#5 Ranked Western State Holds Off Tigers' Upset Bid
Feb. 8, 2008
The Fort Hays State wrestling squad hosted Western State College on Friday evening (February 8) at Gross Memorial Coliseum. Western State entered the dual as the #5 ranked team in the nation. The Tigers gave the Mountaineers all they could handle, but Western State prevailed in the end by a score of 21-15.
The dual opened at 197 pounds. Tyler Gonzales of Fort Hays State faced #5 ranked Donavan McMahill. McMahill won the match by a score of 6-3, giving Western State an early 3-0 lead.
Dustin Martin would tie the dual score up at 3-3 with a 5-2 decision over Andrew Skinner at heavyweight.
Western State would claim the next two matches of the dual. At 125 pounds, #8 ranked Eddie Lopez of WSC defeated Kyle Patton of FHSU by a 12-4 major decision. Then, at 133 pounds, #4 ranked Jesse Cruz of WSC defeated Blake Fisher of FHSU by a 5-2 decision. Western State took a 10-3 lead at that point.
Fort Hays State pulled within four of Western State heading into intermission with James Annon scoring a 9-7 decision over Kyle Francis.
At 149 pounds, #2 ranked Camille DuPont of Western State cruised to a 12-2 major decision over Eric Johnson, extending the WSC lead to 14-6.
The Tigers would make the dual interesting once again when Danny Grater pinned Neil Samples at 157 pounds in 2:48. FHSU pulled within two points at 14-12.
The #1 ranked wrestler in Division II, Zach Lee of Western State, gave Western State another major decision win by a 12-4 count over Troy Lussenhop in the 165-pound match. Lee scored two points with one second remaining and added one point for riding time to pick up the four team points. Western State led 18-12.
Fort Hays State would make the Mountaineers earn the dual win with Blake Malloy grabbing a hard-fought 3-2 decision over Skye Wells at 174 pounds, making the dual 18-15 in favor of Western State.
Shawn Kuhlman was the last wrestler of the night for the Tigers at 184 pounds and looked to give FHSU the upset win. Kuhlman came out strong against #5 ranked Lars Lueders, scoring several points early. But, too many takedowns by Lueders would ultimately be the backbreaker for the Tigers’ upset bid, with Lueders eventually winning the match by a 14-8 decision.
The Tigers are now 5-5 overall and 3-3 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The Mountaineers moved to 14-3-1 overall and 4-1 in the RMAC. The Tigers host Grand Canyon University on Saturday evening (February 9) at 7:00 p.m. Be on hand at Gross Memorial Coliseum as there will be special presentations in honor of head coach Cody Bickley and FHSU’s first wrestling All-American, the late Dale Votapka. There will be free admission to everyone and a post-match reception is open to the public as well.
