Dec. 4, 2014 - 7 p.m.                  
Warrensburg, Mo.
UCM Multipurpose Building
Game Notes

Central Missouri will look to pick up their first dual win of the season on Thursday with a home match against Central Baptist College. The Mustangs are 0-4 this season. The Mustangs will likely forfeit the 141 lbs., 149 lbs., 157 lbs., and 165 lbs. matches.

The Mules will compete at the Simpson Invitational in Indianola, Indiana this weekend, followed by the Midwest Classic in Indianapolis, Indiana the next weekend. After winter break Central Missouri will pick their season back up with the UCM Dual on Jan. 4. The duals will begin at 10 a.m., and be held in the UCM Multipurpose Building. 

Mules Picking It Up After Slow Start
Central Missouri had a strong class of returning members for the 2014-15 season, supplemented with a talented group of incoming wrestlers. Injures have prevented the Mules from reaching full potential, with several of their top wrestlers out, but the upcoming break should give the team time to recover for the second half of the season. 

The Mules opened the season with a dual against Baker in Holten, Kan. The Wildcats took the first match when Billy Leone (197) had a 14-6 major decision over Robert Schneider. Nicholas Lovejoy (197) bumped up to heavyweight and wrestled Beau Bennett of Baker, Bennett walked away with three points for the team, after a 7-4 decision. Alex Fortuna (125) had a last-minute takedown in his match against Malacai Collins to win 4-3. The Mules forfeited the 133 match, and Baker was up 13-3. Zadac Lankford (141) had his first collegiate win, with a 11-5 decision against Juan Rivera, followed by a 19-6 major decision win by Frank Cagnina (149) to pull the Mules within three of Baker. Logan Cairer  (157) allowed only two points in his match against Nick Haugen, but was unable to score, and fell 2-0. At 165, Josh Thomson tied the score at 16-16, pinning Connor Middleton in 6:45. Michael Boyd (174) then gave the Mules their first lead, with a 5-1 decision over Trevor Sutton. Unfortunately, the Mules fell just short of a win, when Archie Williams was pinned by Bryant Guillen in the last bout of the dual at 184. The final score of the dual was 22-19.

Central Missouri hosted the UCM Open on Nov. 16. The Mules had a strong showing at the tournament, but Cagnina was the only Mule to wrestle his way to a place finish. Cagnina had a pin and a major decision followed by back-to-back technical falls to advance to the finals where he faced No. 3 Keenan Hagerty (Maryville). His 34-match win streak was snapped with a three-point nearfall in the last seconds of the third period, Hagerty took the match 9-6. 

The following weekend, the Mules competed at the University of Nebraska-Kearney Open in Kearney, Neb. The Mules had six placewinners at the tournament. Lankford was first in the Amateur Division, while Schneider and Evan Young both finish fifth in the division. In the Elite Division, Collins was second, Thomson was third. Cagnina also competed in the Elite Division, but had a medical forfeit in the semifinal match, defaulting to sixth place. Lankford was also named the Amateur division Outstanding Wrestler, and Schneider tallied the most pins in the division. 

On his road to the a first place finish, Lankford had an three decision wins and a pin. He beat a fellow MIAA wrestler Will Stelzlen (Central Oklahoma) to advance to the finals. 

Collins did not allow a point in his first match of the tournament, and took his second match at 5-1 over Lawson Ludwin (Fort Hays State). Collins is 2-1 against Ludwin in his career. In the finals, Connor Bolling (Nebraska-Kearney) took the championship match with a 5-2 decision. 

Thomson had major decisions in this first two bouts. Thomson had his toughest opponent of the day in the third round, No. 1 Chris Watson (Central Oklahoma). Watson didn't allow a point, and won by major decision, 10-0. Thomson followed the loss with two pins, for a third place finish. 

Schneider dropped his first match, but followed-up with two pins. He had a decision win, and another win by fall before losing his second match of the tournament. Schneider finished the day with a the fastest pin of the season, at 0:41 against Zach Thomson. Schneider's four pins combined for a time of 8:17. 

Young won his first three matches of the day, but fell short on the back side of the bracket, dropping two matches in a row. His final opponent of the tournament medical forfeited the fifth place match. 

Opponent Preview
Central Baptist will bring Adam Nerverez (125), Peter Acuna (133), Aris Knight (174), Joel Deere (184), Gabriel Crumley (197), Kurland Parks (285) and Francisco Joseph (285) to compete against the Mules. Nerverez will face Collins, while Ryan Hodges will have his first match for the Mules against Acuna. Nerverez and Acuna are both without a win this season. At 174 lbs. the Mules will look to Michael Boyd to take on Knight,  the strongest member of the Mustang squad and the only wrestler on the team with a winning record (6-5). He recently took third place at the Southwest Open, with a pin at 5:25 and two decisions in the tournament. Next up at 184 lbs. Deere will make have his first match of the season against Grant Sparks, followed by Crumley taking on Schneider. Crumley is 1-5 this season, his only other dual start was against Lindenwood-Belleville. Finally, at heavyweight the Mustangs have two options to face Nicholas Lovejoy, either Parks or Jospeh. Parks is 3-6 this year, and Joseph is 3-4. Parks has had two dual starts for Central Baptist, but dropped both matches, while Joseph won his only dual match of the year.