The 10^th ranked Neosho County Panthers wrestled their third duel in a row against a ranked opponent Wednesday (Dec. 5) evening and improved to 3-0 in that stretch. This time it was the 18^th ranked Beavers of Pratt Community College. The Panthers scratched out a 21-20 after being awarded a point at the end on a night that saw a different lineup due to injuries and illness.
 
“We fought hard against Pratt knowing we were without three of our starters,” said Coach Petterson. “We knew things would be tight, but the real difference was Adam Wakefield getting a win at 285, Ty Swartz fighting to only give up a four point major decision, and Chad Wampler only giving up a Major decision to the defending National Champion. The technical fall from Le'Roy was important, but it was the effort of those three guys that ultimately put us over the top.”
 
Following the duel with Pratt, the Panthers took on the Wichita State University club team. The Shockers are the defending club national champions, but just didn't have the athletes to hang with the Panthers. Neosho County cruised to a comfortable 30-19 to close out the duel.
 
It also finishes up the duel portion of the Panthers first semester schedule as they head into the break with a 5-1 record in duels. Their only loss came to the 2^nd ranked Labette Cardinals early in the season. The Panthers last action of the semester will be this weekend when they take part in the Jet Invite hosted by Newman University. The field in this event is made up of mostly NCAA Division II schools.