Jordan Noble's third-place finish at 133 pounds and Michael Villarreal's fourth-place showing at 197 pounds led the Barton Community College wrestling team Saturday at the Viking Open, held inside the Mick Thompson Fitness Center in Poteau, Oklahoma.
Competing with 17 attached wrestlers, the Cougars combined for a 30-33 record on the day, with nine individuals collecting multiple victories.
Noble paced the Barton lineup with a 5-1 record at 133 pounds, rebounding from an early technical-fall defeat to string together five consecutive victories. The sophomore began his comeback with a 13-8 decision over Murray State's Luke Stinson before recording back-to-back falls against Isaiah Dudley of the University of the Ozarks and Landon Smith of Williams Baptist. Following a forfeit victory in the consolation semifinals, Noble secured third place with a 6-3 decision over Carl Albert State's Chris Lawson.
Collecting three falls on the day, Villarreal followed with a fourth-place finish at 197 pounds, compiling a 4-2 record. After opening with a first-period pin of unattached Lane Ross, Villarreal suffered a 15-5 major decision to Ouachita Baptist's Parker Henry in the quarterfinals before responding with consecutive falls over Central Baptist's Steven Sturges in just 12 seconds and Murray State's Brayden Tomlinson in 3:36. A forfeit victory in the consolation semifinals advanced Villarreal to the third-place match, where he fell 16-7 to Central Oklahoma's Jackson Blackburn.
Three additional Cougars collected at least three victories on the day, led by Etson Moreno's 4-2 performance at 157 pounds, highlighted by a pair of technical falls and a major decision. Shane Todd (141 pounds) and Micah Galvan (174) each finished 3-2, with Todd recording all three victories by fall while Galvan contributed two falls and a decision.
Brennen Pfannenstiel (149 pounds), Clayton Crookham (165), Gabe Swoyer (165) and Samson Tootle (174) each contributed two victories to Barton's overall effort, finishing 2-2 on the day. Beau Underwood (141), Landon Miller (157) and Keldyn Cox (184) rounded out the winning performances with one victory apiece.
The Cougars return to the mats Friday and Saturday at the Cornerman Luke Preseason National Duals in Richfield, Utah, marking the third consecutive weekend of competition to open the season. Action gets underway Friday at 4 p.m. before concluding Saturday with a 10 a.m. start.