FHSU Sports Information Department
HAYS, Kan. – The 18th-ranked Fort Hays State wrestling team picked up its first dual win of the season on Thursday (Jan. 12) by winning the final three matches to force a 19-19 tie. The NCAA tiebreaker protocol was used and gave the Tigers the victory. Since FHSU had more 6-point wins in the match after the teams tied 5-5 in the matches won for the first criteria, the Tigers won on the second criteria. With the win, the Tigers now sit at 1-2 overall on the season, while the Orediggers moved to 2-2.
The Orediggers took an early 3-0 lead in a very close match in the 125-pound bout. It was a back-and-forth battle between Conrad Cole and Matthew Lavengood of CSM, a battle that Cole tied late in the third with an escape. Unfortunately, a riding time point was awarded to Lavengood, who walked away with the 8-7 decision.
Noah Au-Yeung extended the Oredigger lead to 8-0 in the ensuing 133-pound match after a technical fall, but the Tigers rebounded in the 141-pound bout cutting the lead to 8-3. Seventh-ranked Brandon Ball got the Tigers on the board as he handled Lukas Erickson with a 6-0 decision for his 20th victory of the season.
Colorado Mines extended its lead to eight once again after the No. 9 ranked wrestler in the nation, Jacob Gerken, avoided an upset with a tight 6-5 victory over Jacob Kay in the 149-pound bout. Then in the 157-pound bout, Greg Tooley picked up his tenth win of the season and trimmed the Oredigger lead back to five, 11-6, after an 8-4 decision over Ethan Ruby.
After a second technical fall for the Orediggers in the 165-pound bout and a decision in the 174-pound bout, the Tigers saw themselves trailing 19-6 with just three matches remaining. Rakim Dean did his part to keep the Tigers in the dual, cutting the lead to 19-9 with a 6-1 decision over Colorado Mines’ Benjamin Krantz at 184 pounds.
With the Tigers needing at least four points to stay, Austin Brandt stepped up for FHSU at 197 pounds. The freshman got the better of Anthony Spallino by 10 points (12-2), earning the major decision and cutting the lead to six with one match remaining.
With the Tigers needing a fall in the final match, they had the right man for the job in the likes of redshirt freshman Christian Lance, the No. 9 ranked wrestler at 285 pounds. With 25 seconds remaining in the match and Lance up big, Jake Feldman of Colorado Mines was called for his fifth stall of the match. That disqualified Feldman and gave Lance a fall, producing just what the Tigers needed.
Oddly enough, that fall would prove to be the match decider in the tiebreaking protocol. Both teams won five matches in the dual, so the next criteria is which team has more 6-point wins in the match. FHSU had the only 6-point win, produced on the odd finish to the dual. A team point was added for FHSU, making the final score 20-19.