Two Tiger Wrestlers Earn Missouri Valley Open Titles
2/7/2005 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Feb. 7, 2005
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Marshall, Mo. - Junior Tristan Hansen and sophomore Amond Prater finished first at 174 and 133 pounds, respectively in the Jan. 29, Missouri Valley Open in Marshall, Mo. Ten Tigers finished among the top six of their respective weight class, while redshirt freshman Josh Wagner (141) recorded the most falls of the tournament.
Hansen, a native of Carrollton, Texas, opened his morning with a bye and proceeded to take down Chad Edwards (Lindenwood), Steven Doeschot (Truman State) and David Rivera (Embry Riddle) before going head-to-head with James Bunch of Lindenwood in the championship bout. Wrestling fiercely through the first three minutes of action, Hansen claimed the title early in the second period after pinning Bunch in 3:32. The fall was Hansen's second of the season and 15th win of the year.
For the second consecutive week, Prater (Marietta, Ga.) held off Lindenwood's Louis Edmonds to win an open tournament title. Prater dropped Edmonds on Jan. 15, at the Central Missouri State (CMSU) Roger Denker Open, 3-2 and won his second title of the season with a 3-1 victory over Edmonds at the Missouri Valley Open. Scoring his first win of the day with a fall in 3:53 over Chad Cooper of Missouri Baptist, Prater finished the afternoon by tallying four more wins by decision to his name. Prater is 31-6 on the season and has earned six, top-six open tournament finishes throughout his sophomore campaign.
Recording five falls in six matches, Wagner (Milton, Wis.) was honored for having scored the most pins of any wrestler at the tournament. Wagner clocked his fastest fall of the day (27 seconds) in his opening match with Robbie Grose of McKendree College. The pin was Wagner's fastest and 11th fall of the season, and ties him for fifth on the Big 12 overall individual fall leaders' record board. On the day, Wagner finished third at 141 pounds after pinning Bryan Odle in 2:32.
Senior J.C. Russell took second at 184 pounds. A native of Hazelwood, Mo., Russell advanced through the championship bracket earning wins over Adam Hickes (McKendree), Ryan Luna (Lindenwood), and Gordon Harrison (Truman State) before suffering a hard-fought 3-2 loss to Missouri Valley's Mario Thomas. Like six of his teammates, Russell's first match of the tournament was won by pinning his opponent.
All together, the 19 Missouri wrestlers that competed at the Missouri Valley Open recorded 15 falls.
Wt. Name Finish 133 Amond Prater 1st 141 Josh Wagner 3rd 149 Ryan Williams 4th 149 Justin Cole 5th 157 James Williamson 5th 157 Michael Chandler 6th 165 Raymond Jordan 6th 174 Tristan Hansen 1st 174 Joey Garrity 4th 184 J.C. Russell 2nd
