Men's Wrestling Starts Season at Falcon Open; Mattern Wins Elite Bracket at 285
(Park City, KS) - The Hastings men’s wrestling team competed in their first event of the season at the Falcon Open in Park City, KS on Saturday. Sophomore Koen Mattern at 285 was the lone Hastings wrestler in the elite bracket competition and he went 5-0 to win the event.
(Park City, KS) - The Hastings men's wrestling team competed in their first event of the season at the Falcon Open in Park City, KS on Saturday. Sophomore Koen Mattern at 285 was the lone Hastings wrestler in the elite bracket competition and he went 5-0 to win the event.
Mattern started out with a pin less than two minutes into his match against St. Thomas. He led 10-5 over Avila in his next match when the competition was stopped due to injury. He won with a late pin in the quarterfinal over Newman, then after advancing to the final by medical forfeit, he won a 8-2 decision over Midland to win the title.
In the amateur bracket competition, sophomore Jordan Tobias lost his opening match at 157, but pinned his first two consolation opponents. He followed that up with two major decisions, a decision, and a medical forfeit to advance to the consolation semis, where he ended his day with a loss to Central Oklahoma.
Freshman Aidan Rodriguez at 125 began with a pin at the 2:27 mark over Avila and a 16-10 decision over Fort Hays Tech. He got pinned in the quarterfinal, then got a 16-3 major decision over Morningside and a pin over Wayland Baptist to move into the consolation semifinal, where he fell to Pratt Community College.
Sophomore Esteban Sedano won his first match at 174 by forfeit, then after a late loss by fall to Central Oklahoma, he responded by picking up a 17-7 major decision win and a pin less than a minute in during the consolation matches, before losing his third consolation match on a late pin.
Freshman Carter Horner began with a 6-4 decision win against Northeast Oklahoma. After a loss to Colby Community College, he won his first consolation match by pin at the 2:18 mark, then lost his next match. Sophomore Conall Liburdi lost by sudden victory in his first match at 184, then picked up a win by fall four minutes into his first consolation match, before losing his next match.
Up next, Hastings will travel to Atchison, KS on Friday, Nov. 7 for the Loosbrock Duals and to Mitchell, SD on Saturday, Nov. 8 for the DWU Open.
