FHSU Athletics
WICHITA, Kan. - The Fort Hays State men's wrestling team wrapped up the regular season with a 32-18 win over Newman Sunday (Feb. 22) after winning seven of the 10 bouts contested in the dual.
The Tigers finish the regular season 4-10 overall and 2-3 in conference action, placing fourth in the MIAA standings, while the Jets wrap up the year 0-7 overall and 0-5 against league opponents.
Fort Hays State swept the first five matchups, taking a commanding 25-0 lead. But the home team wouldn't give in, capturing six points in each of the next three bouts to pull within 25-18. The Tigers responded by taking the final two contests, clinching the win.
The Jets chose to start the bout at 157 pounds, where Cash Thomas dominated his way to a 15-0 technical fall thanks to a pair of takedowns and eight nearfall points. Cason Lindsey followed with an equally impressive 19-2 technical fall at 165 pounds, racking up five takedowns and one three-count.
Hunter Harris added three team points with a 7-1 decision at 174 pounds thanks to takedowns in the second and third periods. The Jets finally got their first offensive points with two takedowns at 184 pounds, but Houston Frank shook off a 6-2 deficit to win via pin in 6:30.
Ryan Patterson needed just 101 seconds to record a pin at 197 pounds, giving the Tigers their commanding 25-0 lead. Jaxson Thomas looked to keep things rolling after a pair of first-period takedowns at 285, but Newman's Caleb Wunsch managed a reversal and a pin just before the end of the opening frame.
The Jets added six more points via forfeit at 125 pounds before eighth-ranked Jevin Foust secured a third-period pin at 133 pounds to narrow the gap to seven.
Kolton Field stopped the bleeding at 141 pounds, racking up four takedowns to pull away with a 13-4 major decision. Jarret Mader put the nail in the coffin at 149 pounds, using a second period takedown and reversal to win via 6-3 decision.
The Tigers will have one week to prepare for the NCAA Division II Super Region VI Championships, set for Saturday (Feb. 28) in Golden, Colo. Action is slated to begin at 11 a.m. (10 a.m. MT), with the top three placers at each weight locking up a trip to the NCAA Division II Championships in Sioux Falls, S.D. two weeks later.
Fort Hays State 32, Newman 18
157: Cash Thomas over Eli Means (TF 15-0 3:38)
165: Cason Lindsey over Jayden Ford (TF 19-2 5:18)
174: Hunter Harris over Skyler Geer (Dec 7-1)
184: Houston Frank over Chris Mapp (Fall 6:30)
197: Ryan Patterson over Erik Tomanek (Fall 1:31)
285: Caleb Wunsch over Jaxson Thomas (Fall 2:49)
125: Koehn Dietrich over unknown (For.)
133: #8 Jevin Foust over Jett Schwartz (Fall 5:24)
141: Kolton Field over Kaven Bartlett (MD 13-4)
149: Jarret Mader over Colby Schreiner (Dec 6-3)