The No. 13 Mountaineer wrestling team gave its seniors a proper send off on Feb. 7, earning a 30-14 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference win over visiting Adams State University.
Prior to the start of the dual, the team recognized five wrestlers who will be graduating from the program at the end of the season. One by one, Pratt Williams, Lawson Hayman, Dean Noble, Cole Hernandez and Cole Gray joined their coaches on the mat.
Trailing 14-9 after the 157-lbs match, the Mountaineers began their finishing sprint with Walker Heckendorf's 8-3 decision at 165-lbs. Heckendorf notched two takedowns in the first period, and surrendered only one escape and an early third-period reversal.
Hernandez, ranked No. 1 in the nation, took a 15-3 advantage over Adam State’s Dallas Porter right from the start. Hernandez had the starting choice in the second and picked neutral. Less than a minute later, he finished off an 18-3 technical fall that gave Western its first lead of the night, 17-14.
Gray was commanding in his match at 184-lbs. He scored a takedown and gave up an escape in both the first and second periods to head into the third leading 6-2. The senior earned an escape for a 5-point lead, and then added another takedown leading to his 11-2 major decision.
Even more dominant was Sage Harrison at 197-lbs. A mid-period takedown in the first gave Harrison an 11-0 lead into the second. Harrison took Adam State’s Josh Coon to the mat at the start of the second. Soon after, he rolled Coon to his back and completed the Mountaineers' second pin of the night.
Riley Butt, at 285-lbs, finished off the string of wins with a 10-4 decision. Ahead 3-1 after the first and 6-2 after the second, Butt allowed an escape to start the third and then added another takedown to light up the raucous crowd.
Western's initial pin in the dual came early when Devin Gomez recorded one in his bout at 133-lbs. Gomez trailed 6-2 after the first, but rallied in the second to take a 9-7 lead. At the start of the third, Gomez quickly got Romero on his back for a fall at the 5:30 mark —tying the team score at 6-6.
Adams State went back in front with a 15-2 major at 141-lbs, but Noble pulled the Mountaineers to within a point in the 149-lbs match. Noble, No. 3 in the nation, piled up riding time with a first period takedown and eventually battled his way to a 7-5 decision over Kieran Thompson.
The Western victory ended the Grizzlies’ two-year win streak, and improved the Mountaineers' record against Adams State to 14-6.
(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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