Neosho County Community College Wrestling Release
Released by Aaron Sweazy
Assistant Wrestling Coach

Jan. 31, 2009

Neosho wrestling traveled to St. Louis, Mo to end out the month of January by competing in the two day Meramec Duals. The first day of competition got underway with the Panthers taking on the host school and 3rd ranked Meramec Magic. 125 looked like it would be a good match on paper with NCCC's 3rd ranked Alex Gorton taking on 2nd ranked Lilashawn Coleman, however Coleman was not in the lineup for the duals and T.T. Prayther stepped in. Prayther hoping to seize an opportunity quickly scored 2 on Gorton, only for Gorton to strike back quickly with an escape, takedown and fall in a short time following. Rory Kendall added a win by 10-7 decision at 133 to build up momentum and give the Panthers an early 9-0 lead, however the tide soon turned and the Magic won 5 consecutive matches with back to back falls at 141 (against the defending national champ) and 149, before Zac Taylor narrowly lost a 5-7 decision at 157. Aaron Butler at 165 gave up a major decision of 15-6 to returning All-American Donald Woods, before Matt McNabb at 174 trailing 12-3 late in the match scored 6 points and nearly a pinfall, but wound up losing 13-9. Panthers got back on track at 184 with a Derek Heckel hammering of Chauncy Smith by a 22-5 technical fall, Heckel scored 12 points alone in the 1st period, and had 12 points of nearfall in the match which was stopped early in the 2nd period. Down 22-14, the Panthers would then end the first dual with back to back losses with Jeff Kirwan losing 3-8 against 3rd ranked Travis Pettengil, an Kris Powell losing by fall to Kendall May.

Meramec 31 Neosho 14
125 Gorton (N) wbf Prayther
133 Kendall (N) dec Chiles 10-7
141 Senzee (M) wbf Carson
149 McCray (M) wbf Van Lue
157 Almanza (M) dec Taylor 7-5
165 Woods (M) mdec Butler 15-6
174 N. Smith (M) dec McNabb 13-9
184 Heckel (N) tech fall C. Smith (M)
197 Pettengill (M) dec Kirwan 8-3
285 May (M) wbf Powell

Next up for Neosho was Lindenwood JV. This team was anything but your run of the mill back ups, consisting of former and even some current national qualifiers, Lindenwood which is currently the top ranked team in the nation in NAIA, fielded a team that was full of state champions and top of the line kids. Depth in the Lindenwood room is about 5 deep or more in some weights, and guys that would start at most any other program found themselves looking to make a statement against teams at the Meramec duals. Neosho got off to a slow start losing an 11-4 decision at 125. Rory Kendall who has been on a solid streak as of late was then caught off guard and gave up 13 points in the 1st period before rallying back with 7 of his own down the stretch only to face an 18-9 deficit at the final whistle. Zach Shannon in at 141 was blanked in a 16-0 route, before Caleb Van Lue had his shot countered and found himself looking up to the lights and surrendered the fall in the opening minute of the match. Down 18-0 at this point Zac Taylor stepped up and used his superior skills on top to wear down his opposition and pull off a 9-2 win. But that would be all the wins Neosho would see for the rest of day one of the Meramec duals, as Lindenwood stormed back and won 4 of the last 5 matches by bonus points, including 3 by fall, with Neosho's Jeff Kirwan being the lone decision loss in a 7-2 final.

