Thursday, January 25
Riverside, Calif.
7:00 PM
California Baptist University
36
vs
9
Colorado Mesa
Photo by: Leanda du Bruyn
CBU Dominates Colorado Mesa
1/25/2018 9:52:00 PM | Wrestling
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Despite battling some injuries, No. 9-ranked California Baptist University dominated a 36-9 victory over Colorado Mesa.
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The Lancers improve to 6-5 on the year, 1-1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The Mavericks move to 3-9 overall, 1-4 in conference.
"I think the team wrestled pretty well," said Coach Lennie Zalesky. "CMU is usually a tough team – they beat us last year. I thought up and down the lineup, we wrestled pretty well."
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CBU won eight of the 10 bouts, including seven by bonus points.
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Alex Nuñez started things off with a pin in just 40 seconds of action into the 125-pound bout. It gave the Lancers a 6-0 lead early.
"It was good having that pin by Alex right away," said Zalesky. "It's tough to come back from that."
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CMU took the 133 weight class, but Andrew Schulte came up big at 141 pounds. After dealing with some injuries, Schulte didn't miss a beat and had six points within the first 30 seconds of action. He built up a 10-3 lead after the first period alone, and closed out the 13-4 major decision with three minutes, 47 seconds of riding time.
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Daxton Gordon kept things rolling with another major decision, beating his opponent 13-4. Gordon posted six takedowns in the bout, finishing with almost three and a half minutes of riding time.
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After working himself back into the lineup at 157, Slater Johnson exploded in the third period to grab a technical fall in 5:35. He went into the final period with a 12-1 lead and grabbed three takedowns to end the bout early with a 19-3 score.
"Slater had a great match and it was nice to have Schulte back," said Zalesky. "He moves so much and has such good technique. He's fun to have."
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Christian Smith – who ranks fourth in NCAA Division II – took off in the first period, holding a commanding 10-1 lead after the first three minutes of action. He kept racking up the points before finally pinning his opponent in 4:11.
"Christian is always solid," said Zalesky.
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The Mavericks took the 174 bout, but CBU wouldn't let them have any others.
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Third-ranked Nick Fiegener grabbed a 9-1 major decision at 184, building up almost four minutes of riding time. He didn't waste any time, grabbing a takedown in just four seconds and built up an 8-0 lead before CMU's grappler could even get a point.
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Garrett Strang dominated the 197 weight class, posting a 16-3 major decision. He grabbed five takedowns in the bout, along with a four-point nearfall, only allowing a few escapes and building up over three minutes of riding time.
"Garrett was really coming on and really tired the guy out," said Zalesky. "He had a good match."
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Big man Zach Schrader put the final cap on the night with a 7-4 victory at heavyweight. He started things off with a takedown less than 20 seconds into the bout. After CMU tied it up 2-2, Schrader closed out the second with a big takedown and carried that momentum into the final period, sealing the victory with a minute of riding time.
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The Lancers head north to San Francisco State for the California Collegiate Open before traveling to Colorado for the RMAC Championship on Feb. 3.
"I think we're looking good," said Zalesky. "We're hoping to get Nolan Kistler back and Adam Velasquez. Adam's only wrestled a couple of duals, but he's really good, just battling an injury. If we can get those guys back, I think we have a pretty solid lineup."
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The Lancers improve to 6-5 on the year, 1-1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The Mavericks move to 3-9 overall, 1-4 in conference.
"I think the team wrestled pretty well," said Coach Lennie Zalesky. "CMU is usually a tough team – they beat us last year. I thought up and down the lineup, we wrestled pretty well."
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CBU won eight of the 10 bouts, including seven by bonus points.
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Alex Nuñez started things off with a pin in just 40 seconds of action into the 125-pound bout. It gave the Lancers a 6-0 lead early.
"It was good having that pin by Alex right away," said Zalesky. "It's tough to come back from that."
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CMU took the 133 weight class, but Andrew Schulte came up big at 141 pounds. After dealing with some injuries, Schulte didn't miss a beat and had six points within the first 30 seconds of action. He built up a 10-3 lead after the first period alone, and closed out the 13-4 major decision with three minutes, 47 seconds of riding time.
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Daxton Gordon kept things rolling with another major decision, beating his opponent 13-4. Gordon posted six takedowns in the bout, finishing with almost three and a half minutes of riding time.
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After working himself back into the lineup at 157, Slater Johnson exploded in the third period to grab a technical fall in 5:35. He went into the final period with a 12-1 lead and grabbed three takedowns to end the bout early with a 19-3 score.
"Slater had a great match and it was nice to have Schulte back," said Zalesky. "He moves so much and has such good technique. He's fun to have."
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Christian Smith – who ranks fourth in NCAA Division II – took off in the first period, holding a commanding 10-1 lead after the first three minutes of action. He kept racking up the points before finally pinning his opponent in 4:11.
"Christian is always solid," said Zalesky.
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The Mavericks took the 174 bout, but CBU wouldn't let them have any others.
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Third-ranked Nick Fiegener grabbed a 9-1 major decision at 184, building up almost four minutes of riding time. He didn't waste any time, grabbing a takedown in just four seconds and built up an 8-0 lead before CMU's grappler could even get a point.
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Garrett Strang dominated the 197 weight class, posting a 16-3 major decision. He grabbed five takedowns in the bout, along with a four-point nearfall, only allowing a few escapes and building up over three minutes of riding time.
"Garrett was really coming on and really tired the guy out," said Zalesky. "He had a good match."
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Big man Zach Schrader put the final cap on the night with a 7-4 victory at heavyweight. He started things off with a takedown less than 20 seconds into the bout. After CMU tied it up 2-2, Schrader closed out the second with a big takedown and carried that momentum into the final period, sealing the victory with a minute of riding time.
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The Lancers head north to San Francisco State for the California Collegiate Open before traveling to Colorado for the RMAC Championship on Feb. 3.
"I think we're looking good," said Zalesky. "We're hoping to get Nolan Kistler back and Adam Velasquez. Adam's only wrestled a couple of duals, but he's really good, just battling an injury. If we can get those guys back, I think we have a pretty solid lineup."
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Players Mentioned
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149
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/ Wrestling/ Wrestling
285
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174
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