Six Tigers Place At FHSU-Bob Smith Open Six Tigers Place At FHSU-Bob Smith Open
Dec. 2, 2007
The Fort Hays State University wrestling squad hosted the annual FHSU-Bob Smith Open on Saturday (December 1) at Gross Memorial Coliseum. The Tigers had six individuals place in the event, including three second-place finishers, two third and one fourth-place finisher. Wrestlers had to finish in the top four to place in the event. FHSU had 23 wrestlers participate in the event.
Junior James Annon (141), and sophomores Danny Grater (157) and Tyler Gonzales (197) all took second place in their respective weight classes.
Annon had a technical fall and two major decisions on his way to the semifinals at 141 pounds. He defeated Lyubomir Kumbarov of Colby Community College by a 5-1 decision in the semis to reach the championship match against Kyle Evans of Central Oklahoma, the #1 ranked wrestler in the weight class in NCAA Division II. Evans won the championship by a 11-1 major decision. Annon finished 4-1 in the tournament.
Grater, currently ranked #6 in NCAA Division II at 157 pounds, blazed a path to the semifinals with a major decision to open the tournament followed by a couple of decisions. Grater defeated Cole Garcia of Colby Community College in the semis by a 10-3 decision to reach the finals against Jason Leavitt of Central Oklahoma, the #2 ranked wrestler in NCAA Division II. Grater and Leavitt were tied 1-1 early in the third period, but a takedown move by Grater did not quite hit its mark and Leavitt quickly reversed the move in his favor to grab control of the match. Leavitt eventually won by an 8-3 decision. Grater finished 4-1 in the tournament.
Gonzales, currently ranked #4 in NCAA Division II at 197 pounds, used a couple of decisions to reach the semifinals. He defeated Patrick Carey of Northern Colorado in the semis by a 5-3 decision. He then faced Lars Lueders in the championship match, but lost 3-1 in overtime in the sudden victory period. Lueders was wrestling unattached for the tournament. Gonzales finished 3-1 in the tournament.
Third place finishers for the Tigers were senior Kyle Patton (125) and freshman Ben Evans (197).
Patton finished 5-1 in the tournament. Patton won his first three matches before losing to Isaac Wall of Newman University in the semifinals. Patton then won the consolation semifinals to reach the third place match against Akmal Adilov of Colby Community College. He defeated Adilov by a 7-2 decision to claim third.
Evans won his first two matches of the tournament before losing in the quarterfinals. Evans the won four consecutive matches in the consolation bracket to claim third, eventually defeating Brandon Hudiburgh of Hastings College in the third-place match. Evans had several impressive victories, posting four major decisions and one fall. He finished 6-1 in the tournament.
Blake Fisher finished fourth in the 133-pound weight class. Fisher won three consecutive matches to open the tournament before falling in the semifinals. Fisher defeated Vitaliy Ivashchenko of Air Force Prep by a 9-6 decision in the consolation semifinals. He defaulted out of tournament following the win and did not wrestle the third-place match.
The Tigers will be in action at the Nebraska-Kearney Open on Saturday, December 8. The team heads back into dual action on January 4 when it hosts Colorado Mines in Hays.