Lindenwood JV 43 Neosho 3
125 Morreale (LJV) dec Bates 11-4
133 Lloyd (LJV) mdec Kendall 18-9
141 Fiorito (LJV) tech fall Shannon 16-0
149 Neitenbach (LJV) wbf Van Lue
157 Taylor (N) dec Gant 9-2
165 Cox (LJV) wbf Butler
174 Hauk (LJV) wbf McNabb
184 D. Chionuma (LJV) mdec Heckel 15-6
197 Daniels (LJV) dec Kirwan 7-2
285 (LJV) wbf Powell

After a dismal first day showing the Panthers didn't have much time to sit and lick their wounds, because first up on day two of competition was the 5th ranked NJCAA Iowa Lakes team. Alex Gorton would butt heads with Brian Moreno in a battle of national champion contenders. The 1st period would be scoreless, before Moreno scored an escape early in the 2nd. Now in the neutral position each wrestler was timid to try anything and sat back not really attacking, and thus a double stall call was issued by the official. The 5th ranked Moreno and Gorton picked up the pace and Gorton wound up on the end of a bad scramble and was facing a 3-0 deficit going into the 3rd. Choosing the bottom position, Gorton tried to escape, but Moreno was able to counter and follow Gorton with every granby and stand up attempt, and in the process not only shut out Gorton, but rack up several minutes of riding time in the process in a 4-0 decision. Rory Kendall was up next against 3rd ranked Tim Thurston. Thurston struck immediately with a 4 point move by taking Kendall down and exposing his back long enough to secure 2 more points on a nearfall. Kendall with a since of urgency got back to his base, escaped and soon had a takedown of his own to end the 1st period trailing 4-3. Thurston chose down hoping to add on more, but the only thing that was added on was riding time in advantage of Kendall who for the full 2 minute period kept Thurston down with his punishing work from the top. Kendall took down and escaped to tie it up 4-4 in the 3rd. Thurston then got another takedown to go up by 2, Kendall moved as fast as he could to try to escape and Thurston was soon called for stalling on top. After a reset, Kendall again became frantic and tried to score, Thurston not wanting to give up another stall call and sensing Kendall's momentum gave up an illegal hold point and now was only up 6-5. Kedall escaped and made it 6-6 with riding time now being out of the equation, we would go into overtime. Kendall quickly shot in…Thurston tried to counter, and as Kendall went to elevate his opponent the whistle blew, the ref signaled an illegal head scissor by Thurston and awarded the 1 pt and thus the match to Kendall 7-6. That see-saw battle was just what the Panther team needed as Montana Carson then came out like a fireball and racked up 6 points in a ferocious onslaught in the first period. In the 2nd period his opponent used his expertise in the top position to slow things down and get 3 points on a nearfall. Heading into the 3rd it was anybody's match, however Carson reemerged and through 7 more points up on the board and won it going away 13-7.
149 the Lakers were unable to put anybody in the lineup on day 2, so Zach Shannon bumped up and took a forfeit win for the Panthers. Zac Taylor then stepped up and took on 7th ranked Karon Reid. The athletic Reid used his quick feet to rack up 8 takedowns, with 4 coming in the 3rd period to win 17-7. 165 Iowa Lakes lineup woes continued with another forfeit, thus giving Neosho an 18-7 lead with 4 matches to go. Matt McNabb stepped up at 174 and was quickly stepping off as his opponent was able to catch Matt off guard and secure a 1st period fall. Derek Heckel then came up for Neosho and helped slow down the pace for the moment by earning an 8-3 victory with 4 big points plus riding time all being secured in the 3rd in a very tight match. Jeff Kirwan lost 4-0 against a wrestler he had previously beaten in 7th ranked Richard Kokesh. Now only up by 5, a big task was at hand for heavyweight for Neosho. Normally Kris Powell would be in as the starter but before the day had begun it was agreed that backup Nathan Brown would get his opportunity. Brown came into this match with a lot not favoring him to get the win, one of those things being 0-9 and having giving up 6 first period falls on the year, that and he would be up against 4th ranked Josh Marsh. Brown while not the most talented kid on the team did know his importance and went to the mat with a heart of lion. Marsh attacked furiously and had 2 takedowns and nearly the fall when the whistle blew to end the 1st period. Up 6-1 Marsh looked to end things and chose down and poured on more offense with an escape and 2 more takedowns and a 3 nearfall before once again the whistle blew and Brown was safe heading into the 3rd. Down 14-2 Marsh let Brown go and took him down and quickly played a catch and release game, each time trying to catch Brown off guard and send the big guy to his back. However up by an 18-5 margin Marsh's last takedown attempt would catch Brown just right, but Brown quickly fought and bellied out and lost 20-5 and would lose by a technical fall giving Iowa lakes 5 points. The match being held in a dual meet competition would go to a tiebreak as it was now notched up 21-21. Tiebreak criteria 1 was looked at being most matches won…well each team had 5 of those, so we quickly went to tiebreak criteria 2, and although Neosho gave up the only fall of the dual at 174, fielding a full roster paid off with Iowa Lake's open weights at 149 and 165, Neosho was awarded a team point for most 6 point team victories and thus the dual win, which snapped a 4 match losing streak for the Panthers.
Neosho County Community College - 22
Iowa Lakes Community College - 21

