Central Missouri Mules vs. No. 15 Fort Hays State Tigers
Feb. 4, 2015
7:00 p.m. - Warrensburg, Mo.
Game Notes | Video

The Mules will host No. 15 Fort Hays State on Wednesday evening. Central Missouri will also honor their senior wrestlers before the dual. The series between Fort Hays State and Central Missouri is tied at 25-25-1. The Tigers took their last meeting (23-15). Malacai Collins, Frank Cagnina, and Ty Loethen each had a decision, before Todd Brier earned the final points for the Mules with a pin. 

Fort Hays State beat Central Oklahoma to open their dual season (29-16), followed by another win against Colorado Mines (31-15). Lindenwood handed the Tigers their first loss of the season, taking the dual by one point at 17-16. 

At the National Duals, the Tigers went 1-2, beating Alderson Broaddus (42-3), but falling to St. Cloud State (25-13) and McKendree (30-10). 

Fort Hays State then competed at another dual tournament, the UNK Midwest Dual. They fell to Western State (25-12) and California Baptist (26-13), and beat New Mexico Highlands (34-7) and Chadron State (26-18). 

Last week, the Tiger beat Newman (41-8), before dropping a conference match to Nebraska-Kearney (21-14). 

No. 9 Lindenwood Downs Mules
Central Missouri has had a tough dual season, competing without a full line-up, forcing the team to forfeit at least a weight class in every dual. Last week the Mules were beat by No. 9 Lindenwood at home, 43-9, giving up 18 points to start with open bouts. Evan Young (157) and Archie Williams (174) were again the only Mules to score in the meet. The pair have been the most solid competitors for the Mules since the National Duals in the beginning of January. Young picked up six points with a pin at 4:28 against Colton Orlando, before Williams had a 15-8 decision over Morgan Fitzgerald. 

Several Mules also competed at the Missouri Valley College Open on Saturday, Grant Sparks (184) was the only placewinner at the tournament. He had a pin at 3:57 over Leo Jugeson (Benedictine) in his first round, and then beat Robert McCormick (Cumberlands) with a 18-2 technical fall. In the championship semifinals, Tyler Dibert (Williams Baptist) bumped Sparks to the consolation bracket, with a 10-2 major decision. Sparks dropped a second match, at 6-4, against Brocky Leidecker (Cumberlands), before beating Ci'Vaughn Green (St. Catharine) with a 6-5 decision in the fifth place match. 

Central Missouri in the Rankings
Central Missouri had two ranked wrestlers in the latest Division II Wrestling Coaches Association Poll released Wednesday. Frank Cagnina (149) kept his No. 2 ranking, while Justin Forrest (133) was No. 7. Central Missouri also received votes as a team, but did not make the top 20 teams.

Maryville holds the No. 1 spot as a team, with St. Cloud State up from No. 4 to No. 2. Notre Dame was down one spot to No. 3, while Ouachita Baptist was up five, from No. 9 to No. 4. Western State rounds out the top five, up six spots from the previous poll.

Super Region three has seven nationally ranked squads, with 36 individually ranked wrestlers. The MIAA has four of six teams ranked in the poll. Nebraska-Kearney was No. 6 and Lindenwood was No. 9. Central Oklahoma came in at No. 12, while Fort Hays State was No. 15.

Central Missouri Seniors
Central Missouri will be celebrating seniors Frank Cagnina, Chris Harris, Stephen Kirkbride, Zeb Spicer, and Ali Zantout, and their final season with the Mules, before their dual against Fort Hays State on Wednesday. Head coach, Justin Ensign commented that the team will not be the same without the leadership and work ethic brought by the senior members of the team. 

Kirkbride is in his first season with Central Missouri, competing at the Roger Denker Open. Ensign said, "Stephen is a good student, he's a hard worker, and he brings a good energy to the team. He's a good teammate."

Zantout is also in his first season with the Mules. "He works hard every day, and tries his hardest every match. He is a good student, and with his work ethic, he will definitely be successful in the future. When he puts his mind to something, he'll try his best to achieve it," said Ensign. Zantout competed at the UCM Open, the UNK Open, the Simpson Invitational, and the Roger Denker Open. He also was a starter for the Mules in four duals this season, with a win against Central Baptist College. 

Harris was a member of the 2009-10 wrestling team, and rejoined the team last season. Harris competed at the UCM Open this year. 
"Chris is a good athlete and a hard worker. He's a great guy to have in the program, because he does what he is told, and tries his hardest. He always brings a good attitude to practice. He has been resilient and has grown as a student-athlete in his collegiate career."

Spicer also has a long history with the Central Missouri wrestling program. He redshirted his first season with the Mules, in 2010-11, and posted a winning record on 11-9 the following year. After suffering a season ending injury during the 2012-13 season, Spicer was 7-12 record last season, all seven wins were by fall. He is now 22-28 in his career, 14 of his 22 career wins have been pins. Spicer has been a member of Ensign's team from the beginning, "Zeb was one of my first recruits. He has really given a lot of blood, sweat and tears to this program, battling through injuries, but he has proven that he is a good college wrestler. He's a leader, even when he isn't on the mat, he's still here, pulling for his team. Zeb is exactly the type of kid that I love to have, and is one of my favorite kids that I have ever coached." After graduation, Spicer will work as a swine production manager at Murphy Family Ventures. 

