Saturday, November 18
Prescott, Ariz.
All Day
California Baptist University
vs
Embry-Riddle Open
Photo by: Andrew Shortall
Five Lancers Win at ERAU Open
11/18/2017 11:14:00 PM | Wrestling
PRESCOTT, Ariz. – Third-ranked California Baptist University saw a ton of success at the Embry-Riddle Open Saturday.
The Lancers had 10 top-three finishers, including five grapplers who won their weight brackets. Andrew Schulte (141), Daxton Gordon (149), Slater Johnson (157), Nolan Kistler (174) and Nick Fiegener (184) all took first in their brackets.
Schulte dominated his way to the final bout and then won by a technical fall with a score of 19-2 over Mercyhurst's Kevin Kinyua. He opened the day with a major decision, 16-3, over Arizona State's William Pickren, before grabbing a 16-0 tech fall over Tj Schneider. It put Schulte in a semifinal matchup, where he pinned his opponent in four minutes, 25 seconds.
Gordon, who ranks third individually amongst 149-pounders, took down the fourth-ranked grappler with a major decision, 10-1, in the first-place match. He started with a first-round bye before picking up a 17-0 technical fall over John Moraga. Gordon followed with a 6-3 decision over Tyler Weiss of BYU to put himself in the championship round. Nate Johnson took sixth in the weight class.
Slater Johnson won by a 9-6 decision over Embry-Riddle's James Williams at 157. He made his way to the championship with a first-round bye, a pin in 2:24 and a 5-1 semifinal decision. Bryce Buckley took fourth, just dropping a sudden-death bout 4-2. Earlier in the day he picked up two decisions, 7-4 and 11-4, and a 46-second fall to make it to the third-place bout. Jaron Pagaduan took sixth after opening with two wins, a 15-0 tech fall and 5-2 decision, but had to drop out due to injury.
Nolan Kistler breezed through his competition to make it to the championship round. He opened with an 18-0 technical fall and followed with a pin in 2:51 to get a crack at first place. It didn't stop from there as the top-ranked 174 grappler won 18-0 for a technical fall over Daniel Butler. Austin Kleint took fourth in the weight class as well after pinning an opponent in 19 seconds and winning by decision, 4-2.
Fiegener – who ranks first amongst all 184 wrestlers in Division II – beat a former UFC fighter, Benson Henderson, in the championship round, grabbing a 22-3 technical fall. Fiegener opened with a pin just 40 seconds into the competition and followed with an 18-0 tech fall. A major decision, 11-2, over ERAU's Payton Mair put Fiegener in the championship round.
Alex Nunez took second in the 125-pound class, dropping the championship bout to Mercyhurt's Eric Bartos. He made his way to the finale after opening with a fall over Jansen Engelbrecht from BYU in 4:03 and then pinned his next opponent, Moises Castillo, in 26 seconds.
Christian Smith – the fifth-ranked wrestler at 165 – took second, dropping the final to Division I Arizona State's Jacen Petersen. He opened with a 16-0 tech fall over Jace Berkram of Arizona State University and followed with a fall in 39 seconds. An 8-2 decision over Embry-Riddle's Taylor Owens put Smith in the matchup for first place. Jacob Cooper took sixth in the class, grabbing two pins (4:56 and 1:34) and an 18-1 technical fall along the way.
The Lancers had three wrestlers place in the 197 class, with Garrett Strang taking second. Harlan Kistler grabbed third, while Frank Wychinski took sixth. Strang opened with a 7-3 decision before taking on his teammate Wychinski, who had pinned his first opponent in 1:13. Strang came out on top, 6-2, to advance to the championship. Harlan Kistler picked up two wins by pins (2:03 and 1:31) and a 7-3 decision en route to third place.
In the heavyweight division, Zach Schrader took second, while Ali'I Loyola took third. Schrader opened with a pin in 1:40 and followed with a 9-3 decision. He pinned his next opponent too in 52 seconds to put himself in the championship. Loyola grabbed a first-round bye, before grabbing a 7-4 decision. He lost his next bout, but finished with a 6-4 decision to put himself in the third-place matchup, which resulted in a fall just 16 seconds into the contest.
