By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
The No. 12 ranked Fort Hays State wrestling sent out the seniors on a high note with a 35-5 drubbing of Central Missouri on Wednesday (Jan. 30) inside Gross Memorial Coliseum. The Tigers improved to 2-8 in overall duals and 1-2 in conference action, while the Mules dipped to 0-5 in duals and 0-4 in MIAA play.
Fort Hays State began the dual in a 6-0 deficit after Broderick Green dropped his match to Justin Mitchell by decision (7-3) and Payton Sadowski fell behind early and couldn’t quite get anything going to fall to John Feeney by decision (8-2).
The Tigers then rambled off eight straight victories to close out the match on top, 35-5. No. 2 ranked Brandon Ball got things going to the black and gold with a dominating 16-0 technical fall victory in the third period over Dakota Thevel. Senior Ryne Cokeley then earned a forfeit victory with the Mules leaving the 149-pound bout open.
No. 4 ranked Efe Osaghae added another technical fall to his collection with a 15-0 stomp over Austin Morgan at 157 pounds. The crowd noise would not be bothered when Conrad Vajnar stepped on the mat and earned a fall in the first period (2:10) of the 165-pound match over Cole Hatfield. The Tigers lead 22-6 at this point in the dual.
No. 9 ranked Marty Verhaeghe bounced back in a good way with a decision over Benjamin Gadbois, holding the Mules senior to one point in the 8-1 win. Senior Micquille Robinson went out with a bang in front of the home crowd after defeating Dominique Hampton, 12-0, and earning his 21st career major decision.
In his season debut, redshirt-freshman Ryan Tiers overcame a 2-0 deficit to Martin Brunnert to end up with an 11-4 decision and his first victory in over a year. A.J. Cooper capped the evening off with an easy 9-3 decision over Chase Miller in the 285-pound bout.
The Tigers will take a week off before resuming wrestling as they travel up north to Kearney, Neb. to take on No. 2 ranked Nebraska-Kearney on Sunday (Feb. 10). The dual between conference rivals is slated to commence at 3 p.m.