Dual Results

CHANUTE, Kan. – The Neosho County Panthers fell to No. 3 Northeastern Oklahoma 34-7 Thursday night, but the final team score didn't tell the whole story. On a night that featured 14 wrestlers who were ranked in the top 12 at their weight class, many of the matches came down to the final seconds.
 
The No. 11 Panthers spotted NEO 6 points when they forfeited at 125 pounds with Tim Prescott still out with an injury. The matchup would have featured the nation's No. 1 ranked wrestler against Prescott who is currently No. 2.
 
Lemuel Johnson continued his solid freshman campaign as he recorded a 6-1 win. After Alex Shea fell 10-2, the Panthers dropped a pair of matches by 2 points. The toughest loss of the night came at 157 pounds when Sam Son saw his slim one point lead evaporate with less than a second on the clock as NEO's Mark Hobson recorded 2 points right before time expired.
 
O'Shea Smith-Traylor was dominant at 165 pounds, picking up a major decision with a 12-4 win. After two more NEO wins, No. 9 ranked Dillon Archer fell 9-7 to No. 3 ranked Shelby Krout in one of the best matches of the night.
 
Despite the outcome, Wayne Petterson thought his team took some positive things away from the dual.
 
"I thought we made progress compared to last Saturday. We had some matches where we came up just short, but credit NEO for dominating in that aspect. O'Shea looked good against a quality opponent. Austin Warren and Dillon Archer both wrestled well against some top quality guys. Sam Son made some progress tonight, but he has a lot of catching up to do and the clock is ticking. Fortunately for us, we have a 10 days until our next match to heal up and train hard."
 
The Panthers will be back in action January 25^th when they travel to Hays, Kansas for the Kansas Cup.