OCU too strong for Wayland wrestlers

Wayland Baptist's youth and lack of depth were exposed by Oklahoma City University on Wednesday night in the Laney Center as the Stars swept the Pioneers. The second-ranked OCU women downed fifth-ranked Wayland, 28-14, while the No. 14 OCU men topped the Pioneers, 27-9.

WBU prevailed in three matches on each mat.

In a women's dual that last just 45 minutes, Michele Guerrero in the 109-pound class (12-2) and Tarkyia Mensah in the 136s (11-0) both won by technical falls, while Jordan Smith picked up a forfeit victory in the 130s. In a 123-pound exhibition match, Tam Tillman shut out her opponent, 10-0, for another technical fall victory.

Coach Aaron Meister said Mensah was impressive.

"She really stepped up," he said. "She's unstoppable in par-terre."

The coach said not matting wrestlers in three weight classes is tough to overcome.

"Not having Vanessa (Smith in the 101s) in the lineup and forfeits in the (123s) and (170s) hurt us. We more or less gave up two weight classes," he said.

It was Wayland's fourth consecutive setback and third loss of the year to OCU, although the Pioneers kept it closer this time than in both previous meetings when the Stars prevailed 37-9 and 42-4.

"We're going through a little bit of a slump right now, but we're going to keep working to improve," Meister said. "We're looking forward to the next competition."

That comes Nov. 15 when the WBU women travel to Marshall, Mo., for the Missouri Valley Open. After the Southwest Open in Dallas on Nov. 22, WBU's next home competition is Dec. 5 against North Texas.

On the men's side Wednesday, Wayland's Chris Hart, Victor Thomas and Mich Napier all won by decision in the 141-, 149- and 184-pound weight classes, respectively.

"Chris and Victor continue to be the leading forces on the team," Meister said. "Andrew Porras (who narrowly lost in the 133s) is on the verge of breaking through."

It was the first dual of the season for the Pioneers, ranked the equivalent of 21^st.

"We're young, but we battled hard against the No. 12 team," Meister said. "We made some young mistakes.

"Our upperclassmen led the way," he added. "I'm confident we will continue to improve throughout the year. We look forward to next Wednesday (Nov. 12) and having another good match against a solid team (Colby County Community College)."

Meister thanked everyone who attended the match to support the Pioneers.

"I thought we had a great turnout."101: Harley Ibarra, OCU, forfeit win; (OCU leads 5-0)
109: Michele Guerrero, WBU, tech. fall over Shilo Barrett, 12-2; (OCU leads 6-4)
116: Haley Moreno, OCU, tech. fall over Lauryn Bruggink, 12-1; (OCU leads 10-5)
123: Esthefania Jimenez, OCU, forfeit win; (OCU leads, 15-5)
130: Jordan Smith, WBU, forfeit win; (OCU leads 15-10)
136: Tarkyia Mensah, WBU, tech. fall over Maggie Doume, 11-0; (OCU leads 15-14)
143: Haley Garcia, OCU, pinned Rachel Bates, 1:49; (OCU leads 20-14)
155: Yvonna Galindo, OCU, pinned Rhina Lopez, 2:08; (OCU leads 25-14)
170: Double forfeit
191: Heather O'Conner, OCU, decision over Kierra Boyce, 6-0; (OCU wins, 28-14)
123 (exhibition): Tam Tillman, WBU, tech. fall over Esthefania Jimenez, 10-0
 125: Adrian Gaines, OCU, decision over Jacob Palmgren, 10-7; (OCU leads 3-0)
133: Aaron LaFarge, OCU, decision over Andrew Porras, 7-4; (OCU leads 6-0)
141: Chris Hart, WBU, decision over James Landoll, 14-8; (OCU leads 6-3)
149: Victor Thomas, WBU, decision over Parker Bohannan, 6-2; (tied 6-6)
157: Zach Skates, OCU, tech. fall over Kane Lovvorn, 14-5, (OCU leads 10-6)
165: Ricky McCarty, OCU, tech. fall over Drake Pilgrim, 11-0; (OCU Leads 14-6)
 174: Jamie Shawver, OCU, tech. fall over Kyzer Delbusto, 11-0; (OCU leads 18-6)
184: Mich Napier, WBU, decision over Jake King, 12-6; (OCU leads 18-9)
197: Derek Sivertsen, OCU, pinned Nik Gates, 0:20; (OCU leads 24-9)
Hwt: Riley Fielder, OCU, decision over Travis Morgan, 3-2 (OCU wins 27-9)