MUSKOGEE, Okla. – Things haven't exactly gone the way the Pioneers had hoped for so far this season, but the men's wrestling team turned their fortunes around Saturday with three dominating wins at the Warrior Duals. The Pioneers went 3-0, never losing by less than 20 points, in the Palmer Center on Bacone College's campus.
"The guys wrestled really well today," assistant wrestling coach
Josh Nolan said. "We won all three duals and none of them were really close."
The Pioneers defeated Ottawa (Kan.), 35-13, Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.), 36-9, and Central Baptist (Conway, Ark.), 39-3.
Veterans
Andrew Porras (133),
Chris Hart (141) and
Victor Thomas (149) led the way for the Pioneers, each going a perfect 3-0 on Saturday, while freshman
Jacob Palmgren (125) was also perfect.
"We started every dual off with four wins," Nolan said. "Those guys really got us going, and we just kept rolling off them. Everyone was cheering on their teammates and we competed in every match as a team. It was a good environment."
Nolan was especially high on Palmgren who bounced back from a tough match Wednesday against Colby College. In a back and forth match, Palmgren took a lead late in the third period, but gave up a couple points in the final seconds of the match to lose, 9-8.
"Jacob looked really sharp today," Nolan bragged. "He wasn't fazed at all by what happened Wednesday. He works hard in every performance and he came back today and got three falls. He's getting better every week."
Palmgren wasn't the only Pioneer who bounced back from tough matches Saturday, as there were four matches that could have gone either way Wednesday.
Nolan said that the key to Wayland's success on Saturday was the work they put in on Thursday and Friday.
"After Wednesday, we focused on controlling the mat and the pace of each match," he explained. "We wanted to stay in control and stay offensive so that we didn't let anyone off the hook, and that's exactly what the guys did today."
The three wins gives Wayland some much needed momentum as they prepare to go to the extremely competitive Desert Duals in Las Vegas, Nev. on Dec. 20.
"Today was a good performance for us after a tough couple weeks, and now we have a chance to get rolling going into the Southwest Open and the Raider Duals.
We should have some success at those two events, and that will spring us into the Desert Duals where we'll face some of the best teams in the country."
The Pioneers compete in the Southwest Open in Dallas on Nov. 22 before hosting North Texas at 7 p.m. on Dec. 5 in the Pete and Nelda Laney Center. Wayland also hosts the Raider Duals which take place Dec. 6 in Canyon.
