The victory allowed the nation's 17th-ranked Mountaineers to remain perfect in duals. Western, which scored three bonus point wins, is now 7-0 overall and 2-0 in RMAC action. ASC, ranked ninth in the nation, was competing in a dual for the first time this season.
Leading 9-6 at the intermission, the Grizzlies were about to go up 12-6 with their fourth straight win. With ASC senior Dave Welanko (Clarkston, Mich.) holding a 3-2 lead late in the third period, the Mountaineers flipped the momentum 180 degrees as Mountaineer redshirt freshman Tate Lowe, a late replacement for nationally ranked Camille DuPont, scored the winning takedown with just four seconds left in the 149-pound match knotting the dual at 9.
The Mountaineers then used the suddenly-energized crowd as WSC's Zach Lee pinned ASC senior Scott Cleve (Escondido, Calif.) just 16 seconds into the second period of the 157-pound match giving Western State a 15-9 lead and all the momentum in the world.
Larry Wilbanks and Charlie Pipher then posted 13-5 major decision wins at 165 and 174 pounds, respectively, to clinch the dual before Dillon Waggonner scored a 7-2 win in the 184-pound finale giving the Mountaineers their third straight win in the series.
Winners of 11 of the last 12 in the series, the Mountaineers have not dropped a home dual against ASC since Jan. 13, 1994.
Welanko, who rejoined the team this week after a 2-year hiatus, scored the opening takedown and took a 3-1 lead in the second period. Lowe then closed the gap to 3-2 with a takedown early in the third period.
Looking like he was going to hold off the Mountaineer, Welanko nearly got out of trouble. However, Lowe spun around to take the crowd-energizing 4-3 win.
Lowe's momentum carried over to the 157-pound match. In the first period, Lee had taken a 7-1 lead with the throw and nearly pinned Cleve before settling for a 3-point near fall and another takedown later in the period. Using a nearly identical throw as he did in the first period, Lee improved to 12-4 while giving the Mountaineers a 15-9 lead.
Wilbanks then scored a 13-5 major decision win over Dusty Vaughn, a replacement for nationally-ranked Evan Copeland (Las Cruces, N.M.), in the 165-pound bout. Vaughn, now 2-3 on the year, was wrestling in a dual for the first time in his ASC career just over an hour away from his hometown of Montrose
The wrestlers were scoreless in the first period before Wilbanks went ahead 7-2 with a wild flurry early in the second. Vaughn answered with a reversal to close the gap to 7-4 before a second 2-point near fall early in the third gave Wilbanks a 9-4 edge. He then went up 11-5 with a third-period takedown before accumulating 87 seconds of riding time to give the Mountaineers a bonus point.
Pipher then scored five takedowns en-route to his win over James Reynolds (Monte Vista, Colo.) ranked seventh in the nation. Dillon Waggonner then closed out the dual with a 7-2 win over Josh Vialpando (Walsenburg, Colo.) at 184 pounds.
The Grizzlies had gone into the intermission with full control of the momentum and a 9-6 lead thanks to wins by senior Rob McCabe (Nucla, Colo.), sophomore Raymond Dunning (Nashville, Tenn.) and junior Brian Pitts (Rio Rancho, N.M.), all former All-Americans.
McCabe, ranked eighth in the nation at 125 pounds, put ASC on the board in the third match of the night as he overcame a 4-3 third period deficit to post a 7-4 win over WSC's Eddie Lopez. McCabe, now 10-8, scored a takedown a minute in before riding out Lopez for the rest of the first period. Lopez then came back to cut the deficit to 3-2 with a second period takedown after a McCabe escape before the Mountaineer took the lead with a takedown from the neutral position in the third.
However, McCabe tied the match just a few seconds later before scoring a bout-clinching takedown midway through the third stanza. McCabe then rode Lopez out while scoring a riding time point.
Dunning, named RMAC Wrestler of the Week earlier in the day, then evened things up at 6 with a convincing 6-0 win over Marques Bravo, a returning national qualifier. After a scoreless first period, the 133-pound Dunning scored an early second period reversal and near fall before riding Bravo for the rest of the match accumulating 3 ½ minutes of riding time.
Dunning, now ranked second in the nation, has won five straight bouts while improving to 13-5.
Pitts then gave ASC a 9-6 lead with a 9-4 win over Western State's Chirs Freije at 141 pounds. Pitts led 3-1 in the second before Freije tied things up with a late takedown. However, Pitts got out at the buzzer giving him a 4-3 lead.
Freije was able to tie things up with an early escape before a final-minute takedown and ensuing turn allowed Pitts to claim the win, his third straight and fifth in his last six.
The Mountaineers had taken the early lead and momentum as 197-pound junior Cody Mumma scored the first takedown in the waning seconds of the first period against ASC junior Casey Woodall (Morenci, Ariz.) before the wrestlers traded escapes in the second and third periods. Mumma then scored another takedown midway through the period to wrap up the 5-2 win.
Kipp Cullin kept things going for the Mountaineers as he scored a first-period takedown en-route to a defensive 3-2 win over Grizzly senior Heath Soderstrom (Englewood, Colo.) to give WSC a 6-0 lead.
The Grizzlies now return home to Plachy Hall for their next five duals, starting Saturday evening at 6 o'clock against Division I Air Force. The Mountaineers will meet Air Force, currently 2-0 in duals, on Friday night in Colorado Springs.
Visit ASCGrizzlies.com for the latest news and info on Adams State College Athletics.
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