GOLDEN, Colo. -- Vanguard men's wrestling had three placers in the program's debut at the NCAA Region VI Tournament yesterday, though fourth place was, unfortunately, still short of making the National Tournament. The top results came from
Zachary Klarcyk and
Marquize Brown, who placed fourth, and
Hercules Windrath, who was sixth. The VU men's season comes to an end with a lot of positives against some of the best in the area.
125 Pounds: Jovanni Evangelista won his opening encounter against Adonias Cantu of Colorado Mesa University, as Evangelista took a 6-5 gap and rolled Cantu over for a pin. However, he had a stumble against Caleb Coyle of Nebraska Kearney, as Coyle surged ahead 7-4 and made a pin to advance. Evangelista was then pitted against Diego Camarillo of New Mexico Highlands, and Evangelista made an escape to snare the opening point in the third frame. However, Camarillo got a penalty point and a takedown to vault ahead 4-1. Evangelista got two more points as the clock wound down, but it hit zero before he could tie or take the lead.
133 Pounds: Klarcyk had a takedown in the first against Western Colorado's Zachary Bates, and the Lion then held on for a 3-2 decision. He then faced Zachary Ourada of UNK, and no one scored until the third period. Ourade got two escapes, but late in the frame, Klarcyk got two penalty points to square things up. Unfortunately, Ourada had the riding-time clock in his favor and got the bonus point to advance 3-2. Klarcyk won his first consolation bout over Zach Wright of San Francisco State, with Klarcyk getting the only takedown in the third. Needing a win to secure bronze and make the big show, the Vanguard man faced Colorado State Pueblo's Jacob Myers, but Myers made a takedown that turned into a pin in the first period.
141 Pounds: Robert Villegas did his best against Kieran Tompson of Adam's State, but Thompson won 12-0. Villegas improved against NMH's Terrell Kinlicheenie, as the VU wrestler collected the first takedown. However, Kinlicheenie then scored the next 12 points to prevail.
157 Pounds: Vince Partington faced an early setback, as Aaden Valdez of Adam's State won 17-2. In his first consolation bout, Partington was more composed, as he edged past Joe Anthony Perez of Cal Poly Humboldt 7-5. Perez landed a takedown in the first to lead 3-2, but Partington made the next four points, with an escape in the third putting him out of reach. He moved on to Vincent Cabral of Western Colorado, but Partington got only two escapes as Cabral won 8-2.
165 Pounds: Caidence Turner first encountered Deacon Pickett of CSUP, and though he got plenty of escapes, Pickett showed control and powered through for a 19-6 major decision. Turner attempted to stay alive against William Alvarado of UCM, but Alvarado got a first-period takedown that turned into a pin.
174 Pounds: Keagen Kroeger fought valiantly in his two bouts, with Otgonbayar Batsuuri as his first opponent. Kroeger tried to find an opening, but Batsurri snuck in for a takedown and then a pin. Hunter Harris was up next, but the Fort Hays State wrestler ended up with a 12-0 major decision.
184 Pounds: Brown mowed through his first two opponents, as he pinned both Noah O'Dougherty (CMU) and Donn Greer (CSUP). But Keegan Gehihausen of Chadron State was a different test. Brown and Gehihausen ended the first period tied at 4-4, with a takedown and an escape each, and Brown repeated that pattern to venture forward 8-4 to start the second. But Gehihausen got a reversal and converted that into a pin to advance, taking first out of reach. Brown took his first consolation match by storm, winning 15-0 over Owen Gudmundson of SFU, and needing one more win to get to the final site, Brown faced Wyatt Reisz from the hosting Colorado School of Mines. Reisz had the first takedown, and though Brown then got an escape, it was hard for him to get much offense going, as Reisz went on to win 7-2.
197 Pounds: Asa Goff met with CMU's Gabriel Carranza in his first encounter, but Carranza won 15-0. Desperate for a win, Goff did his best against Devin Kinlicheenie, but the other Kinlicheenie brother had his way, taking a 6-1 edge and securing a pin.
285 Pounds: David Baxter went 1-2, as he lost to Tyler Doyle of CMU 16-1. Undeterred, Baxter responded with a pin of Jaxson Thomas of Fort Hays, turning an 8-5 lead into a quick victory. He was then slotted against Jaylen Ignacio of Adam's State, and though Baxter got an escape, Ignacio got the lone takedown of the match with 11 seconds to go to win 4-1.
