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NWC Defeats Great Falls, Northern
A fast start and a clutch finish keyed a pair of road dual victories for the Northwest College Trapper wrestling program last week. The Trappers, ranked 11th in the nation, improved to 3-0 in duals this season with the wins.
Against the University of Great Falls, the Trappers won the first six matches. Northwest’s Cody Vichi got things started with a 5 4 decision for the Trappers at 125. T.J. Guild followed with a 9-7 decision at 133 to stretch Northwest’s lead to 6-0.
The Trappers began rolling in bigger points at 141 when Zach Loveless needed just 91 seconds to press Great Falls’ Ryan Martin to the mat for a win by fall. Northwest followed that with major decision wins by Jake McCormick (149) and Colton Thornton (157). McCormick was an 11-0 winner in his match while Thornton was a 10-2 victor.
Diorian Coleman capped the Trappers’ hot start with a 9-3 victory that narrowly missed adding to Northwest’s major decision count at 165 pounds. The win put Northwest in front 23-0 and stunned the Argos.
Great Falls made life exciting through the upper weights though. Cole McArthur took an 8-3 loss that snapped Northwest’s win streak. Randy Andrews (184), Braden Gibson (197) and Jade Parsons (285) were each pinned to close out the night, but the Trappers’ lead was insurmountable by the time that trio reached the mat.
In Havre, Mont., against the Northern Lights of Montana State- Northern, the Trappers again got off to a fast start as Vichi scored a 12-4 major decision win. Northwest followed with a forfeit victory at 133 as Mitch Heap took the mat unopposed.
Loveless continued the parade as a 10-1 victor at 141. McCormick needed only 75 seconds to add another six points to the Trappers score with a victory by fall and Thornton was a 7-4 decision winner to build a 23-0 Trapper lead.
Just as was the case with Great Falls, the Lights were able to rally in the upper weights. Chase Meduna lost by fall at 165. McArthur was a 23-8 technical fall victim at 174 pounds.
The Trappers returned the forfeit they had earned at 133 by leaving the 184-pound slot vacant and Braden Gibson was pinned in the first period of the 197-pound match.
That left the score tied 23- 23 going into the 285-pound match, leaving the night’s outcome hinging on the result. The Trappers didn’t have to suffer through many nervous moments though. Parsons needed just 48 seconds to score the win by fall and send Northwest celebrating a 29-23 victory.
“That was a big win,” said NWC head coach Jim Zeigler. “It was a clutch win with everything riding on it. I’m proud of the way the guys performed both nights. We were able to chain together some wins and get momentum. The fast start was so important against Great Falls.”
After a busy start to the season, Northwest takes some needed rest time to relax this holiday weekend and heal up from some early-season dings. The Trappers’ next action will feature a return to Great Falls for an appearance in the UGF Duals on Nov. 30, followed by a stay in town for the UGF Open on Saturday, Dec. 1.