Tiger grapplers fall to Carl Junction
Inexperience took its toll on the Nevada wrestling team in a 52-24 loss to Carl Junction at Wynn Gymnasium on Tuesday.
Nevada, 2-3 in dual meets, received admirable performances from its veterans, but failed to get any point production elsewhere.
Those veterans --junior David Hawks, senior Tommy Werner, senior Zach Walrod, junior Tyler Shouse and senior Leonard Keller -- accounted for all the Tiger points.
"We have a handful of wrestlers that are really good and we're going to have to ride then and keep pushing (the others) to see what happens down the road," said Nevada coach Larron Hurst. "We have six or seven kids that have no varsity experience or wrestling experience, period."
Hawks got the Tigers rolling with a 14-4 major decision over Mike Thomas in the 125-pound division in the evening's opener.
Werner major decisioned Josh Sweet, 11-1, in the 140-pound match.
Nevada's classy 145-pounder Walrod, displaying an overpowering blend of quickness and technique, recorded a technical fall (18-2) win to remain undefeated on the season.
Shouse, close to pins on several occasions, handled Kyle Barnum 16-1 for another technical fall victory in the 189-pound class.
State heavyweight medalist Leonard Keller wasted no time, winning with a pin of Wes Thompson in 1:28 of the first period. Keller also has no blemishes on his 2003-04 record.
In the other nine matches, the Bulldogs dominated, scoring seven pins, a major decision and a forfeit.
"They've got a lot of experience," Hurst said, "and they just outwrestled us."
On Thursday, the Tigers return to the mats for a home meet against McDonald County.
Varsity results
103 -- Austin Coleman (CJ) pinned J.D. Pilcher, 1:24.
112 -- Tyler Bailey (CJ) won by forfeit.
119 -- Josh Landes (CJ) pinned Joe Roberts, 3:15.
125 -- David Hawks (N) maj. dec. Mike Thomas, 14-4.
130 -- Kylar Ponder (CJ) pinned Matt Kennedy, 2:57.
135 -- Eric Hence (CJ) dec. John Christie, 12-4.
140 -- Tommy Werner (N) maj. dec. Josh Sweet, 11-1.
145 -- Zach Walrod (N) tech. fall Matt Clifford, 18-2.
152 -- Alex Kieslich (CJ) pinned Keith Overton, 0:57.
160 -- Tyler Beck (CJ) pinned Casey Chambers, 2:36.
171 -- John Ostrander (CJ) pinned Kaleb Leonard, 5:21.
189 -- Tyler Shouse (N) tech. fall Kyle Barnum, 16-1.
215 -- Kevin Brockman (CJ) pinned Steph Krohn, 3:18.
Hwt -- Leonard Keller (N) pinned Wes Thompson, 1:28.
Junior varsity results
171 -- Justin Fleming (N) pinned Michael Pope, 2:50.
189 -- Jared Badders (N) pinned Caleb Riot, 1:12.
Hwt -- Klayton Leonard (N) pinned Jeremy Hubbard, 1:48.