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Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo
Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo.

SOU lets Great Falls slip away

11/17/2016 10:27:00 PM

ASHLAND – The Great Falls (Mont.) men's wrestling team took four of the last five weight classes to complete a 21-19 comeback win against sixth-ranked Southern Oregon on Thursday night at Mountain Avenue Gym.

Argos heavyweight Matt Hopkins secured the dual by upsetting Alejandro Sandoval in a 4-0 decision, which he scored with a four-point near fall at the end of the second period. UGF went to 4-0 in dual action and picked up its first win in Ashland since the 2010-11 season.

The Raiders, going into their first matchup with Eastern Oregon in 41 years Friday in La Grande, dropped to 1-2.

"Like sand through our fingers," SOU head coach Mike Ritchey said.

The Raiders had momentum and a 16-5 lead going into intermission. After UGF 125-pounder Isaac Wilson started the night with a 15-0 technical fall over freshman Henry Cox, they won four bouts in a row.

Casey Coulter got them going with a 10-3 decision over Clinton Garvin, the 16th-ranked 133-pounder in the NAIA. He led 5-2 through the first period thanks to a couple takedowns and controlled the rest of the action in improving to 7-1.

At 141, 16th-ranked Devin Poppen never trailed and added a point on riding time in his 9-4 decision against Justin Whitman. And at 149, second-ranked Tyler Cowger registered his sixth straight win to start the season, 6-1 against Casey Dobson. Hunter Hodges, No. 3 at 157, then padded the lead with his third straight bonus-point win to start dual season – a pin of Arram Price in 4:57 that followed his near fall in the first period.

UGF's Khalood Rashid (165) and Randy Keesler (174) put the Argos on the comeback trail, cutting the lead to 16-15 with a major decision and a pin, but Max Hane (184) gave the Raiders some breathing room with an 11-4 win over Sam Voigtlaender that was punctuated by a near fall and a takedown in the second period.

In a battle of the West Group's top 197-pounders, however, UGF's ninth-ranked John Hensley defeated SOU's sixth-ranked Tanner Fischer, 11-7. His near fall with 20 seconds left on the clack erased what was a two-point deficit with riding time.

That left it up to Hopkins, who likely boosted himself into the West Group rankings with the win.

The Raiders are home again on Dec. 2 with a dual against San Francisco State at Ashland Middle School.

GREAT FALLS 21, SOUTHERN OREGON 19
125 – Isaac Wilson, UGF, tech. fall Henry Cox, 15-0. (0-5)
133 – Casey Coulter, SOU, maj. dec. Jarren Komac, 10-3. (4-5)
141 – Devin Poppen, SOU, dec. Justin Whitman, 9-4. (7-5)
149 – Tyler Cowger, SOU, dec. Casey Dobson, 6-1. (10-5)
157 – Hunter Hodges, SOU, p. Arram Price, 4:57. (16-5)
165 – Khaldoon Rashid, UGF, maj. dec. C.J. McKinnis, 13-4. (16-9)
174 – Randy Keesler, UGF, p. James Bowers, 4:32. (16-15)
184 – Max Hane, SOU, dec. Sam Voigtlaender, 11-4. (19-15)
197 – John Hensley, UGF, dec. Tanner Fischer, 11-7. (19-18)
285 – Matt Hopkins, UGF, dec. Alejandro Sandoval, 4-0. (19-21)

 
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