By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
SAN FRANCISCO – The Fort Hays State men’s wrestling team dropped a pair of duals Friday evening (Jan. 5), losing 33-8 to Colorado School of Mines before falling on tiebreak criteria against San Francisco State, 19-18.
The Orediggers handled business in the first dual, winning the first eight matches, including four bonus-point wins. Tereus Henry, the sixth-ranked wrestler at 197 pounds in Division II, broke up the momentum with a 19-1 technical fall to hand the Tigers five points. Henry recorded takedowns in each of the first two periods before finishing things off with a pair of four-point nearfalls in the third.
Fort Hays State entered the final dual of the evening with some momentum after Tony Caldwell finished the opener with another Tiger victory. After both Caldwell and Mines’ Laith Ibrahim managed one escape point each in regulation, Caldwell emerged victorious after a quick takedown in the first sudden victory round.
The Tigers carried that momentum into the nightcap against SFSU, with D’Andre Brown (125 pounds) and Kevin Honas (133 pounds) picking up a pair of early bonus-point wins. Brown was dominant throughout his match with Hayden Ancheta, recording takedowns in all three periods. The Tiger finished things off with a fourth and final takedown with just seconds to spare, handing FHSU an additional team point with a 13-3 major decision.
Honas followed with a similarly dominant performance, racking up three takedowns and six nearfall points for a shutout, 15-0 technical fall. Honas was in control the entire match, picking up one takedown in all three rounds.
The Gators bounced back after that point, taking the next four matches via decision to take a 12-9 lead in the dual. Drew Bell closed within 8-5 with a takedown midway through the third period of the 141 bout, but was unable to complete the comeback. Cason Lindseywas in control of the 157 bout until the third period when a reversal and a controversial takedown call on the edge of the mat gave SFSU’s Basil Othman the lead for good.
Juan Urbina helped Fort Hays State bounce back with a major decision at 174 pounds, recording a pair of takedowns in the first period and another in the third to rack up a 12-3 victory. That win momentarily put the Tigers back up by one, 13-12, before Matthew Rodriguez fell in sudden victory at 184 pounds to return the lead to the Gators, 15-13.
Henry put the Tigers back on top in the back-and-forth affair with another dominant technical fall victory, giving the El Paso, Texas native a team-high eight wins via technical fall this season. Henry managed takedowns in all three periods and added five nearfall points to add up to a 16-1 win.
Henry’s victory put the Tigers on top 18-15 entering the final match of the evening, a heavyweight battle between Caldwell and SFSU’s Emilio Franco Sandoval. Neither could gain control in the first period before Franco Sandoval rode out the full two minutes on top in the second frame. Caldwell was unable to match that effort in the third, with Franco Sandoval managing an escape to take a 1-0 lead with the ride time point in hand. Franco Sandoval finished things off with a takedown in the waning seconds, securing a 5-0 decision in the match.
With the score tied at 18, San Francisco State was awarded the win via the established NCAA tiebreak criteria, which went to the Gators due to a 6-4 advantage in matches won.
Next on the schedule for the Tigers is the start of conference competition, with FHSU heading to Wichita to take on Newman on Thursday, January 25 beginning at 7 p.m.
Colorado School of Mines 33, Fort Hays State 8
125 – Christian Lopez over D’Andre Brown (Dec 5-4)
133 – Trebor Moreno over Kevin Honas (TF 18-1 3:53)
141 – #8 Grayston DiBlasi over Drew Bell (Fall 4:38)
149 – #12 Cody Thompson over Marcell Dely (TF 16-0 5:22)
157 – Jaron Mahler over Cason Lindsey (Dec 4-2)
165 – Tristin David over Cody Hicks (Dec 8-2)
174 – #11 Wyatt Reisz over Juan Urbina (Dec 8-2)
184 – Mason Diel over Matthew Rodriguez (TF 15-0 2:49)
197 – #6 Tereus Henry over Nico Gagliardi (TF 19-1 6:06)
285 – Tony Caldwell over Laith Ibrahim (SV-1 4-1)
165 – Extra: Jakob Smith over Hunter Harris (TF 15-0 2:16)
197 – Extra: Levi Farris over Ryan Patterson (Dec 10-7)
San Francisco State 19, Fort Hays State 18
125 – D’Andre Brown over Hayden Ancheta (MD 13-3)
133 – Kevin Honas over Brayden Concepcion (TF 15-0 5:10)
141 – Sean Yamasaki over Drew Bell (Dec 13-6)
149 – Zane Stoddard over Marcell Dely (Dec 10-3)
157 – Basil Othman over Cason Lindsey (Dec 7-6)
165 – Kyle Botelho over Cody Hicks (Dec 8-4)
174 – Juan Urbina over Gage Mettler (MD 12-3)
184 – Kweli Hernandez-Maitre over Matthew Rodriguez(SV-1 4-1)
197 – #6 Tereus Henry over Laith Gilmore (TF 16-1 6:26)
285 – Emilio Franco Sandoval over Tony Caldwell (Dec 5-0)
San Francisco State wins on tiebreak criteria – number of matches won