Adams State College Wrestling: Black comes from behind for 17-12 win

ALAMOSA, Colo.- A convincing shutout win by freshman Daniel Kelly (Parker, Colo.) in the second of two 149-pound matches triggered a run of four straight wins for the Black team as that squad went on to claim a 17-12 win over the Green squad in Adams State College’s annual intra-squad wrestling dual, Wednesday night in Plachy Hall.

Kelly’s 11-0 win over sophomore Jesse Long (Albuquerque, N.M.) cut what was a 12-4 deficit in half before Kyle Sand (Arvada, Colo.), Dominic DeMarco (Shingle Springs, Calif.) and Taylor Stam (Parker, Colo.) each claimed convincing wins, all with riding time advantages, later in the night as the Black team, guided by assistant coach Evan Copeland, came from as many as nine points behind to claim the victory.

The Green team, guided by assistant coach Jared Deaguero, got off to a great start as Dominic Madril (Westminster, Colo.) claimed an 8-5 win over Jeremy Robledo (Denver, Colo.) in the 125-pound match before reigning NCAA Division II National Champion Arsenia Barksdale (Norfolk, Va.), wrestling up a weight class at 133 pounds, pinned Grizzly newcomer Corey Johnson (Newcastle, Calif.) in the second period giving the Green team an early 9-0 lead. Barksdale, who will be gunning to become ASC’s first-ever 4-time NCAA Division II All-American and just the fifth overall in the program’s illustrious history, led Johnson 7-1 after the first period and was up 9-2 at the time of the fall with 27 seconds left in the second period.

The Black team, which won five of the eight matches overall, while out-pointing the Green 56-28, then got on the scoreboard at 141 pounds as sophomore Josh Hensley (Alamosa, Colo.) made his return to the mat with an 11-1 major decision win over redshirt freshman Bradley Spence (Moriarty, N.M.). Hensley, a national qualifier in 2008 who redshirted last season, led 7-1 through two periods and racked up 2 minutes, 29 seconds of riding time in the victory.

Still leading 9-4 at that point, the Green team then got a crucial win in the first of two 149-pound matches as 2-time All-American Joey Deaguero (Commerce, Colo.), part of an overall senior-laden Grizzly squad, came from behind to claim a 4-3 win over redshirt freshman Nick Jones (Arvada, Colo.), wrestling for the Black team.

Jones scored the first takedown of the night in the first period and held Deaguero at bay throughout the neutral-starting second period before an early third period escape by Deaguero tied the match at 2. Deaguero then scored his takedown before surrendering a meaningless escape late in the match while holding on to the win.

Kelly, a former 2-time state champion while at Ponderosa High School then smashed Long in the third period as the freshman scored five back points and nine overall in the final two minutes blowing open what was a tight 2-0 match through five minutes.

Still down 12-8 at that point, Sand then brought his Black squad even closer with a 10-3 decision over Torben Walters (Olney Springs, Colo.) in a battle of returning starters. Sand, the reigning NCAA Division II National Champion at 184 pounds, led 2-1 through one period and 5-1 through two before scoring two more takedowns in the third period in his victory over Walters, the Grizzlies’ starting 197-pounder a year ago. Walters, like Sand, a 4-time state champion while in high school, is expected to wrestle at 174 pounds this year.

DeMarco, who joins the Grizzly program after a stint at Marion (Ala.) Military Institute, where he was a National Collegiate Wrestling Association All-American last spring, then scored a 3-point near fall from after starting on top in the second period of his eventual 9-3 win over Grizzly freshman Rico Garcia (Canon City, Colo.). That victory gave the Black team its first lead of the night at 14-12 before redshirt freshman heavyweight Taylor Stam (Parker, Colo.) claimed a dual-clinching 5-0 win over the Green team’s Three Amigos.

Stam wrestled Chris Ellis (Fountain, Colo.), Tyler Haney (Beloit, Wisc.) and Tyler Yates (Pueblo West, Colo.) for one period each and scored a takedown on Ellis in the first and another on Haney in the second before Yates and Stam battled to a scoreless draw in the third. However, Stam had racked up more than a minute of riding time earning an extra point.

The Grizzlies, who come into the campaign, the 11th under head coach Jason Ramstetter, have been picked to win their first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference title since 1996 and are ranked fifth in the NCAA Division II National Wrestling Coaches Association Poll.

They begin their season Saturday at the University of Wyoming’s Cowboy Open. Action is slated to begin at 9 a.m. Fans can follow the progression of the tournament throughout the day on TrackWrestling.com.

Courtesy of Adams State Sports Information.

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