By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
KEARNEY, Neb. – The No. 17 Fort Hays State wrestling team completed the UNK Holiday Inn Open with eight placers and one individual champion. Isaiah Luellen (165 pounds-unattached) emerged victorious in the amateur weight class as he claimed his second individual title.
Redshirt-freshman Aryus Jones (165 pounds) earned a runner-up finish in the elite weight class. Freshman Devin Onwugbufor (133 pounds, Amateur, unattached), No. 5 ranked sophomore Efe Osaghae (157 pounds), freshman Christopher Ball 165 pounds, Amateur, unattached), sophomore Marty Verhaeghe (174 pounds) and senior Micquille Robinson (184 pounds) all earned third-place finishes. Redshirt-freshman Jonathan Ball (149-pounds) captured a fourth-place finish.
Isaiah Luellen finished the UNK Open with a 5-0 slate. Luellen defeated Davonn Keyes (Northeastern JC) with a 13-3 major decision in the first round. In the second round, Luellen captured a 3-2 decision over Terrell Garraway (Nebraska-Kearney). Luellen then advanced to the semifinals after picking up a 9-4 decision over Payton Hume (Unattached-Mary). He used a 5-1 decision to defeat Christian Grauberger of Air Force to advance to the title bout. The Rossville, Kan. native capped off a perfect day with a 4-2 tiebreaker over Northern Colorado’s Billy Higgins.
Aryus Jones completed his day with a 4-1 record. Jones started with an injury default of Nate Moore (Wyoming) before pinning Damon Rodriguez (Unattached) in 46 seconds. Jones then defeated Calvin Ochs (Nebraska-Kearney) by medical forfeit in the quarterfinal round before earning a spot in the title bout after defeating Wyatt Jordan (Central Oklahoma) with a 7-3 decision. The Junction City, Kan. native was defeated by Marcus Amico (Air Force) by fall (2:20) in the championship match.
Devin Onwugbufor received a bye in the first round. Onwugbufor then defeated Dillon Stewart (Iowa Western CC) by fall (4:01) before defeating Pierce Mederios (York (Neb.)) with a 5-3 decision. He was defeated by Gage Gomez (Barton CC) with a 10-4 decision in the semifinal bout. Onwugbufor battled back to the consolation championship after defeating Jacob Ruiz (Iowa Western CC) by RULE and then defeating Colin Poynter (Air Force Prep) by forfeit.
No. 5 ranked Efe Osaghae defeated defeated Michael Seijo (Western State) by technical fall (17-2) in the first round. Osaghae then defeated Caleb Licking (Nebraska) by sudden victory (7-1) in the quarterfinals before Matt Malcom (Nebraska-Kearney) defeated Osaghae with a 5-0 decision. In the consolation semifinals, Osaghae defeated Dayton Garrett (Central Oklahoma) by decision (3-2). The St. Louis, Mo. native finished off the day defeating Payton Tawater (Colorado Mesa) by sudden victory (3-1).
Christopher Ball defeated DJ Coleman (Unattached-Iowa Western CC) with a 9-1 major decision in the first round before defeating Dylan Archuleta (Bethany College) by decision (4-0). In the quarterfinals, Ball defeated Justin Dravis (Minnesota State) with a 7-0 decision. Ball was defeated by Billy Higgins (Northern Colorado) in the semifinals with a 7-4 decision before battling back by RULE over Terrell Garraway (Nebraska-Kearney) in the consolation semifinals and defeating Christian Grauberger (Air Force) with a 10-0 major decision in the consolation championship.
Marty Verhaeghe defeated Benjamin Kratz (Colorado School of Mines) by decision (6-2) in the first round. In the quarterfinals, Verhaeghe was defeated by Seth Lathem (Colorado Mesa) by fall (1:15). Verhaeghe then picked up two decisions, one medical forfeit and a fall to solidify the consolation championship.
Micquille Robinson received a bye in the first round before defeating Kevin Reamey (Bethany College) by decision (3-0). Robinson was then defeated by Nolan Krone (Colorado Mesa) by fall (2:16) in the quarterfinals before earning four more wins to grab the consolation championship.
Jonathan Ball began his day a little rocky after being defeated by Noah Ottum (Colorado School of Mines) by sudden victory (6-4). Ball then rattled off four straight decisions before falling in the consolation championship to Zemua Baptista (Nebraska) in 1:06.
The Tigers will have two weeks to prepare for the annual FHSU-Bob Smith Open on Sunday (Dec. 2). The open is set to commence at 9 a.m. from inside Gross Memorial Coliseum.