California Baptist University
Colorado School of Mines Open
Open And Shut
1/24/2015 3:42:00 PM | Wrestling
GOLDEN, Colo. – After winning its fifth dual in a row, California Baptist University was out for individual glory at the Rocky Mountain Collegiate Open Saturday at Colorado School of Mines.
A staggering eight Lancers advanced to title matches. In the end, CBU converted half of those chances and walked away with four championships as Matt Hickman (149 pounds), Christian Smith (174), Jacob Waste (184) and Paul Head (197) all won their respective weight brackets.
Christian Betancourt (125), Peter Cunningham (141), Alex Anunciation (149), Alec Smith (165) all took second place, while the Lancers had three other top-four finishers in brothers Nolan (157) and Harlan Kistler (184) and David Dill (heavyweight). Nolan Kistler took third in his bracket, while Harlan and Dill took fourth.
It was an all-CBU final at 149, with Hickman and Anunciation squaring off for the gold. After a bye, Hickman advanced with a pin about a minute into the third period of his match with Northern Colorado's Nick Asplaugh. He followed that up with a 17-9 major of Colorado School of Mines' Skyler Lykins. He needed every last point to overcome Western State Colorado's Devon Zavala, 5-4, in the semis before Anunciation presented another challenge for Hickman, who pulled out the 8-5 decision.
Christian Smith continued a dazzling weekend, as he racked up three more major decisions after majoring his opponent Friday, as well. He posted victories of 17-7 against Donovan Maes of Northern Colorado, 10-3 over New Mexico Highlands' Jacob Hawthorne and 9-2 versus host's Karl Breidenbach in the first three rounds. He closed out his day with an 11-1 major of Northern Colorado's Thomas Chisholm in the finals.
Waste cruised in the pre-championship bouts, with a 15-0 tech of Joey Garcia, 13-5 major against Adams State's Richard Bencomo and 16-0 tech against Air Force's John Hagey. Things get much tighter in his championship match with Air Force's Willy Baker, but he pulled out the 3-2 decision.
Head continued to pin just about everything that moves, with two falls and two decision victories Saturday. The 197-pounder pinned Western State Colorado's JJ Loflin just 1:44 into the match, and then caught Joey Bencomo of Adams State's 1:23 into the second period. Head saved his closest wins for the end, with a 4-1 decision against Air Force Prep's Anthony McLaughlin in the semis and 5-4 victory over Colorado Mesa's Zack Slotten in the championships.
Three other Lancers competed Saturday: Joshua Ho-Lopez (133), Dakota Thayer (141) and David Irish (197). Thayer went 2-2 with both victories coming on pins.
Next for CBU is a trip to San Francisco State for duals with Simon Fraser and the Gators on Friday and the California Collegiate Open next Saturday.
Players Mentioned