Cagnina came to the Mules after spending a season at Lehigh and Iowa Central. He is 54-3 in a Central Missouri singlet. Last season Cagnina broke the single-season record for major decisions (13), and had the third best winning percentage with a 39-2 record. He was also second in team points scored (160). Aside from winning a national title last season, he also was first at the regional and conference tournament. "Frank has come a long way in both wrestling and his academics. He has shown that when he puts his mind to something, he can do it. It has been great to have him on the team, not just for the wins, but also because of the way he prepares for matches and how hard he works. It's refreshing. He's done a lot for our program, proving that this is a good place to come to school, and win a national title." Ensign said of Cagnina. 

Probable Line-Ups/Opponent Preview
Central Missouri Mules (4-11, 0-3 MIAA)
Wt.    Name (Yr., Hometown, Record)
125      Malacai Collins (So., Warrensburg, Mo., 13-8)
133    OPEN
141    OPEN
149    No. 2 Frank Cagnina (Sr., Hillsdale, N.J., 15-1)
149    Ali Zantout (Fr., Kansas City, Mo., 1-11)
157    Evan Young (R-Fr., Odessa, Mo., 12-7)
165    Zeb Spicer (Sr., Ozark, Mo., 4-7)
165    Josh Thomson (So., Peculiar, Mo., 19-9)
174    Archie Williams (Jr., Champaign, Ill., 14-9)
184    Mike Boyd (Jr., Odessa, Mo., 11-12)
184    Grant Sparks (R-Fr., Olathe, Kan., 9-15)
197    Nick Lovejoy (So., Oronogo, Mo., 10-13)
197    Robert Schneider (Fr., Wentzville, Mo., 11-14)
285    Jacob Clark (So., Independence, Mo., 0-0)
285    De'Quence Goodman (Jr., Chicago, Ill., 5-3)

No. 15 Fort Hays State (6-6, 2-2 MIAA)
Wt.    Name (Yr., Hometown, Record)
125     Adam Ludwin (Jr., Yuma, Ariz., 22-13)
133     Anthony Calderon (So., Garden City, Kan., 15-12)
141    Noah Killip (Jr., Azle, Texas, 13-2) 
149     Joey Dozier (Jr., Garden City, Kan., 1-2)
149    Jacob Kay (R-Fr., Evergreen, Colo., 9-6)
157    Bradley Little (Jr., Wichita, Kan., 12-8)
165    Kregg Clarke (So., Lyons, Kan., 7-8)
174    No. 8 Josh Rodriguez (Sr., Ulysses, Kan., 6-5)
184     No. 7 Jon Inman (So., Branson, Mo., 21-3)
197    Cash Drylie (Jr., Hays, Kan., 10-8)
285    No. 5 Jack Page (Sr., Wichita, Kan., 23-1)

The Tigers have two national qualifiers returning from last season, No. 8 Josh Rodriguez and No. 7 Jon Inman. Inman was also the MIAA Freshman of the Year last season. Inman was first at the Bethany Swede Open and the Northern Colorado Open, while he was the runner-up at the UNK Open and the FHSU Open. In dual matches, Inman has eight wins in duals, with bonus points in five bouts. His only losses this season were to No. 5 Kyle Piatt (Western) and No. 8 Jon Vogt (McKendree).

Rodriguez also has eight dual wins, with an overall record at 6-5. His only place finish was at the UNK Open, where he took sixth. Rodriguez is 1-1 against Central Missouri, with a major decision against Josh Thomson last season, but a decision loss to Ty Loethen. 

No. 5 Jack Page has the best record on the Tiger squad, his only loss was to Brian Macchione (Northern Colorado) at the Northern Colorado Open. Page was first at the Bethany Swede Open, the UNK Open, and the FHSU Open. He is undeafeated in duals, and has had bonus points in five of 12 matches. Page is undefeated against Central Missouri wrestlers.

Adam Ludwin was beaten by Malacai Collins in the semifinals of the UNK Open. He is 2-2 against Collins in his career. Ludwin was first at the Bethany Swede Open, fourth at the UNK Open, and second at the FHSU Open. He has four dual wins this year.

Noah Killip and Joey Dozier were both beat by Frank Cagnina last season. Cagnina had a decision against Killip in a dual, before earning a major decision at the regional tournament. Dozier was pinned by Cagnina, at the UNK Open, in 3:46. Killip took first at the Bethany Swede Open and the Northen Colorado Open, while Dozier was without a place finish at tournaments. 

Inman and Killip have both been named MIAA Wrestler of the Week once this season. Killip also earned D2Wrestle.com National Wrestler of the Week.