The NMHU Wrestling team was on the road for two RMAC duals this past weekend. The Cowboys eventually fell to both Mesa State College and Adams State College, with scores of 31-15 and 29-15, respectively.
The Cowboys first took on the Mesa State College Mavericks of Grand Junction, Colorado. The Mavs are ranked 20th in the NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Association.
Starting out the night for the Cowboys was
Seth Wright at 125 lbs. Wright pinned Tyler Nelson of Mesa State College in 2:12 to put the Cowboys in the lead 6-0. The Cowboys then gave up two wins at 133 and 141 lbs as
Donovan Troup lost by a major decision of 11-1 and
Daniel Perales lost by a decision of 3-1.
The Cowboys were then down by one point, 7-6.
Trey Saxon took the mat for the Pokes at 149 lbs, against Tyler Juby. Saxon had previously lost to Tyler Juby, by pin, so this was a redemption match for Saxon and he definitely redeemed himself with a victory and a pin at 1:22 on the clock. Saxon's victory pushed the Cowboys ahead 12-7.
As the weights went up, the Cowboys seemed to fall down. The only other Cowboy to win was
Jarrod Purvis at 165 lbs. Purvis faced off with Cole Johnson and won with a score of 3-2, giving the Cowboys the last lead of the scoreboard they would see at 15-10. The next four weigh classes would be claimed by the Mavericks with three of them by way of pin.
The Cowboys then travelled to Alamosa, Colorado to take on the Adams Stat College Grizzlies, who are ranked 10th in the NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Association. The Cowboys fell to the Grizzlies with a final score of 29-15.
The Grizzlies took over the board as soon as they could beating the Cowboys in both the 184 and 197 lb bouts with two pins. Heavyweight
Jesse Boggs then took charge of the mat as he defeated Taylor Stam 5-0. The Cowboys were finally on the board with the Grizzlies in the lead 12-3.
The most exciting match of the night came from Wright in the 125 lb bout as he wrestled the defending NCAA Division II National Champion, Arsenia Barksdale. Wright romped on the defending champion as he won the match 9-4 in the upset of the night.
The next four weights would be losses for the Cowboys as they were given a technical fall, pin and overtime losses by the Grizzlies. Saxon lost 9-7 in the 149 lb match during overtime. The Cowboys rounded out the night with two victories at 165 lbs as the Grizzlies forfeited to Purvis and 174 lbs as
Andrew Roden claimed his first RMAC victory against Anthony Gomez.
Head Coach
Doug Moses said, “We still have some things to iron out but we saw some real talent this weekend.
Seth Wright beating the defending National Champion was a huge step for our program this year. That was the first time Barksdale lost at home in 13 career matches. We look forward to seeing great things in the upcoming weeks from the whole team."
The Cowboys will now travel to Arlington, TX for the Lone Star Duals 1/16 to face tough competition from Division I and II and some of the top NAIA wrestling programs.
GO COWBOYS!