CBU takes a little break to regroup, heading to the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas on Dec. 1.
The Lancers had 10 top-three finishers, including five grapplers who won their weight brackets. Andrew Schulte (141), Daxton Gordon (149), Slater Johnson (157), Nolan Kistler (174) and Nick Fiegener (184) all took first in their brackets.
Schulte dominated his way to the final bout and then won by a technical fall with a score of 19-2 over Mercyhurst's Kevin Kinyua. He opened the day with a major decision, 16-3, over Arizona State's William Pickren, before grabbing a 16-0 tech fall over Tj Schneider. It put Schulte in a semifinal matchup, where he pinned his opponent in four minutes, 25 seconds.
Gordon, who ranks third individually amongst 149-pounders, took down the fourth-ranked grappler with a major decision, 10-1, in the first-place match. He started with a first-round bye before picking up a 17-0 technical fall over John Moraga. Gordon followed with a 6-3 decision over Tyler Weiss of BYU to put himself in the championship round. Nate Johnson took sixth in the weight class.
Slater Johnson won by a 9-6 decision over Embry-Riddle's James Williams at 157. He made his way to the championship with a first-round bye, a pin in 2:24 and a 5-1 semifinal decision. Bryce Buckley took fourth, just dropping a sudden-death bout 4-2. Earlier in the day he picked up two decisions, 7-4 and 11-4, and a 46-second fall to make it to the third-place bout. Jaron Pagaduan took sixth after opening with two wins, a 15-0 tech fall and 5-2 decision, but had to drop out due to injury.
Nolan Kistler breezed through his competition to make it to the championship round. He opened with an 18-0 technical fall and followed with a pin in 2:51 to get a crack at first place. It didn't stop from there as the top-ranked 174 grappler won 18-0 for a technical fall over Daniel Butler. Austin Kleint took fourth in the weight class as well after pinning an opponent in 19 seconds and winning by decision, 4-2.
Fiegener – who ranks first amongst all 184 wrestlers in Division II – beat a former UFC fighter, Benson Henderson, in the championship round, grabbing a 22-3 technical fall. Fiegener opened with a pin just 40 seconds into the competition and followed with an 18-0 tech fall. A major decision, 11-2, over ERAU's Payton Mair put Fiegener in the championship round.
Alex Nunez took second in the 125-pound class, dropping the championship bout to Mercyhurt's Eric Bartos. He made his way to the finale after opening with a fall over Jansen Engelbrecht from BYU in 4:03 and then pinned his next opponent, Moises Castillo, in 26 seconds.
Christian Smith – the fifth-ranked wrestler at 165 – took second, dropping the final to Division I Arizona State's Jacen Petersen. He opened with a 16-0 tech fall over Jace Berkram of Arizona State University and followed with a fall in 39 seconds. An 8-2 decision over Embry-Riddle's Taylor Owens put Smith in the matchup for first place. Jacob Cooper took sixth in the class, grabbing two pins (4:56 and 1:34) and an 18-1 technical fall along the way.
The Lancers had three wrestlers place in the 197 class, with Garrett Strang taking second. Harlan Kistler grabbed third, while Frank Wychinski took sixth. Strang opened with a 7-3 decision before taking on his teammate Wychinski, who had pinned his first opponent in 1:13. Strang came out on top, 6-2, to advance to the championship. Harlan Kistler picked up two wins by pins (2:03 and 1:31) and a 7-3 decision en route to third place.
In the heavyweight division, Zach Schrader took second, while Ali'I Loyola took third. Schrader opened with a pin in 1:40 and followed with a 9-3 decision. He pinned his next opponent too in 52 seconds to put himself in the championship. Loyola grabbed a first-round bye, before grabbing a 7-4 decision. He lost his next bout, but finished with a 6-4 decision to put himself in the third-place matchup, which resulted in a fall just 16 seconds into the contest.
CBU takes a little break to regroup, heading to the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas on Dec. 1.
Players Mentioned
174
/ Wrestling165/174
/ Wrestling/ Wrestling
149
/ Wrestling141
/ Wrestling157/165
/ Wrestling/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
125
/ Wrestling157
/ Wrestling285
/ Wrestling/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
174
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