By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
The No. 12 ranked Fort Hays State wrestling team fell victim to the No. 19 ranked Western Colorado Mountaineers on Friday (Jan. 25), by a score of 30-13. The Tigers dip to 1-8 in duals with the loss, while the Mountaineers move to 10-3 in dual action.
The dual began with the 125 pound bout between Broderick Green and Trent Piatt. In a back-and-forth battle, Green fell to Piatt in a 10-4 decision. At 133 pounds, freshman Payton Sadowski took the mat for the Tigers and fought hard until the end of the first period where Colby Duncan earned a 6-2 decision.
No. 2 Brandon Ball came storming out with a takedown in the early-going and never looked back. Ball earned a wire-to-wire major decision (8-0) and continued his perfect start to the season (17-0). Ryne Cokeley added to the score with a narrow 7-6 decision over JD Chenoweth, fighting off a late surge by Chenoweth. At 157 pounds, No. 4 Efe Osaghae earned his second fall of the season when he took a commanding victory over Jason Slaughter. At the halfway point in the match, Fort Hays State lead Western Colorado 13-6.
In the 165-pound bout Conrad Vajnar suffered an 18-6 major decision defeat at the hands of Hunter Mullin. The Tigers forfeited the 174-pound match to No. 1 Brandon Supernaw. Senior Micquille Robinson nearly had No. 9 ranked Konnor Schmidt in the first period before falling via 8-4 decision in the end.
At 197 pounds, Jordan Davis was on the cusp of earning a decision with a takedown and a four-point near fall before allowing Dylan McBride to leave his grasp. Things turned south when McBride took control in the third period and pinned Davis (6:26). A.J. Cooper fell victim to nifty moves from Sammy deSeriere and lost by technical fall, 18-3.
The Tigers are back in action next Wednesday (Jan. 30) when they host Central Missouri for Senior Night. The dual is slated to commence at 7 p.m.