Bulldogs place three at Buena Vista Open

By on Dec. 11, 2010 in Wrestling

Bulldogs place three at Buena Vista Open

Three Bulldog wrestlers placed at the Buena Vista Open on Saturday in the team’s last competition of 2010.

Freshman Blake Augustyn (Ord, Neb.) had another outstanding performance in Storm Lake.  Augustyn wrestled to an 8-3 record in the last two tournaments, placing fifth in the Simpson Invitational and second in the Buena Vista Open.  Both efforts met the NAIA qualifying standards.
 
Augustyn opened the tournament with a fall in 1:53 over Meldrick Woods of Missouri Baptist.  He then defeated GPAC foe Tyler Sarringar of Dakota Wesleyan by the score of 5-4, scoring the winning points off a reversal in the final seconds of the match.  In the semi-finals, Augustyn defeated Ryan Osgood of Iowa State, a two-time NCAA Division I national qualifier, by the score of 5-4 to advance to the championship finals at 165 pounds.
 
Augustyn dropped the championship match to Trent Molocek of NCAA II Southwest Minnesota State University by the score of 6-3.
 
“Blake is really coming on,” commented coach Doug Reese.  “He defeated some very tough, skilled opponents today in close matches.  These kinds of wins come from making no mistakes in a match.  Blake is wrestling both smart and tactical, a winning combination.”
 
Gordie Fowlkes (Newman Grove, Neb.) placed third at 125 pounds.  Fowlkes won his first round match by fall in 4:37 over Mike Thielen of Morningside College.  He then dropped a match to Austin Mogg of Buena Vista University, who is the No. 2 ranked wrestler in the nation in NCAA Division III.  Fowlkes was leading 2-1 deep into the second period when Mogg was able to take Fowlkes to his back for a fall.

Fowlkes then pinned teammate Brandon Roath in 3:45.  In the consolation semi-finals, Fowlkes upset the No. 2 seed Kory Kistner of Morningside with solid 4-2 decision.  In the third place medal match, Fowlkes won a major decision over Branden Schultz of Buena Vista University by the score of 12-3 to claim the bronze medal.  Fowlkes is now 11-8 on the season.
 
Brandon Starkey (St. Paul, Neb.), who has qualified for his second trip to the NAIA national championships, opened the tournament with a come-from-behind fall over Jordan Langley of Morningside College in 5:30.  Starkey then upset the No. 1 seed in the tournament, Zach Ryan of Buena Vista, with a hard fought 5-3 decision.  In the semi-finals, Starkey lost a 4-2 decision to Justin Truckenmiller of Morningside College, 4-2.

In the consolation bracket, after trailing 7-3 in the first period to Tyler Parker of Buena Vista, Starkey mentally and physically broke Parker and poured on 11 points in the second period, then turned Parker to his back for a fall in 4:50.  In the consolation finals, Starkey defeated Rulin Pederson of Morningside with a solid 7-3 decision to earn a third place finish.  Starkey goes into the break with a 14-9 mark.
 
Other Bulldog wrestlers recording wins were Ryan Perez (Lake Charles, La.), who defeated Brandon Blanchard of William Penn University by fall in 2:59 and won a 6-4 decision over Justin Jenkins of Missouri Baptist University at 174 pounds.  Robbie Resendiz (San Jacinto, Calif.) recorded a fall in 2:44 over Zach Gordon of William Penn University at 141 pounds, and Travis Patrick (Castle Rock, Wash.) won a 12-5 decision over Carlos Berrada of Buena Vista University at 133 pounds.
 
Unattached wrestler Jake Williams (Rio Rancho, N.M.) placed fifth at 133 pounds.  Williams pinned Blake Rodgers of William Penn in 2:25, pinned Carlos Berrada of Buena Vista in 3:34, defeated No. 4 seed David Crow of William Penn by major decision 11-1, and won by major decision over Miles Negley of York College 16-4.
 
The Bulldogs had another solid outing to finish the 2010 part of the schedule.  The team has a record of 132-115 going into Christmas break.  The Bulldogs have placed 25 wrestlers in five collegiate tournaments and have qualified nine wrestlers for the NAIA national tournament.
 
Following break, the Bulldogs will take part in the Quality Inn Open hosted by Hasting College on January 8.