Your future, our focus
Cast Wins at 174, Tiernan Second at 285
BY RANDAL HOROBIK
Tribune Sports Editor
Freshman Keithen Cast captured the 174-pound title at the Northwest College Open on Saturday, headlining a list of three Trappers to finish in the top four of their respective divisions. Sophomore heavyweight Sears Tiernan also reached the championship round.
“Keithen did an outstanding job coming in as a freshman and winning the title in his first meet,” said Northwest College wrestling coach Jim Zeigler. “He came out and wrestled well.”
Cast made it through the day relatively unchallenged. His closest match of the day was a 13-10 decision in the semifinals, but after the first period Cast was firmly in control of matters throughout the second and third periods. In the championship match, he posted an 11-5 victory. That went along with technical fall and major decision wins in his first two rounds.
Tiernan had an equally comfortable time reaching the championship round. Looking to continue the dominance showcased at 285 by former Trapper national champion Landon Harris, Tiernan rolled into the title match with wins of 15-6 and 11-6. The latter victory in the semifinals came against the No. 1 seed on the tournament bracket.
Tiernan’s only speed bump was getting caught for a fall in the championship match by a member of the University of Wyoming roster. Despite the loss, Zeigler was happy with his heavyweight’s performance.
“He had a good day,” Zeigler said. “He wrestled well.”
That was Zeigler’s assessment of the Trappers’ other place-winner on Saturday as well. Sophomore Bobby Robbins went 3-2 for the day, placing fourth on the final 149-pound bracket.
Robbins’ day started with a win by fall, followed by a 9-2 quarterfinal decision. He dropped a 3-0 decision to the eventual 149-pound champion in the semifinals, then recovered with an 11-5 victory on the consolation half of the bracket. The third-place match saw him fall by an 8-2 count to a wrestler from Utah Valley University.
Also catching Zeigler’s attention at the Trappers’ first tournament was freshman Brooks Bouthorpe. The Shoshoni native finished with a 2-2 record as an unattached wrestler, narrowly missing a spot in the top four.
“Brooks has a lot of athletic ability,” Zeigler said. “You could see that in his matches. He just doesn’t have a lot of wrestling experience. He’s really green, but he has a ton of potential.”
Nick Petersen (184), Ben Price (197), Zach Oppenheimer (165) and Marc Madsen (133) each finished with 1-2 records to show for the day. Jake Budd (133), Toby Bender (149) and Clint Jacob (149) each finished 0-2.
Bernie Dupuy (165) lost his first match of the day before scratching from the remainder of the tournament as a medical withdrawal.
“It isn’t anything serious,” Zeigler said of the injury that forced Dupuy from the mat early. “In an emergency, he could have kept going. With a dual coming up on Wednesday night though, the trainer and I were in agreement that it was best for him not to continue.”
The Trappers host Montana State University, Northern at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday in Cabre Gymnasium. Northwest also travels to Laramie for the Cowboy Open tournament this weekend.
“We got some experience, and that’s always one of the goals in that first meet,” Zeigler said. “At times we had some deer in the headlights looks. Competing in your first college match in front of your own fans does that sometimes. It’s a long process to get to February, and this was a first step. These kids are very dedicated and focused.”