Four different Cougars secured bout victories Saturday afternoon as the Barton Community College wrestling team returned to the mats for the first time in 14 days at the annual Bob Smith Open held at Gross Memorial Coliseum in Hays, KS.
With 21 teams in attendance and competing throughout the day, the 12-pack of Cougars would post a 6-24 record against wrestlers across the spectrum of NCAA Division I, II, the NAIA, and NJCAA.
Kayden Blake (149-pound weight class) and Deryk Yott (157-pound weight class) powered Barton's top performances winning two of their four matches in the tournament before bowing out.
Recording both victories virtue of pins, Blake jumpstarted his day fabricating the Cougars' first of three falls manufactured with a late 6:58 mat flattening of Schreiner University's Adam Lancaster. Dropping his second-round match after a 18-6 major decision to KJ Evans, the freshman managed to extended his tournament following a bye with his second pin of the day needing just 57-seconds over KJCCC foe Alec Schmuck of Colby Community College. Blake's day would conclude in the ensuing round suffering a 5-1 decision to Anthony Nichols of Colorado State University Pueblo.
Yott, Barton's other multi-victory entrant of the tournament opened his run dispensing an 8-0 major decision blanking to Tyson Vasquez of Trinidad State. Enduring a second round 6-0 result to Air Force Prep's Emanuel Ramos, Yott answered back handing out his second major decision win, this time over teammate Ethan Boles 17-4. The freshman's day would conclude in the third round of the consolation side dropping a 19-1 tech fall to Sebastian Freeman of Trinidad State.
Other victories on the day came from Stephan Baldwin (141-pound weight class) and Kaden Foster (165-pound weight class) as each fashioned a 1-2 afternoon. Baldwin's victory came in his opening match with a narrow 3-2 decision over Otero Junior College's Jordan Robb while Foster required just 34-seconds with a pin on Trinidad State's Emmanuel Norrell.
Barton will remain at home hosting the Cougar Open next Sunday December 10th at the Great Bend High School PAC with action slated to get underway at 9:00 a.m.