Depleted Grizzlies go 2-2 at Newberry Duals

Published on December 7, 2009 by viratas   ·   No Comments

NEWBERRY, S.C.- Despite wrestling without three of their five individually ranked wrestlers and giving up at least three forfeits and thus 18 points in each dual, the nation’s third-ranked Adams State College Grizzlies still managed to post a respectable 2-2 effort in the Newberry Duals, held Saturday here at Newberry College.

The Grizzlies, competing in duals for the first time this season, were led by 149-pound sophomore Josh Hensley (Alamosa, Colo.), who outscored his opponents 57-4 en-route to four bonus-point wins- two technical falls and two major decisions . Senior Noomis Jones (Arvada, Colo.), ranked fourth in the nation at 157 pounds, also went 3-0 throughout the day as the seven Grizzlies in the lineup, many of which were wrestling up a weight class, posted a combined 18-8 record in the wrestled matches.

In the process, the Grizzlies dominated Belmont Abbey (N.C.) 32-18 before falling to host and second-ranked Newberry 42-7. Later in the day, the Grizzlies got a thrilling 3-2 heavyweight win from freshman Taylor Stam (Parker, Colo.) to claim a 23-21 win over No. 20 North Carolina-Pembroke before ending the day with a 35-14 setback to No. 19 Findlay (Ohio).

#3 Adams State 32, Belmont Abbey (N.C.) 18

The Grizzlies dominated the Crusaders, who fell to 0-3, winning all six wrestled matches by while picking up pinfalls from sophomore 141-pounder Kevin Schmitt (Arlington, Texas) and Jones while getting a forfeit win at 197 pounds when Kyle Sand (Arvada, Colo.) had his hand raised sealing the Grizzlies’ win.

Schmitt helped erase the Grizzlies initial 12-0 deficit after forfeits at 125 and 133 pounds when he stuck Tashawn Takeall at the 2:31 mark. The Grizzlies then closed the deficit to 12-11 as Hensley dominated Trevor Steverson with a 16-0 technical fall win that took just 4:37.

Jones, who wrestled for the first time in the campaign, then pinned at Peter Petties 4:35 into the 157-pound match giving the Grizzlies a 17-12 lead.

Sophomore Brandon Johnson (Newcastle, Calif.) then blanked Ben Oeser 5-0 in the 165-pound match as the Grizzlies went up 20-12 before a 174-pound forfeit cut the Grizzlies’ advantage to 20-18.

Ryan Gregory then scored a reversal, the Crusaders’ only offensive points, but was not nearly enough as Grizzly sophomore Torben Walters (Olney Springs, Colo.) claimed an easy 9-2 win at 184 pounds putting the Grizzlies up 23-18 before Sand, ranked first in the country at 184 pounds, received six points for a forfeit at 197 pounds.

Stam then claimed a 5-1 win, his first as a Grizzly, over Kyle Spar in the heavyweight match to finish the dual that saw the Grizzlies score all 11 takedowns.

#2 Newberry (S.C.) 42, #3 Adams State 7

The host team was not nearly as kind to the Grizzlies as the three forfeits plus five other bonus-point wins, including pins from No. 2 Bryant Blanton at 184 pounds and Steven Butler in the heavyweight match after the dual had already been decided.

Leading 12-0 at the start, the scarlet and grey went up 16-0 after an 11-3 major decision win by Sheridan Moran over Schmitt at 141 pounds.
Hensley then answered right back with an 12-1 major decision triumph over Deral Brown before the Grizzlies got their second and final win out of Jones, who bested 3-time NCAA Division II National Tournament qualifier Latra Collick by a 5-1 margin in the 157-pound match-up.

With the lead trimmed to 16-7, Newberry received a 17-0 (5:58) technical fall win from returning national qualifier Josh Whitelock over Johnson at 165 pounds before clinching the dual with the 174-pound forfeit.

Blanton, who finished fourth at last year’s NCAA Division II National Championships then pinned Walters at 4:50 of the 184-pound match although Walters was leading 6-3 with 1:59 worth of riding time at the time of the fall.

Keeno Griffin then claimed a 3-1 sudden victory over Sand in a battle of defending national champion and top-ranked wrestlers. Griffin, the defending champion at 197 pounds, stopped Sand’s 12-match winning streak, highlighted by last year’s 184-pound title, as the two wrestlers traded escapes in the second and third periods before Griffin claimed the victory in overtime.

Butler then finished the dual by sticking Stam 2:30 into the heavyweight match as Newberry improved to 3-1 on the season while the Grizzlies slipped to 1-1 on the day and the campaign.

#3 Adams State 23, #20 North Carolina-Pembroke 21

Stam avenged that loss in the Grizzlies’ next dual, a 23-21 win over the Braves, who fell to 5-5 on the season. The redshirt freshman defeated Erick Stancil, 3-2 in the heavyweight match as the Grizzlies won the final three matches while rallying from a 21-11 deficit, mainly forced because of the three forfeits.

The Grizzlies, who never led until the end, lost just one wrestled match throughout the dual recording 12 takedowns compared the Braves’ 2 but still needed the heroics from Stam and victories from Walters and Sand in the upper weight classes.

Down 10 points after the final forfeit at 174 pounds, Walters got a fall over John Sturrock just 2:03 into the 184-pound match before Sand shutout Shane Nolan, 3-0 to bring Stam and the Grizzlies within 21-20 into the decisive heavyweight match.

Earlier in the match-up, the Grizzlies got 8-6 and 6-4 wins from Schmitt and Jones surrounding a 15-0 technical fall destruction from Hensley against Brandon Bradley as the Grizzlies erased all but one point of the initial 12-0 deficit.

The Braves then built their lead back up to double-figures as Darving Rios picked up a 5-3 win over Johnson at 165 pounds before Shiheem Bryant received the forfeit at 174 pounds giving the Braves their 21-11 lead.

#19 Findlay (Ohio) 35, #3 Adams State 14

The Grizzlies outscored the Oilers (4-3) 14-11 in the six wrestled matches but could not overcome a total of four forfeits as the Oilers cruised to the win.

They lead 18-0 after Josh Falk pinned Schmitt at the 3:31 mark of the 141-pound match before Hensley delivered a 14-3 major decision win over Jeremy Espinosa while improving his season record to 9-1.

Still up 18-4 at the time, the Oilers then got a forfeit win from nationally-ranked Michael Lybarger as Jones did not wrestle at 157 pounds before a Ian Giachetti scored a 15-0 technical fall victory over Johnson as Giachetti used a riding time point to score the extra team point that put the Oilers up 29-4.

They extended that lead to 35-4 after the 174-pound forfeit but watched the Grizzlies do their best to close the gap as Walters claimed a 7-3 win over returning national qualifier Jeff Havelka in the 184-pound match-up.

Sand then improved to 3-1 on the day and to 7-1 on the season with a 9-0 major decision win over Daniel Stevenson.

Clum then ended the day with a 3-2 win over Matt Clum as the Grizzlies scored seven takedowns, one more than the Oilers.

The Grizzlies will now take two weeks off before returning to tournament action at the Reno Tournament of Champions on Dec. 20.

Courtesy of Adams State Sports Information.

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