GOLDEN, Colo. - Colorado School of Mines wrestling got its dual season off to a terrific start, upsetting #13 Fort Hays State 22-16 at Volk Gym.

The Orediggers (1-0) picked up bonus points in four bouts as they won five, beating the nationally-ranked Tigers for the second time in three years.

Zachary Gracia set the tone at 125 pounds with a dominating 17-2 technical fall over Conrad Cole, using four near-falls to end it late in the third, and Noah Au-Yeung shut out Dy'Juan Carney with a 12-0 major decision keyed by a nine-point second period.

Lukas Erickson faced his season opener at 141 pounds against #2 Brandon Ball but hung tough in a 9-0 major decision loss. Redshirt freshman Noah Ottum made his Mines debut a good one at 149, majoring Brody Lewis 8-0; Ottum got a takedown and a nearfall-four in the first to go up big and earn the major.

FHSU's Efe Osaghae earned a 3-2 decision over Ethan Ruby at 157 in a nailbiter, using a late takedown to overcome a 2-1 Ruby lead. At 165 pounds, Keenan Willits built up an 8-0 lead before beating Martin Verhaeghe 9-4.

Redshirt freshman TJ Shelton highlighted the meet with a fall in his Mines debut, sticking Dylan Wiesner on a takedown at 4:03. That virtually sealed it up for Mines despite FHSU taking the final three weight classes as the Orediggers kept the remaining bouts to decisions; Micah Felton beat Drew Hinkle 7-1, Rakim Dean won 8-4 over Anthony Spallino, and Ian Cheatum hung in with #7 Christian Lance in a 7-2 loss.

The Orediggers will wrestle at home against Friday, hosting Northwest Kansas Tech for a 6 p.m. start.
 

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Colorado School of Mines 22, #13 Fort Hays State 16 [Full Scoring]
125: Zachary Gracia (MINES) over Conrad Cole (FHSU) (TF 17-2 6:46)
133: Noah Au-Yeung (MINES) over Dy`Juan Carney (FHSU) (MD 12-0) 
141: #2 Brandon Ball (FHSU) over Lukas Erickson (MINES) (MD 9-0) 
149: Noah Ottum (MINES) over Brody Lewis (FHSU) (MD 8-0) 
157: Efe Osaghae (FHSU) over Ethan Ruby (MINES) (Dec 3-2) 
165: Keenan Willits (MINES) over Martin Verhaeghe (FHSU) (Dec 9-4) 
174: TJ Shelton (MINES) over Dylan Wiesner (FHSU) (Fall 4:03) 
184: Micah Felton (FHSU) over Drew Hinkle (MINES) (Dec 7-1) 
197: Rakim Dean (FHSU) over Anthony Spallino (MINES) (Dec 8-4) 
285: #7 Christian Lance (FHSU) over Ian Cheatum (MINES) (Dec 7-2)