Scott Kretzmann
ASC Sports Information Director
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Adams State looked to be comfortably ahead with an 11-point lead following a win by technical fall from 4th-ranked senior Josh Hensley (Alamosa, Colo.) at 149 pounds, but Colorado Mesa turned the tables and five of the last six bouts of the night to claim a 22-17 victory over the 9th-ranked Grizzlies.
The loss is just the second of the Grizzlies’ season in dual meet action, dropping ASC to 8-2 overall and 7-2 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), good for third in the standings. CMU improves to 3-3 in the league with a record of 7-9 overall.
Without breaking a sweat the Grizzlies were up 6-0, as 4th-ranked sophomore Jerry Huff (Broomfield, Colo.) was the beneficiary of a win by forfeit in the matches opening bout at 125 pounds. That was followed with a team-leading 19th win by junior Ryan Fillingame (Victorville, Calif.) at 133 pounds. Ranked No. 5 in Division II, Fillingame shut out the Mavs’ Tyler Nelson and put ASC on top by a team score of 9-0.
At 141 pounds, Colorado Mesa’s James Martinez scored an upset win over 8th-ranked junior Max Ortega (Rio Rancho, N.M.), but Hensley’s 18-3 win by technical fall, his sixth such win of the season, at 149 looked to have put the Grizzlies back on track to run away the dual.
But the Mavs had other plans, and stormed out to a 19-14 lead with four straight wins from 157 through 184 pounds. Jon Gappmaier and Dylan Grannard scored wins by decision at 157 and 165, cutting the Grizzlies team lead to 14-9.
That was followed with a win by fall at 174 pounds from Zak Slotten over ASC’s Jarod Purvis (Colorado Springs, Colo.) giving CMU its first lead of the night.
However, a deduction of one team point for unsportsmanlike conduct combined with a 9-3 decision from the Grizzlies’ 2nd-ranked 197-pounder Luke McPeek (Albuquerque, N.M.), his 17th win of the season, brought the whole dual down to the final bout of the night. There, Colorado Mesa’s Paco Retana completed the come-from-behind win, topping junior Taylor Stam (Parker, Colo.) by major decision (12-4) to bring the dual to its final score of 22-17.
ASC’s loss to unranked CMU comes immediately after the Grizzlies concluded a stretch of six straight duals against top 20 foes, during which time their only loss came against 4th-ranked and RMAC leader Nebraska-Kearney.
The Grizzlies return to action will come at Plachy Hall as they host RMAC foes Colorado State-Pueblo and New Mexico Highlands on back-to-back nights, Thursday and Friday.
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