The No. 13 Western Colorado University wrestling team defeated the visiting Colorado State Pueblo Thunderwolves, 40-6, on Feb. 1 at the Paul Wright Gym.
If ever momentum was evident in a contest, Saturday's dual was the perfect example. The Mountaineers only allowed the Thunderwolves a pair of decisions, while the Mountaineers racked up four pins and a major decision to win the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) duel.
The Mountaineers, holding a 6-4 overall record and sitting 3-2 in RMAC play, earned a 6-0 advantage with a Thunderwolf forfeit at 125-lbs. But Pueblo halved the early Western lead with a 13-9 decision in the 133-lbs bout.
Eyan Chavez quickly charged up the crowd in his 141-lbs match. The redshirt sophomore earned an early takedown in the first period that turned into a pin at the 1:27 mark. Building on that momentum was Dean Noble at 149-lbs. Noble, currently ranked No. 3 at his weight, built a 9-0 lead into the third period, and a fall at the 6:23 mark.
In an exciting but low-scoring match at 157-lbs, Vincent Cabral battled with Pueblo’s Cyruss Meeks. Cabral earned the initial points with a first-period takedown, but Meeks chipped back with an escape. Meeks selected the down position to start the second, and cut into Cabral's lead with an escape for the only point of the period. The third started with Cabral scoring from a bottom escape. Meeks threw one last flurry in the final seconds, but it didn't land. Cabral continued Western's momentum with a 4-2 victory.
Walker Heckendorf inspired his teammates in the first period at 165-lbs. The junior escaped an early takedown against Aaron Concepcion, and then closed the match with another Mountaineer pin in under 2:24.
Cole Hernandez entered Saturday's dual ranked the No. 1 wrestler in Division II at 174-lbs. Facing off against Pueblo’s Solomon Arnds-Volcin, he showed his worthiness of that ranking. Hernandez led 10-2 after the first, 13-4 after the second and finished off Arnds-Volcin in the third for an 18-4 major decision.
The match at 184-lbs had Western's Cole Gray on the mat against the Thunderwolves' Donn Greer. Neither scored in the first, and the second period ended with Greer leading 5-4. Greer started down in the third and added an escape for a 2-point advantage. But in one exciting attempt, Gray took Greer down onto his back and earned another pin for the Mountaineers.
Pueblo earned a hard-fought 9-6 decision at 197-lbs, but the Mountaineers still carried the momentum when Riley Butt stepped in against Henry Sturn at 285-lbs. The two heavyweights bullied and hand-fought into the third period with Sturn leading late, 4-2. Then, Butt scored a reversal late to even the score and send the match into overtime. Butt ended things quickly with a takedown for the 7-4 sudden victory.
(Gregg Petcoff is the assistant athletics director for communications at Western Colorado University and can be reached at gpetcoff@western.edu.)
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