Scott Kretzmann
ASC Sports
Information Desk
HAYS, Kan. – Four ASC wrestlers won their weight class at Saturday’s Fort Hays State Bob Smith Open including top-seeded Luke McPeek (Albuquerque, N.M.) at 197 pounds, No. 2 seeds Jerry Huff (Broomfield, Colo.) at 125 and Ryan Fillingame (Victorville, Calif.) at 133, and unseeded Jarrod Purvis (Colorado Springs, Colo.) at 174 pounds.
In addition to their four champs, the Grizzlies also received a fourth place finish from sophomore 165-pounder Justin Samora (Cortez, Colo.), and saw 16 wrestlers post a combined record of 48-22.
McPeek’s title is his second of the season after having taken the Elite title at the Wyoming Cowboy Open in November.
A 2-time NCAA Division II All-American and preseason All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) pick, McPeek recorded wins over a pair of league opponents to start the day, topping New Mexico Highlands’ Justin Rockhill by major decision, 13-3, and Fort Hays State’s Alex Feldkamp, 10-5.
He then concluded his day with a pair of wins by fall, pinning No. 2 seed Jahshua Morris at the 3:42 mark for the title.
After going 4-0 on Saturday, McPeek is now 7-0 this season with three wins by fall.
Huff, who entered as the second seed, won all five of his matches to take the title at 125 pounds and improved to 6-2 this season.
The sophomore 2011 NCAA DII National Tournament qualifier opened with a win by fall at 4:31 over Colorado Mines’ Cory Carter, before blanking his next two opponents, 16-0 and 10-0.
In the championships bracket semifinals, Huff battled to an 8-3 decision over Laramie County College’s 3rd-seeded Garrett Jones, and topped Taylor Adams, wrestling unattached for Western State, 10-4 in the final.
At 133 pounds, Fillingame recorded four his five wins on Saturday by regular decision, and added an 18-3 technical fall in his second match of the day.
He allowed two points in close wins during his last three bouts of the day, winning 6-2 over Tim Crocker of Nebraska-Kearney, 5-2 over No. 3 seed Jesse Hillhouse of Colorado State-Pueblo, and 4-2 over Sean O’Leary in the championship bout.
Fillingame has now claimed the 133 pound title at both tournaments in which he’s competed.
He also took first place in the Wyoming Cowoby Open Elite division, going 4-0. At 9-0 overall this season, Fillingame has recorded seven wins by regular decision.
At 174 pounds, Purvis entered Saturday’s action unseeded, but scored a win over top-seeded Konner Witt of Air Force Prep, 6-2, in his second match of the day.
That win set the stage for a three wins by a combined four points to end the day.
Purvis topped fellow RMAC wrestlers Easton Hargrave of NMHU and unattached Mountaineer and No. 7 seed Elliott Copeland 7-5 and 3-2, respectively, to end the day. Purvis now owns a mark of 8-2 this season.
Samora wrestled more than any other Grizzly on Saturday, taking to the mat seven times en route to his fourth place showing.
He started his day with a win by fall at 3:36 over unattached CSU-Pueblo wrestler Eric Norton, and recorded three wins by major decision.
After falling to 4th-seeded Kyle Detmer in his third bout, Samora won major decisions over No. 2 seed Kyle Conley and No. 8 seed Sam Thoman.
A 6-3 win over Chris Watson set up a third place match against 3rd-seeded Ehtan Orr, in which Samora fell 10-12.
Sophomore Corey Johnson (Newcastle, Calif.) posted four wins in the 141 pound bracket, while senior 149-pounder Josh Hensley (Alamosa, Colo.), sophomore 157-pounder Daniel Kelly (Parker, Colo.) and sophomore 165-pounder Mark Mabry, Jr. (Benson, Ariz.) each won three matches.
The Grizzlies will wrestle in three more tournaments this month, heading to Grand Junction, Colo., next Saturday, Dec. 10, for the Colorado Mesa Open.
After that, Adams State will take part in the Dec. 18 Reno Tournament of Champions and the Dec. 29-30 Midlands Championships hosted by Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.
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