FHSU Athletics
HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State had four wrestlers place in its annual home tournament, the Bob Smith Open, held on Sunday (Dec. 7) at Gross Memorial Coliseum. The Tigers had two second-place and two third-place finishers out of the 21 who competed.
Second-place finishers were Houston Frank at 174 pounds and Jaxson Thomas at 285 pounds. Frank had all wins of the bonus-point variety with a tech fall, two falls, and a major decision to reach the final. He went 4-1 in the tournament, the loss coming in the final to Banjamin Smith of EAP OTC. Thomas went 3-1, scoring a tight decision then a pair of falls. He lost by fall in the championship match to Jack Allen of Nebraska-Kearney.
Third-place finishers were Cash Thomas at 157 and Riah Ostrander at 285. Thomas blazed into the semifinals with a pair of tech falls and a fall before dropping an overtime decision. He bounced back with a tech fall and then was awarded third by no contest, finishing a 4-1 day. Ostrander had a pair of falls and a tiebreaker to reach the semifinals, where he lost to eventual champion Jack Allen in overtime. He bounced back for a decision and then a fall to complete a 5-1 day.
Jett Schwartz, Kolton Field, Charlie Hutson, Jace Schartz, Ender Rider, Griffin Mitchell, and Cameron Shultz all had winning records for the day at 3-2. Andrew Honas, Justus Hulse, Micah Castro, and Ryan Patterson all finished with two wins for the day.
Next up for the Tigers will be a dual with New Mexico Highlands on Wednesday, December 17 at a neutral site. The match will be held in Peyton, Colo. at Falcon High School at 8 p.m. CT / 7 p.m. MT.