Wrestlers Fall to University of Nebraska Kearney

Irma Sandoval
The Paw Print

The gymnasium in Plachy Hall was packed with fans on Wednesday, Jan. 25 to watch the Adams State College Wrestlers take on the University of Nebraska-Kearney.
First on the mat were heavy weights Taylor Stam for ASC versus Kevin Barrett for UNK. Individual score for the match was 5-3. Ultimately, UNK took the win putting Adams down 4-0.  The 125 divisions pitted Jerry Huff for Adams against Jordan White for UNK. Jerry Huff is number four in the nation and an all-star.
Huff won the match for Adams tying up the overall score 4-4. Huff had an impressive individual score for the match at 11-3. The 133-weight class match was intense with Ryan Fillingame for Adams and Stephen Weimer for UNK.
After a slow first match leaving each side with no points, Fillingame came back and won with an individual score of 3-1. Fillingames win made the team score 7-4 in favors of the Grizzlies.  Casey Lynn completed the quickest victory of the night, Lynn pinned UNK’s Tim Crocker in 43 seconds; leaving the team score to 13-4.  Number 4 in the nation for the 149 pounders, Josh Hensley took on the number 2 wrestler in the nation, Raufeon Stots. Hensley won the match with an individual score of 8-4, making the team score 16-4.
Up next was the 157-pound class with Adams’ own Daniel Kelly versus UNK’s T.J. Hepburn. Unfortunately Hepburn won the match leaving the team score 16-10.  In the 165-division class, Justin Samora went head to head with UNK’s Joey Wilson, number 2 in the country.  Although Samora gave a valiant effort, Wilson dominated the match with the individual score of 9-5. This left Adams up 16-13.
Up next was the 174-weight class with Jarod Purvis for Adams versus Mark Fiala. Without going down with a fight, Purvis lost the match with an individual score of 6-4, leaving the team scores tied up 16-16.  In the second to last match of the night, the 184-weight class pitted ASC Grizzly Darian Roberts versus UNK Loper Caleb Kociemba. Sadly, Kociemba won the match with an individual score of 11-2, leaving the ASC Grizzlies down 11-2.
The last night of the match left Adams State’s Luke McPeek versus UNK’s Matt Lenagh. Leaving the score tied in the second match, McPeek came back and won the final match with an individual score of 3-2. Although McPeek won the match, the team lost with a score of 19-20.
The Grizzlies gave the match their all and left with a close loss. Although the grizzlies lost, congratulations are owed to sophomore Jerry Huff who was named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Wrestler of the week.