LOCAL SPORTS CSC WRESTLING TEAM DEFEATS MESA STATE
By CSC SPORTS INFORMATION
Dec 8, 2006, 05:13
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Once a popular sport to disband in order to cut costs and comply with Title IX, wrestling is making a comeback on numerous college campuses. Dozens of colleges and universities dropped the sport during the 1990s, but several are rolling out the mats again.

Mesa State, located at Grand Junction, Colo., is one of them. After being quite competitive although never winning a team title in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the Mavericks’ program was closed down 1991.

This year, Mesa has rejoined the wrestling ranks. Chuck Pipher, once a three-time national champion at the University of Southern Colorado is the man at the controls after coaching a couple of state championship teams at Hotchkiss High in Colorado.

Pipher looked on Thursday night as the Chadron State Eagles ran away with a 49-0 victory over the Mavericks, but said afterwards that he was pleased with his young grapplers’ aggressiveness. “We’ve got a lot to learn, but we’ll be all right before it’s over,” the coach said.

The Mavericks were at a disadvantage from the start. They brought just seven wrestlers on the trip and one of them failed to make weight. That gave the Eagles a 24-0 advantage before the National Anthem was sung.

Most of the Mesa State entries who competed were middle weights, meaning they ran into Chadron State’s top grapplers. The first four wrestlers the Mavericks faced began the dual with a combined 40-16 record.

All four of the Eagles won, but knew they’d had a workout when the clock ran down.

Mark Pfeifer got the Eagles off to a good start with an 18-7 verdict over Kirk Piatt at 149 pounds. The CSC senior from Garden Valley, Calif., who improved his record to 11-4, managed seven takedowns and a three-point nearfall.

Senior Jared Webster won 8-5 at 157 pounds, but was scrambling to stay ahead in the final period after Taylor Torisk reversed him to cut the lead to 6-5. Just as the match was closing, Webster managed a reverse of his own to seal the verdict. He’s now 11-4.

Sophomore Brett Hunter of Rushville improved to 12-2 with a 9-4 win over Cole Johnson at 165 pounds. CSC Coach Scott Ritzen was not altogether pleased with Hunter’s performance.

“He has a tendency to take a little time off now and then instead of going hard all the time,” Ritzen said. “We’ve got to get him to change that.”

The closest match was at 174, where Alliance native Matt Weingart squeezed out a 6-5 verdict over Andrew Laninger, who forced the action much of the time. Laninger had a 2:40 riding time advantage.

After the Eagles received another forfeit at 184, two Chadron State youngsters pinned their foes to wrap up the match.

Josh Majerus of Albion had a 14-2 lead when he flattened Kennan Jennings with just 13 seconds remaining in the 197-pound bout. Then Shaine Odell wiggled out of trouble to reverse and pin Chris Kennedy in 4:29 of the heavyweight match.

Both Eagles are sophomores.

Chadron State will wrap up its pre-holiday schedule Saturday at the Nebraska-Kearney Open Tournament.

The results:

125—Devlon Webb, CSC, won by forfeit.

133—Sergio Palomo, CSC, won by forfeit.

141—Skylair Lappe, CSC, won by forfeit.

149—Mark Pfeifer, CSC, major dec. Kirk Piatt 18-7.

157—Jared Webster, CSC, dec. Taylor Torisk 8-5.

165—Brett Hunter, CSC, dec. Cole Johnson 9-4.

174—Matt Weingart, CSC, dec. Andrew Laninger 6-5.

184—Willy Jones, CSC, won by forfeit.

197—Josh Majerus, CSC, pinned Keenan Jennings 6:47.

Hwt—Shaine Odell, CSC, pinned Christopher Kennedy 4:29.


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