Your future, our focus
Team Wins One of Three Duals in Idaho
The eighth-ranked Northwest College Trapper wrestling team won one of three wrestling duals over the weekend to head into the holidays. Included in that count was a narrow three-point loss to rival North Idaho in the first half of the schools’ annual Moose Cup challenge.
“We gave up two forfeits against North Idaho and only lost 22-19,” NWC head coach Jim Zeigler said of his team’s meeting with the No. 6 team in the nation. “I was pleased with our performance. We’d put a lot of work in the last couple of weeks to sharpen up for that dual, and I thought it showed. The guys went out and put it on the line and wrestled well.”
The Trappers won five of the eight contested matches in the head-to-head contest in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Brandon Matlock, wrestling close to his Spokane, Wash., home, picked up a decision for the Trappers at 125 pounds. Nathaniel Garcia continued a strong first semester with a win at 149. Bernie Dupuy added a major decision at 165 over the No. 5 wrestler in the country at that weight class.
“Bernie looked really good in getting that major decision,” Zeigler said. “He had a very strong weekend overall.”
With a 3-0 performance over the weekend, the Trappers’ 165-pounder rides an eight-match winning streak into the holiday break.
At the higher weights, Northwest scored wins from Keithen Cast at 174 pounds and a win by fall from Sean Sullivan at 285 pounds.
“Sean’s win was big,” said Zeigler. “We knew we couldn’t win the dual at that point, but for him to go out and get that win by fall — that pulls us within three points, which could make a big difference for the Moose Cup.”
North Idaho and Northwest will face off again at the Apodaca Duals in Powell. The Trappers will have to win that meeting by four or more points to rescue the coveted Cup and return it to campus.
In other weekend wrestling action, the Trappers scored a 45-18 win over No. 11 Southwestern Oregon, despite giving up one open weight class. The Trappers juggled their lineup slightly for the contest, allowing Kamron Day the chance to pick up a victory at 133 pounds. Justin Gardner added a win at 141 and Garcia followed suit at 149. The upper weights again provided a boost for the Trappers with Dupuy winning unopposed, Cast throwing a major decision on the board and Ben Price coming through at 197 pounds with a victory by fall.
Northwest closed out the 2011 portion of the calendar with a 33-6 loss to No. 1 Clackamas.
“They came in as the top ranked team in the nation, and boy did they look like it,” Zeigler said of the encounter.
Dupuy and Cast each picked up decision wins for the Trappers to account for the school’s only points. Contrary to the lopsided nature of the final team score, Northwest saw numerous wrestlers come within a point or two of adding to the Trappers’ point total.
“We lost some close ones,” Zeigler said. “Matlock lost 6-4. Jaksen (Cotterell) lost 5-3. Nathaniel Garcia lost 3-1. Ben Price was actually winning his match and then got caught for a fall, so some of these guys weren’t that far away.”
Zeigler indicated Clackamas’ biggest strength was that they appeared to be a “sharper” team than Northwest at this point of the season.
“I think they probably came in more wrestling-ready in November than we did,” said Zeigler. “We’re closing that gap fast though. I’m pleased with the way the team has been working and pleased with the improvements that are being made. That’s where we want to be going into January.”
After a week of training, the Trappers will break for the holidays. The team flies to Springfield, Ill., in early January for the National Wrestling Coaches’ Association National Duals competition. The event will bring together eight of the nation’s top-ranked wrestling teams from each junior and four-year college division.
“We’ll get some hard training in this week, send the kids home and then come back to campus and focus on getting ready for that competition,” Zeigler said.