Your future, our focus
The Northwest College Trapper wrestling team fell 34-9 in dual action to Montana State-Northern on Wednesday. The dual was the first of the young season for the Trappers.
Nathan Garcia picked up the only win of the night for Northwest, holding on for a 7-6 victory at 149 pounds. The win came on the heels of a strong debut performance at the NWC Open tournament the previous weekend.
The Trappers’ only other team points on the night were provided by a forfeit victory earned by Justin Gardner at 133 pounds, where the visiting Lights were unable to field a wrestler.
Beyond that, the Trappers were greatly hindered by a spate of early-season injuries. Kameron Day, the team’s expected 125-pounder to open the year, was held out after suffering a concussion at the NWC Open. Keithen Cast, the returning national runner-up at 174 pounds, similarly missed the dual after suffering what was eventually determined to be a severe high ankle sprain at the NWC Open. The injury will keep him sidelined for the short term, but the prognosis is considerably better than the possible stress fracture Trapper head coach Jim Zeigler had initially feared.
While the Trappers received good news on Cast’s condition during the week, that was swept under by another freak injury that occurred just hours before the Trappers stepped onto the mat for their dual. Redshirt freshman Cody Mansur, who missed all of last season with a shoulder injury, suffered a dislocated elbow and is likely done for the season. The injury deprives the Trappers of a wrestler who had been ranked at 197 pounds for the team.
Once action began on the mat, Northwest was chasing Montana State-Northern from the beginning. The dual began at 174 pounds, where the Trappers had to forfeit due to Cast’s injury. The Lights added wins by fall at 184 and 197 to vault to an 18-0 lead.
Sean Sullivan (285) and Brandon Matlock (125) suffered two-point losses for Northwest. The Lights led 24-0 before the Trappers picked up their forfeit victory to break onto the scoreboard.
Colton Thornton followed with a 9-3 loss at 141 for the Trappers before Garcia recorded his decision win. The Lights recorded a major-decision win at 157 pounds before edging Jaksen Cotterell 3-2 in the 165-pound match to end the night.
Cotterell’s loss was a particularly bitter one as the sophomore transfer was one second away from earning enough riding time in the match to force overtime when the buzzer sounded.