (unattached) in 0:49 in the semifinal. In the consolation semifinal, Tooley received an injury default and moved on to the third place match where he faced Sander once more. Tooley came out on top with a 14-7 decision.
Jordan Davis took home second place at 184 pounds, going 2-1. Davis received a bye in the first round and then went on to win his next two matches. He picked up a 6-4 decision over Logan Rice (unattached) and then defeated Bryant Guillen (unattached) by injury default before heading to the championship match against teammate Rakim Dean. Davis fell to Dean (unattached) by a 7-4 decision.
Rakim Dean took first place in the 184-pound division by going 3-0. A bye in the first round matched Dean up with Baker’s Joshua Ortiz, who he defeated by major decision 14-3. In the semifinals, he defeated Cody Carson (unattached) by a 7-4 decision and then went on to defeat Davis for the title with another 7-4 decision.
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Fort Hays State had four Tiger wrestlers compete in the Oklahoma City Open’s Freshman/Sophomore Division, which included Avry Hermann, William Homalon, James Buckhanan, and Christian Lance.
Buckhanan placed for the Tigers by taking fourth in the 174-pound class. Buckhanan went 3-2 on the day. Buckhanan started out by defeating Wayland Baptist’s Greg Parran by fall at 0:20 before advancing to the quarterfinal to take on Kody Eichlin (King University). Buckhanan defeated Eichlin by sudden victory 10-8. In the semifinals, he fell to Central Oklahoma’s Mason Thompson by a 6-0 decision. He bounced back with a 12-7 decision over Jacob Hawthorne of New Mexico Highlands to make the third-place match, where he defaulted to take fourth.
Lance also took home fourth at 197 pounds. Lance wrestled in four matches and posted a 2-2 record. A bye in the first round put Lance in the quarterfinals where he won by decision over Northeastern Oklahoma A&M’s Russel Coats by a score of 5-2. In the semifinal, Lance fell to Oklahoma State’s Preston Weigel by a technical fall (16-0) and moved on to the consolation semifinals. Lance got his second victory of the day over Oklahoma City’s Riley Fielder by decision (10-6). In the third place match, Lance fell to Northeastern Oklahoma A&M’s Josh Latham by fall (2:46).
Homalon finished 2-2 and Hermann went 1-2 at 149 pounds.