SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Bonus point wins from nationally-ranked Deral Brown and Travis Sheehy powered the No. 2 seed Newberry Wolves to a 28-9 win over the Fort Hays State Tigers in the first round of the NWCA/CliffKeen National Duals at the Prairie Capital Convention Center on Saturday morning.
With the win, Newberry moves to 8-0 in duals and advances to the quarterfinals to face seventh-seeded Notre Dame College of Ohio at 3 p.m. local (4 p.m. Eastern) today. The dual is sure to be a highlight matchup for the event, with Newberry ranked No. 2 in the coaches poll and No. 1 in the Basford poll, with Notre Dame ranked No. 7 in the coaches poll and No. 2 in the Basford poll.
Fifth-ranked 125-pounder Jeff Vesta (Manhattan, Kan.) started the Wolves out on the right foot with a 2-0 decision over Garrett Jones, followed up by Travis Laxton (Live Oak, Fla.) who had a near fall aid a 7-4 decision over Rory Wilkinson at 133 lbs. in his first action of the season. At 141 lbs., No. 2 B.J. Young (Jackson, N.J.) was tripped up by No. 6 Charles Napier to the tune of a 6-3 defeat by decision to make Newberry's lead 6-3.
No. 8 Deral Brown (Elgin, S.C.) worked his way to a pin of Mitchell Means at the 5:23 mark of the 149 lbs. bout to start a run of Newberry wins. No. 6 Taylor Knapp (Lawrenceville, Ga.) earned a 6-4 decision over No. 4 Derek Koehn at 157 lbs. and No. 2 Blake Ridenour (Maryville, Tenn.) held off Sam Thoman for a 4-2 decision at 165 lbs. No. 3 174-pounder Travis Sheehy (Suwanee, Ga.) powered his way to a 15-2 major decision over Josh Rodriguez to push Newberry's advantage to 22-3.
Mitch Brown (Omaha, Neb.) was on the wrong end of a 6-2 decision to Zack Grimes at 184 lbs. and No.6 Tanner Kriss at 197 lbs. took an 8-3 decision from Joey Grisko (Gloucester Township, N.J.) to bring the Tigers to within 22-9, but Matt Wade (Easton, Md.) closed out the dual on a high note, earning a pin of John Close just 43 seconds into the heavyweight match.
No. 2 Newberry 28, No. 19 Fort Hays State 9 |
125 | No. 5 Jeff Vesta (Newberry) dec. Garrett Jones, 2-0 | NEW, 3-0 |
133 | Travis Laxton (Newberry) dec. Rory Wilkinson, 7-4 | NEW, 6-0 |
141 | No. 6 Charles Napier (Ft. Hays St.) dec. No. 2 B.J. Young, 6-3 | NEW, 6-3 |
149 | No. 8 Deral Brown (Newberry) pins Mitchell Means, 5:23 | NEW, 12-3 |
157 | No. 6 Taylor Knapp (Newberry) dec. No. 4 Derek Koehn, 6-4 | NEW, 15-3 |
165 | No. 2 Blake Ridenour (Newberry) dec. Sam Thoman, 4-2 | NEW, 18-3 |
174 | No. 3 Travis Sheehy (Newberry) maj. dec. Josh Rodriguez, 15-2 | NEW, 22-3 |
184 | Zack Grimes (Ft. Hays St.) dec. Mitch Brown, 6-2 | NEW, 22-6 |
197 | No. 6 Tanner Kriss (Ft. Hays St.) dec. Joey Grisko, 8-3 | NEW, 22-9 |
HWT | Matt Wade (Newberry) pins John Close, 0:43 | NEW, 28-9 |
Team Scoring Key
Decision (1-7pts) - 3 pts
Major Decision (8-14 pts) - 4 pts
Technical Fall (15 pts) - 5 pts
Pinfall, Injury Default, Forfeit - 6 pts
