AMARILLO, Texas --- The Pioneer men's wrestling team dropped two duals on Saturday at The Courts of Amarillo. York College came back after falling behind 10-0 to win 27-10, while Bacone College defeated Wayland, 28-9.
Against York, the Pioneers won the first three weight classes to hit the mat. Richard Leal, a senior, took a 7-2 decision over Miles Negley at 125 pounds. Freshman Donovan Vanderbilt posted a 12-2 major decision over Westley Negley, and then true freshman Victor Thomas put WBU up 10-0 with a 4-1 decision over junior Brian Magno.
The tables turned beginning at 149-pounds. Five of the next seven WBU losses were by decision and one was a forfeit. Four of the bouts were decided by three points or less. Redshirt freshman Bernie Gonzalez lost 6-3 to junior Nicholas Clark at 157 pounds, and sophomore Jose Alvarez was edged out 2-0 by senior Jake McCoy at 174.
True freshman Jacob Stock, who was wrestling up a weight class at 184, was narrowly defeated by Tyler Hendrickson, 7-5, and Panther junior Bradlee Carls escaped with a 5-2 decision over sophomore Manuel Rocha.
The three wins against Bacone all came by decision. Gonzalez took care of freshan Dylan Harmon, 10-4, Alvarez stopped senior Lee Laxton 7-4, and Rocha picked up three points for the Pioneers with a 9-4 decision.
Three other matches were decided by the narrowest of margins. Senior Albert Tapia, a 125-pounder wrestling for the first time over the weekend, and Vanderbilt both lost by one point, 6-5 and 7-6 respectively, and Stock 6-4 loss came in overtime.
The Pioneers return to Hutcherson Center on Wednesday where they will attempt to seek revenge against sixth-ranked Oklahoma City. Action is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. with both the men's and women's teams competing.