125 Moreno (Iowa Lakes Community College) DEC Gorton (Neosho County Community College) 4 - 0
133 Kendall (Neosho County Community College) DEC Thurston (Iowa Lakes Community College) 7 - 6
141 Carson (Neosho County Community College) DEC Brardesco(Iowa Lakes Community College) 13 - 7
149 Shannon (Neosho County Community College) For Forfeit (Iowa Lakes Community College)
157 Reid (Iowa Lakes Community College) MD Taylor (Neosho County Community College) 17 - 7
165 David Butler (Neosho County Community College) For Forfeit (Iowa Lakes Community College)
174 Stander (Iowa Lakes Community College) FALL McNabb (Neosho County Community College) :55
184 Derek Heckel (Neosho County Community College) DEC Funk (Iowa Lakes Community College) 8 - 3
197 Kokesh (Iowa Lakes Community College) DEC Kirwan (Neosho County Community College) 4 - 0
285 Marsh (Iowa Lakes Community College) TF Brown (Neosho County Community College) 20 - 5

With day 1 off to a good start, momentum would start falling into the hands of Neosho. Now up on the menu was Rochester who entered the dual matchup as the 3rd ranked NJCAA (non scholarship division) team in the nation. Alex Gorton had little trouble in a 14-1 hammering of his opponent before Rory Kendall accepted a forfeit at 133. This lead to Cody Eaton making his debut at 141 for the season. Eaton who had found great success at 149, bumped down a weight class when Rory Kendall dropped down as well to fill a void left by Stephen Kendrick who was injured at the National Duals. Eaton started off rough though and was taken down and turned and was in a 5-0 rut, before collecting a reversal. With the reversal Eaton went to work and battered his opponent and took him to his back screaming in pain a short time later, the official stopped the match and gave a rare 4 point nearfall to Eaton. Eaton took advantage of his opponent and kept the pressure coming and hammered him into near submission before turning him and pinning his foe shortly into the 2nd period. Montana Carson took a forfeit victory at 149, and then Zac Taylor went back to work for the Panthers. Taylor's opponent Dan Copp a National Qualifier a year ago for Rochester scored quick on a 2, but was outworked in the 1st and trailed 7-2. After the 2nd Taylor's lead had increased to 13-4, but then the 3rd period Copp went to work. Catching and releasing Taylor at will Cop scored 2 takedowns in a short amount of time before letting Taylor up once more, this time however Taylor would get a takedown off a scramble situation and not only get the 2 points, but catch Copp flat and secure the pin putting the Panther team up 28-0. Rochester knew they would have to have some big wins down the stretch and luckily for them their triple threat was coming up with Evjen, Hackbarth, and Clark all ranked at 165, 174 and 184 respectively. Luke Evjen ranked 8th in NJCAA had enough gas in the tank to pull off a 9-1 major decision with the difference being riding time for the bonus win. Next up 2nd ranked and returning All-American Ethan Hackbarth picked up a fall against Matt McNabb. 7th ranked Devin Clark was up now at 184 taking on Panther's Derek Heckel. Heckel and Clark had a low scoring affair, but in the end an escape point and riding time made the difference as Clark pulled off a 6-4 decision. Riding momentum of his fellow teammates, Rochester's Parker Brand thumped Jeff Kirwan to a 10 -1 major. With a 4 match losing streak going in the dual, Neosho needed something big, and they don't get much bigger than the guys at 285 lbs! Kris Powell who has been down on his luck as of late came in with an intense since of needing a big win, and give the Panthers momentum for their final dual of the day, and he did just that, in almost lightweight fashion the big 250 pounder from Inola, Oklahoma scored on takedowns in the first period and then was awarded a point for an illegal headlock by Rochester. A pair of reversals were exchanged in the 2nd and then in the 3rd another takedown, this time straight to his opponent's back resulted in the fall, and a good step moving forward for the last dual of the day.

