California Baptist University
Colorado Mesa
Uphill Battle
1/9/2015 7:20:00 PM | Wrestling
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – When it came to matches won, California Baptist University and Colorado Mesa were all even in the Lancers' first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference match of the season Friday at Colorado Mesa.
Unfortunately for CBU, the Mavericks were able to scratch out more points in their victories to pull off a 24-19 home win. On the year, CBU is now 4-2, 0-1 in conference and Colorado Mesa improves to 4-0, 2-0 with the win. The Lancers entered the day ranked 15th in the NCAA Division II, while the Mavericks occupy the 20th and final spot in the polls.
Three of CBU's victories came on decisions, which are worth three points. The Lancers also had wins by a major decision and pin, which are good for four and six points, respectively. Three of CMU's victories were good for six points, including a CBU forfeit, which made the Lancers' performance even more impressive.
Despite being faced with an uphill battle, the Lancers came out and took a 7-0 lead in the first two matches. Jacob Waste set the tone for CBU by winning the opening match at 184 pounds over Mitch Wyatt with a 12-1 major decision. Paul Head extended the lead with a 6-2 decision over Willy Holdren at 197 for the Lancers.
Waste grabbed the first two points of the bout with a takedown and then added a reversal and two-point nearfall in the second period to take a 6-1 lead heading into the final period. Determined to get as many points for his team as possible, Waste closed out the match on a 9-0 run by tallying a takedown and three-point nearfall in the third.
Head jumped out to a 4-1 lead in his match, tallying a pair of takedowns in the first two minutes.
CMU answered back with a pin and decision at 285 and 125 to take a 9-7 lead. Peter Cunningham gave the Lancers a lift when he pinned Jonathan Stelling with one second left in the 133-pound match, restoring CBU's lead, 13-9.
From there, the Mavericks rode a 15-point swing to take a strong 24-13 lead, forcing the Lancers to earn the maximum six points in each of the final two matches in hopes of securing a win.
CBU received huge efforts and identical 3-1 wins from Alec Smith (165) and Christian Smith (174) down the stretch but it was not enough. CMU managed to bring the final two matches to a crawl, as cautions were called on the Mavericks in each of the final two bouts, with a stall warning issued at 174, as they were intent to avoid pins.
The Lancers will look to rebound with big day Saturday, as it has four matches scheduled against two RMAC and two NCAA Division I teams as part of the Tracey Borrah Duals. The Lancers open with Western State Colorado at 9 a.m., followed by Grand Canyon and Colorado-State Pueblo at 10:30 a.m. and noon before ending the day with Air Force at 2:30 p.m.
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