Three Tigers Finish Runner-Up at Bob Smith Open
HAYS, Kan. - Fort Hays State Wrestling hosted the annual Bob Smith Open on Saturday (Dec. 3) and turned in a solid showing in front of the home town fans. Three Tigers made the finals in their respective weight classes but fell just short of individual crowns. Taking home second place honors were Brandon Ball (141), Rakim Dean (184) and Christian Lance (285).
Ball had another successful tournament this season for the Tigers improving to 16-3 by going 4-1 on the day. After a bye in the first round, Ball handled Missouri Valley's Alexander Juarez with a technical fall by the score of 16-0 in the second round. From there he went on to pin his next three opponents, including the No. 7 wrestler in the nation, Josh Ailey of Central Oklahoma, in the semifinals. Ball fought hard in the first-place bout and made it fun to watch, but unfortunately dropped a 5-3 decision to Nebraska's Chad Red.
Dean, like Ball went 4-1 on the day, the runner-up in the 184-pound weight class. He started off with a 19-2 technical fall over Western State's Taylor Bergquist then followed that up with a 6-0 decision over Devin Crawl of NE Oklahoma A&M. In the quarterfinals and semifinals, Dean used a pair of decisions to advance to the final where he met Taylor Venz of Nebraska. Unfortunately, Venz was too much to handle as he defeated Dean with a 13-3 major decision.
Lance has now made the finals in all four tournaments he's competed in, winning three and taking second on Saturday. After a bye in the first round, he handled Lindenwood's John Kramer with a 9-3 decision. The following two matches Lance also won by decision and advanced to an exciting match in the semifinal with Evan McGee of Central Oklahoma. After the match remained tied at 1-1 at the end of regulation, the two wrestlers went to overtime. In the first overtime period both wrestlers scored an escape keeping the scored tied at 2-2 after eight minutes. In the second overtime period Lance had a chance to take down McGee, but was unable to do so as Mcgee managed to get his leg out of Lance's grip. However, the maneuver McGee used to get away put him in a position where his back was to Lance, who then took a hard step and rugby tackled the back of his legs to score a takedown and a win. In the finals, Lance matched up with another Broncho, Caleb Cotter, but dropped the match by 6-2 decision. It was his first loss of the season, now 20-1 overall.
Next up for the Tigers is a trip to Wichita, Kan. for tournament action on Sunday (Dec. 11) at the Jet Invitational hosted by Newman University. Scheduled start time is set for 10 am.