Neosho County Community College - 34
Rochester Community & Tech. College - 17

125 Alex Gorton (Neosho County Community College) MD Anderson, Dan (Rochester Community & Tech. Co) 14 - 1
133 Rory Kendall (Neosho County Community College) For Select or Enter Name (Rochester Community & Tech. Co)
141 Cody Eaton (Neosho County Community College) FALL Mehling, Jade (Rochester Community & Tech. Co)
149 Montana Carson (Neosho County Community College) For Select or Enter Name (Rochester Community & Tech. Co)
157 Zach Taylor (Neosho County Community College) FALL Copp, Dan (Rochester Community & Tech. Co)
165 Evjen, Luke (Rochester Community & Tech. Co) MD David Butler (Neosho County Community College) 9 - 1
174 Hackbarth, Ethan (Rochester Community & Tech. Co) FALL Matt McNabb (Neosho County Community College)
184 Clark, Devin (Rochester Community & Tech. Co) DEC Derek Heckel (Neosho County Community College) 6 - 4
197 Brand, Parker (Rochester Community & Tech. Co) MD Jeff Kirwan (Neosho County Community College) 10 - 1
285 Kris Powell (Neosho County Community College) FALL Pollock, Samuel (Rochester Community & Tech. Co)

Neosho was now 2-2 on the weekend and needed just one more win to give them a perfect 3 for 3 showing on Saturday. Last up for Neosho would be Rend Lake, a team that Neosho had beaten twice last year. Coming into the duals Rend Lake was giving up 4 weights due to forfeit, however a wrestler at 157 failed to make weight and thus Neosho would be spotted 30 points to begin the dual. 125, 141, 157, 184, and 197 weights all picked up an easy 6 for the Panthers with the open spots. Rory Kendall had 7th ranked Eric Ellington to start the dual. Ellington nabbed a takedown and Kendall escaped all in the 1st period. Into the 2nd period Kendall was riding tough but gave up an escape…trying to get a takedown back Kendall shot in and Ellington countered with an illegal hold giving Kendall a point and trailing by a point. Kendall quickly escaped and we had a tied match in the 3rd. With time winding down, Kendall and Ellington countered each other until Kendall was able to get a single leg shot. As he elevated it, Ellington tried to fight not to be taken down, but Kendall quickly bailed to his back and hip heisted at the right moment and caught Ellington for a 2 point takedown and fighting off his back. With 5 seconds left the clock was winding down, 4…3…2…and then it happened, Kendall with 1 second left on the clock recorded a pinfall and his 2nd victory over a ranked foe on the weekend. Zach Shannon came in at 149 bumping up for some mat time and struggled against a much larger foe but only gave up a 9-3 decision. At 157, an exhibition match was wrestled since Rend Lake's wrestler couldn't make weight, Neosho was awarded 6 in the dual points, but would go ahead and wrestle anyway for much needed mat time. Zac Taylor would take on Adam Bowling who in early January had been ranked 8th at 157, and was trying to make it back down to that weight after being at 165 for most of the month. Taylor let up the first takedown but scored on an illegal hold by Bowling to trail 2-1. In the 2nd Taylor escaped and got a takedown of his own and went to work. Punishing Bowling from top, Taylor quickly turned his foe and had a stunning fall at the 4:35 mark for a solid ending to a pretty tough weekend. Moving ahead to 165 Aaron Butler would have to take on another National qualifier in James Perez. Perez who was ranked as high as 6th on the year took control early and kept the points coming as he racked up 18 points and was able to end the match early by an 18-3 tech fall early in the 3rd. Matt McNabb came to the mats hoping to finally pick up a win. Heading into a 3rd period McNabb lead 5-4, McNabb would score on an escape and a stall call to extend to a 6-4 margin on the scoreboard, but in the last minute of the match his opponent would take him down, and release him and take him down again just before the buzzer. With 3 seconds left on the clock it appeared McNabb had lost, but then the coaching staff of Neosho realized something was missing. The missing link was the point that was never rewarded for an earlier escape which meant we were tied up! 8-8 with 3 seconds to go Rend Lake tried for a big move but couldn't turn McNabb and having used up riding time throughout the 1st and 2nd periods Neosho was awarded a point in the match and a decision victory of 9-8. Following 2 consecutive forfeits at 184 and 197, Nathan Brown came up to the mat again only to face defeat by fall to Matt McLaughlin who previously has been as high as 2nd in the nation in the NJCAA Rankings. Neosho finished day 2 of the Meramec Duals 3-0.
Neosho County Community College - 39
Rend Lake College - 14

