PUEBLO, Colo. (Dec. 15, 2018) – The Colorado State University-Pueblo wrestling team used seven match victories, three pins and three upset wins to knock-off No. 2 University of Nebraska-Kearney, 31-12, Saturday in the dual season opener at Massari Arena.Â
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The Lopers (0-3) came into the bout with six of their 10 wrestlers ranked in the top six nationally, while the Pack (1-0) had just one wrestler in the top five. CSU-Pueblo was also putting four guys on the mat for the first time this season, as three of those athletes won.Â
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The ThunderWolves totaled three upset victories, while the 12 points by UNK was compiled from their other three ranked wrestlers.Â
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The first upset came at 149 whenÂ
Jasiah Williams (R-So., Portland, Ore.) earned a third period pin at 6:16 against No. 6 Jonathan Killingsworth. Williams was ahead in the bout 12-4 when he turned his opponent and picked up the fall in his first-career match with the ThunderWolves.Â
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The win handed the Pack a 15-4 lead thanks to and earlier fifth-rankedÂ
D'Andre Brumfield (R-Jr., Dallas, Texas) pin at 4:56 at 133 andÂ
PT Garcia (R-Sr., Denver, Colo.) earning a 5-3 decision win at 141. Brumfield led 14-5 before putting his opponent's shoulders on the mat, while Garcia never trail in his bout.
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The team score was 15-12 heading to the final four matches where the ThunderWolves would end up winning each weight class.Â
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Returning to the ThunderWolves after earning All-American honors in 2016,Â
Tarrence Williams (R-Sr., Portland, Ore.) gutted out an 8-7 decision at 174 against No. 5 Zach Stodden. Clearly fatigued, T. Williams, the older brother of Jasiah, was able to secure a late-period takedown to earn the victory in his first bout of the season.Â
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Next the Pack got a huge pin out ofÂ
Preston Lauterbach (R-Sr., Bellevue, Neb.), who also was wrestling in his first match of the year. Down 9-2 heading to the third period, he chose top and was able to quickly cradle his Loper opponent and earn the fall at 5:09.Â
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The two victories handed the home team a 24-12 lead with just two bouts left. Coming off a victory at the UNK Holiday Inn Open a month earlier,Â
Haszell West (R-Jr., Portland, Ore.) produced a methodical 11-3 major decision at 197. He had four takedowns with at least one in each period and totaled more than four minutes of ride time in the win.Â
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His victory pushed the team score to 28-12, which locked in the upset win for the ThunderWolves, but they weren't done yet.Â
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Gavin Nye (R-Fr., Gerber, Calif.) got in on the fun with an 11-6 upset of the No. 3 heavyweight in Division II, Jarrod Hinrichs. A takedown and four-point nearfall in the first period gave Nye the 6-0 lead, which he was able to use to lift him to the decision win.Â
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The ThunderWolves now hop on a plane to compete at the Las Vegas Desert Duals, Monday, Dec. 17. CSU-Pueblo will battle NCAA Division II nationally-ranked foes No. 6 Minnesota State University, Mankato and No. 8 University of Pittsburg-Johnstown and finish with Coe College, ranked No. 11 in NCAA Division III.Â
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As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, Colorado State University – Pueblo competes in 22 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics