Story by MAYAN PAZ Photos by RORY MOORE
Tiger Media Network
The Fort Hays State University men’s wrestling team has never lost a home dual to Newman; however, it was as close as it gets on Sunday afternoon. The Tigers struggled at the beginning of the day, trailing 12-4 and 18-7 at different points of the match, but convincing wins from Connor Padgett, Matthew Rodriguez, and Tereus Henry helped FHSU to turn the score into a 23-18 lead.
Newman pulled back within one in the final match, but FHSU was victorious 23-22
A.B. Stokes (125 lbs) opens the match against Dylan Sheler. 
The Fort Hays State Men’s Wrestling team hypes up for their match against the Newman Jets. 
The Jets win the coin toss. 
Stokes takes Sheler to the ground. 
Stokes earned a 16-3 major decision to give the Tigers a 4-0 lead early in the match. 
Head coach Erik Wince watches Andrew Honas (133 lbs) take on Jevin Foust in the second match 
Honas was defeated by Foust in an 8-1 decision. 
Newman took the lead from Fort Hays before the Tigers rallied to win the match. 
Honas throws his opponent down as he powers through a tough set. 
Coach Wince coaches midway through the match. 
Matthew Rodriguez (184 lbs) wraps around Dane Donigian. 
Tereus Henry (197 lbs) produced a 4:30 fall for a 6-0 result for the Tigers. 
The Tigers pay their respects to the Jets after winning a close match by a score of 23-22.
FHSU Head Coach Erik Wince gave credit to Newman and was relieved with the win.
“I give Newman a lot of credit. They came out fighting. We had some guys that handed matches to them. We had opportunities to win matches, and we didn’t do it, and they made us pay,” he said. “And luckily, we had some guys go out, which really put it all on the line, and found ways to get bonus points. Because if that comes down to criteria, we don’t win that dual meet.”
Talking about criteria, Newman had the lead and would have won the match for the Jets if it ended in a tie. In the final match between FHSU’s Riah Ostrander and Neman’s Caleb Wunsch in the 285 lbs weight class, Ostrander trailed 11-0 going into the last period and gave away only one more point, which meant that he lost 4-0 in the overall score instead of 5-0, and the Tigers escaped with the win.
Wince credited Ostrander for not getting turned in the final period, allowing FHSU to defeat Newman.
“The biggest thing was he could not get turned if he gave up bonus points; if he had given up a tech fall or a pin, we would have lost outright,” Wince said. “Way to not get turned, but that match, it shouldn’t go that way, that’s a winnable match for him.”
Despite a positive start with a 4-0 win by A.B. Stokes, the Tigers lost three straight matches and were down 12-4. Sophomore Marcell Dely was able to get one back in the 157 lb. bout, as he drew a penalty from his opponent late in the third period when the score was tied and gave the Tigers an important three points. After a technical loss in the next weight class, the Tigers trailed 18-7.
At that moment, the Tigers went on a run with Padgett, Rodriguez, and Henry winning 5-0, 5-0, and 6-0. That run was enough to secure the win in the dual.
“We needed team points. And I went on and got team points for us,” Padgett said. “It was a close dual, and we didn’t want it to be that close, but we needed points, so I went out and got points for us.”
The Tigers are now 5-3 overall in the season and 2-0 in the conference. FHSU will host No.21 Central Missouri on Saturday and will wrestle at No. 5 Central Oklahoma on Sunday.
For Padgett, whether they match against a stronger or a weaker team is the same approach.
“It’s the same thing every week. Just go in and just go to work,” he said. “We don’t really change anything week to week. We just go in and get ready to work.”
Wince said the team might rotate a few wrestlers in preparation for the next week’s matches.
“There’s a good chance we can see some other guys in. We’ve got some guys that are waiting in the wings, that are waiting for their opportunity,” he said. “We’ve got back-to-back nationally ranked teams on the weekend. We can’t wrestle the way we did today and expect to come out on top next week, that’s for sure.”