Tiger wrestlers win again

Nevada Daily Mail

HARRISONVILLE, Mo. -- The Nevada Tigers won their third consecutive dual by beating Harrisonville Tuesday, 42-35.

The Tigers fell into a 29-0 hole, only to bounce back, getting pins from their final five wrestlers of the match to earn the victory.

Starting with the heavyweights, the Tigers struggled early.

Ethan Fast was pinned to give Harrisonville a 6-0 lead.

Then the Wildcat advantage in the lightweights became evident.

Chris Harris was pinned at 103 pounds, and Mason Heard lost a technical fall to returning state medalist Matt Canaday at 112 pounds as the Tigers fell behind 17-0.

At 119 pounds, Drew Shepherd was pinned and at 125 pounds, Wyatt Whitworth was pinned and the Wildcats were closing in on clinching the match with a 29-0 lead.

Colby Shepherd got Nevada on the board with a win by decision, and Nick Nelson followed suit at 130 and 135 pounds, respectively.

Matt Kennedy earned Nevada's first pin of the night at 140 pounds and the score was trimmed to 29-12.

When Josh Palmer was pinned at 145 pounds, the Tigers' backs were squarely against the wall.

"We knew we had to pin from 152 up and we couldn't lose another match," Nevada head coach Kevin Huck said.

The Tigers responded.

Cole Bond got things started at 152 pounds with a pin, and Keith Overton did the same at 160.

Spenser Daniels got a pin in the second period at 171, and Ryan Herda earned a pin at 189.

That gave Nevada a 36-35 lead in the team standings, meaning Jerrod Alexander would have to again beat a wrestler carrying 20 more pounds than he at 215.

Alexander did better than that, earning a pin to clinch the victory as the final wrestler of the night.

"We knew when they started at that weight we would have to crawl out of a hole, which we did," Huck said of the match starting at the heavyweight division.

Huck talked about the first and last pins of the match-clinching streak.

"Bond continues to be consistent for us," he said. "Alexander's guy, he was every bit 215. Jerrod just wore him out."

While Nevada struggled to keep up with Harrisonville in the lightweight divisions, Huck said it wasn't for lack of effort.

"Our lightweight kids fought really hard," he said. "They tried to stay off their backs. Harrisonville is just really good."

The win improved Nevada's dual record to 4-2 this season. They get back into Southwest Conference action Thursday when they visit Carthage. Nevada is currently 1-1 in the conference and they need a win Thursday to stay in the race for the title.