Individual Matches
Wt Winning Wrestler (School) WinType Losing Wrestler (School) Score
125 Alex Gorton (Neosho County Community College) For Forfeit (Rend Lake College)
133 Rory Kendall (Neosho County Community College) FALL Ellington, Eric (Rend Lake College) 6:59
141 Cody Eaton (Neosho County Community College) For Forfeit (Rend Lake College)
149 Fuller, John (Rend Lake College) DEC Zach Shannon (Neosho County Community College) 9 - 3
157 Zach Taylor (Neosho County Community College) FALL Bowling, Adam (Rend Lake College) exhibition
165 James, Perez (Rend Lake College) TF David Butler (Neosho County Community College) 18 - 3 ()
174 Matt McNabb (Neosho County Community College) DEC Williams JR, Tony (Rend Lake College) 9 - 8
184 Derek Heckel (Neosho County Community College) For Forfeit (Rend Lake College)
197 Jeff Kirwan (Neosho County Community College) For Forfeit (Rend Lake College)
285 McLaughlin, Matthew (Rend Lake College) FALL Nathan Brown (Neosho County Community College) 0:11

Coach Petterson's thoughts on the weekend: Overall we competed much better this weekend. We were a little flat on Friday evening after the drive to St. Louis, but responded well on Saturday. Rory Kendall had a day on Saturday. By far the toughest weight there, Rory knocked off the 2 top contenders for the NJCAA. Funny thing is he has been knocking off ranked guys all along and they still won't rank him. I don't know if we want him ranked now. Alex Gorton looked good during the 2 days even though he did lose to what should be the top ranked guy at 125 in a close match. Gorton is a contender for the championship along with Kendall. Derek Heckel had his best weekend this semester. His record might not show that, but he wrestled 4 hard matches tuff all the way through. Even in defeat he kept after it and that is what he needed to show himself and the team. Zac Taylor showed signs of his potential with a great win over the nationally recognized Rend Lake kid. However, he has to become more consistent down the stretch here. All of our guys got in the lineup one way or another. Cody Eaton is down to 141 now and we look for that to help. Montana Carson, Matt McNabb, and Kris Powell came up with some big wins that they needed to support their hard work. We are still gearing everything towards the West/Central Region tournament on February 14.
The Panthers are next in action for a home dual against Oklahoma City University on February 4th at home 7pm, before heading down to Parsons for the National Qualifying West/Central Regional on February 14th at Labette Community College for an all day event.