LEBANON, Tenn. – Michael Gonzalez and Jacob Shirley each won their respective weight classes, Jake Williams finished second and Aric Fernandez and Tyler Smith both placed fourth, leading the Cumberland wrestlers on Saturday at the Mustang Open in Conway, Ark.
Gonzalez won all four of his matches at 157, starting with a 4-2 Decision over Oklahoma’s Tim Hamilton before pinning Bacone College’s James Cox. In the semifinals he defeated Bacone’s 16th-ranked Arnol Arroliga with a 10-6 Decision, Gonzalez’s second victory over Arroliga in three weeks, and won by Fall at 4:06 in the finals against Missouri Valley College’s Nico Martinez.
Shirley posted three victories en route to a title at 165, beginning with an 11-6 Decision against Oklahoma’s Garrison McCauley. He won a 12-4 Major Decision over Central Baptist College’s Joseph Goolsby in the semifinals before registering a 4-2 Decision versus Baker University’s Brandon Scott in the finals.
Williams won his first match at 133 by Fall at 3:45 over Texas State’s Corey Ticknor before pinning Baker’s Paxton Fowler and posting another win by Fall at 7:40 against Oklahoma’s Josh Durham. In the finals he dropped a 5-2 Decision versus Oklahoma’s Dalton Dennis.
Fernandez won his first two outings at 197, pinning Wentworth Military Academy’s Trevor Phillips at 1:45 and posting a 9-3 Decision over Central Baptist’s Trevor Phillips before dropping a 9-3 Decision to Missouri Valley’s Carl Lawrence. In the wrestleback Fernandez recorded a 4-1 Decision against Baker’s Rick Singer but was pinned in the third-place match at 2:42 by Bacone’s Gersoh Nkanku.
Smith posted three straight wins in the heavyweight class, starting with a 14-5 Major Decision against Texas State’s Adam Traxler, then pinning Wentworth Military’s Jamarcus Maccardell at 1:25 and winning a 5-3 Decision versus Baker’s Austin Hamm. In the semifinals he lost at Fall at 1:05 against Oklahoma’s Ross Larson. In the wrestleback Smith defeated Baker’s Beau Bennett with a 3-1 Decision before dropping an 8-3 Decision to Hamm in the third-place match.
Cumberland wrestles at St. Andrews College in Laurinburg, N.C., on Thursday and will take part in the Newberry Open this Saturday in Newberry, S.C.
