By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION<\/b><\/p>\n
No. 12 ranked Fort Hays State wrestling welcomes the Colorado School of Mines to Hays, Kan. on Thursday (Jan. 17) for a nonconference dual. The Tigers and Orediggers will battle it out from inside Gross Memorial Coliseum beginning at 7 p.m.<\/p>\n
Fort Hays State projected lineup consists of two seniors, three juniors, three sophomores, one redshirt-freshman and one true freshman. Brandon Ball<\/a> (No. 2 at 141 pounds), Efe Osaghae<\/a> (No. 4 at 157 pounds) and Marty Verhaeghe<\/a> (No. 9 at 174 pounds) are individually ranked in their respective weight classes.<\/p>\n The first matchup will feature true freshman Broderick Green<\/a> and senior Matt Lavengood. Green holds an 8-14 overall record with a 3-6 slate against Division II competition. Of his eight victories, Green paces the squad with six pins. He has also added one technical fall and one major decision throughout the year.<\/p>\n At 133 pounds, junior Conrad Cole<\/a> will take the mat against junior Jake Woods. Cole enters the dual 7-10 on the year and 2-4 in Division II. Cole ranks second on the team in pins (five).<\/p>\n In the 141-pound bout, No. 2 ranked Brandon Ball<\/a> battles senior Lukas Erickson. Ball carries a perfect 13-0 record on the year, with an 8-0 clip against Division II opponents. The junior enters with 100 career wins as a Tiger and paces the current wrestlers with 22 career major decisions and 12 technical falls. This will be the fourth meeting between the two wrestlers all-time as Ball is 3-0 against Erickson. Last season, Ball defeated Erickson in the dual with a 9-0 major decision and pinned him (5:30) at Regionals. In 2016-17, Ball used a 6-0 decision to defeat Erickson in the Mines dual.<\/p>\n Senior Ryne Cokeley<\/a> gets the nod for the Tigers in the 149-pound bout against redshirt-sophomore Noah Ottum. Cokeley is 1-2 on the season with a pin in the semifinals of the Kansas Cup.<\/p>\n The Tigers will have options between the 157 and 165-pound weight classes. Either Jonathan Ball<\/a> or Efe Osaghae<\/a> will compete in one or the other. The Orediggers will have Skyler Lykins at 157 pounds and Keenan Willits in the 165-pound bout. Ball is 14-7 on the season with three pins, two technical falls and two major decisions. Osaghae is the No. 4 ranked wrestler at 157 pounds and is 17-3 overall and 11-2 against Division II foes. Of his 17 wins, Osaghae leads the team in technical fall (5) as well as adding a pin and one major decision to his credit.<\/p>\n At 174 pounds, No. 9 ranked Marty Verhaeghe<\/a> will take on Robert Gambrell. Verhaeghe enters the dual at 16-7 overall, including a 13-2 record in Division II. Verhaeghe has accumulated three pins and one major decision so far this season.<\/p>\n In the 184-pound match, Micquille Robinson<\/a> will battle it out against Connor Ventura. Robinson carries a 26-5 overall slate in his senior campaign. The Wichita, Kan. native leads the Tigers in wins (26) and major decisions (nine) this year.<\/p>\n