A 22-3 run triggered by a quick first-period pin by redshirt freshman Joey Deaguero (Commerce City, Colo.) at 141 pounds was more than enough to give the Adams State College wrestling team a convincing 25-13 victory over visiting Chadron State College on Thursday night in Plachy Hall. The victory allowed the Grizzlies, ranked sixth in the NCAA Division II National Wrestling Coaches Association Poll, to win their final home dual of the season while taking over sole possession of first place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings with a perfect 6-0 league mark, the team's best in their NCAA Division II (1992-93/Present) era.
Now 7-1 overall, ASC will travel to Kearney, Neb. to face top-ranked Nebraska-Kearney (15-1, 5-0 RMAC) on Saturday at 7 p.m. (CST) in what will amount to the RMAC Dual Meet Championship.
The Eagles, ranked 17th in the country and coached by 2005 ASC Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee Dr. Scott Ritzen, fell to 9-8-1 overall and to 2-3 in conference duals.
Deaguero's pin of Eagle sophomore Skylair Lappe came just 1 minute and 11 seconds into the 141-pound match and gave the Grizzlies a 9-4 lead that they would never relinquish as coach Jason Ramstetter's squad completed a perfect season at home for the first time 1995-96, when they went 3-0.
Deaguero now has 10 pins on the year and leads the team with a 25-11 record.
Redshirt freshman Noomis Jones (Arvada, Colo.) then kept the momentum going with a thrilling come-from-behind win over returning national qualifier Mark Pfeifer at 149 pounds. Down 6-3 nearing the end of the second period, Jones picked up a reversal to close the gap to 6-5. Jones then scored the winning-takedown with just 15 seconds left in the match while improving to 15-10 overall and to 6-2 in duels as the Grizzlies went up 12-4.
Mike Gallegos (Alamosa, Colo.), ranked fifth in the nation at 157 pounds, yet another redshirt freshman, then held on for a 7-6 win over Jared Webster as the Grizzlies went up 15-4. Gallegos, who scored a pair of reversals in a wild second period, is now 15-2 on the year. Webster, one of previous national qualifiers in the Eagle lineup, fell to 24-13.
After the intermission, the Eagles temporarily stopped the bleeding as Brett Hunter, ranked seventh in the nation, scored a 6-2 win over Evan Copeland (Las Cruces, N.M.) at 165 pounds. Hunter is now 26-13 while Copeland fell to 23-9.
James Reynolds (Monte Vista, Colo.), one of two Grizzly seniors wrestling in front of a home crowd for the final time in his career, then claimed a 8-5 decision over Mark Weingart while picking up his 20th win of the season. Now 20-11, Reynolds was tied at 4 early in the third period before getting a takedown and near fall to close out the win.
"I wanted to win at all costs," Reynolds said. "I've wrestled him a few times before and know the kind of shots he likes to take and what works against him. I was just trying to stay consistent throughout the match."
Leading 18-7 in the dual, the Grizzlies sealed the win as Jared Deaguero (Commerce City, Colo.), ranked third in the nation, dominated Willy Jones in a 14-0 major decision win. Deaguero, ranked third in the country, is now 12-4 overall and has claimed a victory in all six of ASC's RMAC duals scoring bonus-point wins in all but one of those victories.
Deaguero scored eight near fall points in the second period alone and nearly got another turn in the late-going that would have given him a technical fall. However, Jones got back to his base, saving a team point that ultimately did not matter in the least.
Senior Casey Woodall (Morenci, Ariz.) then ran his winning streak to 11 as he capped a perfect 4-0 home season with a convincing 13-7 decision over Josh Majerus. Woodall led 6-1 in the first period before surrendering escapes while building a 12-5 lead. With riding time in the bag, Woodall nearly scored a major decision but made a wrong move as Majerus scored one of CSC's four reversals to save another team point.
Eagle heavyweight Shane Odell then capped the dual by pinning ASC's Jeff Schossow (Morenci, Ariz.) with just 2.5 seconds left in the second period. Schossow was leading 5-3 at the time after out-muscling Odell to score a pair of first-period takedowns while building a 4-1 lead.
However, an Odell reversal in the second period eventually led to Eagle victory.
The Grizzlies also received a win from 125-pound redshirt freshman Arsenia Barksdale (Norfolk, Va.) to open the dual. Barksdale, ranked third in the nation at that weight class, defeated eight-ranked Devlon Webb by a 4-2 count. He was down 2-1 in the second period but escaped and went into the third period tied at 2. Barksdale, now 18-3 overall and 12-0 while representing the Grizzlies, rode Webb for that entire period, drawing two stalling penalties while racking up 1:43 in riding time.
The Eagles then took their only lead of the dual (4-3) as Sergio Palomo bested ASC freshman Kevin Schmitt (Arlington, Texas) by a 9-1 major decision margin before Deaguero's pin got the Grizzlies going once again.
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