Last Thursday the PCC Wrestling Team opened their season with a dual against NCAA Division II Newman University in Wichita. Pratt made an impressive come back in the late weights, but fell short 25-21. On Saturday, Pratt traveled to Warrensburg, MO, for their first tournament of the year, where they demonstrated their ability to go up against ranked national talent.
Against Newman, Pratt suffered a defeat by fall in the opening 125 lbs. That spotted Newman a 6-0 advantage, which they extended to 15-0 with decisions in the next three matches. The Beavers came back though with Kieran Schmult of Tuttle, OK, picking up a fall. Newman returned with a fall of their own at 174 and a decision at 184, extending their lead to 25-9, which clinched the victory. However, Pratt was not about to concede, as national qualifier Carl Wilkinson of Duncan, OK, picked up another fall at 2:29 in the first period. Not to be outdone, Wichita native Matt Mock was also able to lift his opponent in the air while on a single leg and take him to his back to record a fall in 2:47 of the first period. That was a heavyweight who weighed 260-270 lbs.
On Saturday, in Warrensburg, Pratt traveled with only 11 guys to their first tournament of the year. Carl Wilkinson was again one of the top performers going 3-2 on the weekend at 197. Carl fell one match short of placement losing his final match to the starter from the University of Stanford in overtime. Wilkinson was also able to record wins over a wrestler from Oklahoma University and had a win over the starter from the University of Central Oklahoma. UCO is the #1 ranked team in the country in D-II NCAA. Other top performers were Zach Hentzen 2-2 at 149, and Lorenzo Mundy 2-2 at 149
Pratt CC will dual #2 nationally ranked Labette CC at Denise Lesh Sports Arena this Wednesday at 7:00 pm. The Beavers are currently ranked 11th in the nation.
