HAYS, Kan.  Mountaineer wrestling sent 17 wrestlers to Sunday's Bob Smith Open at Fort Hays State and returned home with fourth place finishes by Tino Gonzales and Ty Reeves.

Both Reeves, in the 133 pound bracket, and Gonzales, in the 149 bracket, advanced to the semifinal rounds before surrendering their first defeats of the tournament.

Reeves, after a bye in the opening round, registered successive pins in his next two bouts. Leading 3-0 after a first period takedown put Faridullah Samsor of SU on his back and finished him with a pin at the 2:25 mark in the second round.

In the quarterfinals, Matthew Brock of Otero College got the initial takedown just past the halfway point of the opening period, but 20 seconds later Reeves got the reversal and quick pin to advance into the semifinal round where he was bumped to the consolation side of the bracket after a 12-3 major decision.

Reeves dominated with a 17-0 technical fall late in the second period of his first match on the left side of the bracket but dropped the 3rd/4th-place match in a tech fall.

Gonzales registered the fastest pin of the Open in his opening-round bout, pinning Romiz Monaco of Newman University in just 16 seconds. However, Gonzales was relegated to the consolation bracket following a loss in the second round.

He got on a roll beginning with his next match, a 17-2 tech fall, followed by a first-period pin in the next bout. Gonzales advanced via medical forfeit in the next round then pushed forward in the bracket with a 7-4 decision and an 11-6 decision, which thrust him into the 3/4-match, eventually earning the fourth-place finish.

Wrestling into the semis of the same bracket was Miles Harris. He advanced from the first round with a 14-1 major, then a 20-1 tech fall followed by consecutive first-period pins. Harris matched up with Daniel DeRosier in the semis but dropped a 10-6 decision to get moved over to the consolation side, where his first opponent was Gonzales who won their bout in that 11-6 decision.

Also working his way into the semifinal round was Dante Pallone at 197. After a first-round bye, Pallone advanced with a first-period pin and a major in the quarters. He dropped from the championship side of the bracket with a loss in the semifinals then fell out of the consolation bracket with a loss in his next match.

Marlin Whyte added another semifinalist to Western's list, advancing into the round in the 174 bracket.

Whyte followed a first-round bye with a sudden-victory win in round two, then an 11-7 win in the quarters. He lost by tech fall in the semis, then dropped a narrow 5-3 decision in his next bout to end his day.

Though his day ended late in the consolation bracket at 157, Nathanial Higgins never had to wrestle into a second period in any of his four wins on the day. He fell into the consolation bracket in the second round after pinning his opening-round opponent at the 1:44 mark, then won his opening consols bout with a pin at the 2:46 mark, won the next match with a fall at 2:00, and took just 67 seconds to record another pin in the ensuing match. His run toward the 3/4-bout ended, though, with a close 9-6 decision.

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Western will be participating in in the two-day Midwest Classic at Nicoson Hall in Indianapolis on December 13-14.