The Wayland Baptist Pioneer wrestling team went up early in their dual with Colby County Community College on Wednesday night in the Pete and Nelda Laney Center, and even led the majority of their matches, but the Trojans made big comebacks in three of the bouts to escape with a 30-21 win.
The Pioneers took an early 9-0 lead after
Chris Hart pinned Byron Vaughn in just one minute, 20 seconds, and
Victor Thomas won a hard-fought match against John Peeden, 3-0.
"Chris and Victor did a good job for us tonight," head coach
Aaron Meister said. "Victor wrestled a really smart match and came out on top, and Chris was able to get a pin.
"I'm extremely proud of Chris. We've been working with him to try and teach him how to get pins. He's always been really good at getting takedowns, but he's struggled to get the fall. It was good to see his hard work pay off tonight."
Down nine, zip, the Trojans, ranked fourth in the National Junior College Athletic Association, came roaring back to regain control of the dual, and eventually take home the win. Colby strung together six-straight wins, starting in the 157s, to take the dual, 30-21.
Gavin Grater and Calvin Ochs recorded back-to-back pins to take the lead, 12-9, and after a double forfeit in the 174s heartbreak ensued for the Pioneers.
Mich Napier lost a tough battle in the 184-pound weight class, while
Nik Gates,
Travis Morgan and
Jacob Palmgren all saw late leads disappear.
Gates was down for the majority of his match with Rakim Dean, but in the second period, the sophomore from Azel, Texas tied the match with an escape then quickly went ahead with a take down.
A near fall gave Gates two more points, but Dean got an escape and two takedowns, one that occurred as time expired, to take the match, 11-10.
Palmgren experienced a similar fate, tying the match, 4-4, in the first period before jumping ahead in the third. Hunter Price scored a flurry of points in the final seconds, however, including an escape that gave him a 9-8 win.
"We just made a lot of young mistakes again," Meister said. "We have to learn how to close out matches and not give up any majors such as pins and technical falls. We had three matches that could have gone either way, and that ended up being the difference in the dual."
In the final match of the dual,
Andrew Porras made quick time of Jairo Garcia, who Meister said, "is a really good wrestler," pinning the sophomore in one minute, 20 seconds.
"(Colby's coach)David Norhues was pretty high on Garcia, but Porras was able to come out on top, and that's always a good thing. We like to go out on a win, and we always like to see pins from our guys."
The Pioneers will regroup and travel to Muskogee, Okla. on Saturday to compete in Bacone College's Warrior Duals.
CC 30, WBU 21
141:
Chris Hart, WBU, pinned Byron Vaughn, CCC, 1:20; (WBU leads, 6-0)
149:
Victor Thomas, WBU, decision over John Peeden, CC, 3-0; (WBU leads, 9-0)
157: Gavin Grater, CC, pinned
Kane Lovvorn, WBU, 1:44, (WBU leads, 9-6)
165: Calvin Ochs, CC, pinned
Drake Pilgrim, WBU, 6:59; (CC leads, 12-9)
174: Double Forfeit; (CC leads, 18-15)
184: Josh Shoenberger, CC, decision over
Mich Napier, WBU, 21-12; (CC leads, 21-15)
197: Rakim Dean, CC, decision over
Nik Gates, 11-10; (CC leads, 24-15)
Hwt: Zell Bieberle, CC, decision over
Travis Morgan, 3-1 (CC leads, 27-15)Â
125: Hunter Price, CC, decision over
Jacob Palmgren, 9-8; (CC leads, 30-15)
133:
Andrew Porras, WBU, pinned Jairo Garcia, 1:12; (CC wins, 30-21)
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