Thunderbirds pin dual loss on Wayland Baptist

Winning four of the first five matches, and then the final two, the Cloud County Community College wrestling team pinned a 29-19 dual loss on Wayland Baptist University Thursday night in Bryant Gymnasium.
It was the first dual of the season for Cloud County, ranked eighth in the NJCAA.
Wayland Baptist, an NAIA school from Plainview, Texas, is now 2-2 in duals.
“We definitely had some guys step up tonight, and we won a lot of the close matches that took place in the dual,” Cloud County coach Cody Cole said.
Blayne Harris battled back from down 2-0 to defeat Wayland Baptist's Gabe Wray 4-2 in the 125-pound class.
Cloud County's Tristan Leiszler, 133 pounds, suffered an 8-6 loss in overtime to Adelfo Valdez.
The Thunderbirds would then win the next three matches to surge to a 17-3 lead in the dual.
Joel Ostrom needed just 22 seconds to pin Ernesto Martinez in the 141-pound class.
Tristan Hauck, 149 pounds, pinned Daniel Abeyta in 4:02.
Nate Nordmandin, 157 pounds, got an escape and a takedown in the third period to pull out an 11-10 decision over Brandon Chapin.
“The big turning point for us tonight was freshman Joel Ostrom picking up a big fall in 22 seconds, and our series with Ostrom at 141, Tristan Hauck at 149 and Nate Normandin at 157 really set the tone for us tonight as all three picked up wins,” Cole said.
Wayland Baptist would post three straight wins, and led the dual 19-17.
Cloud County's Brandon Rohr lost by fall to Kye Fehrenbacher in the 165-pound class.
Quetin Jiner, 174 pounds, lost by technical fall 26-10 to Matthew Alejandro.
Micah Sterling was beaten by technical fall, 21-2, by Hunter McCarty in the 184-pound class.
Consecutive pins to close out the dual gave Cloud County the victory.
Kevin Murry stuck Justin Vargas in just 22 seconds in the 197-pound class.
Carlos Sanchez, 285 pounds, needed just 1:25 to pin Edwin Benavides.
“Ending the dual with falls by Kevin Murry at 197 and Carlos Sanchez at 285 was big with both coming through when we needed points, and it ultimately led to our victory tonight,” Cole said.
The T-Birds will compete in the University of Nebraska-Kearney Younes Hospitality Open on Saturday.