Your future, our focus
BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune
Eight recruits are set to join the 2022-23 Trapper wrestling team, bringing in all weight divisions to improve a squad that returns all of its 2021-22 roster.
The top recruit joining the Trappers in 2022 will be Aziz Fayzullaev, who makes his way to Powell from Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Fayzullaev has been prominent on the world stage, advancing to multiple international competitions and recently winning the 2022 U23 Asian Championships.
Fayzullaev will compete at 184 pounds for the Trappers.
A familiar face is making his way back to the mat for the Trappers in 2022, when Bobur Berdiyarov will take to the mat one more time as a Trapper.
Berdiyarov was on the 2018-19 Trapper team, advancing to the NJCAA championships.
He makes it to Powell from Tashkent much like Fayzullaev, but was unable to enter the United States the past couple years due to the pandemic.
Berdiyarov returned to Powell in the spring 2022 semester, but was unable to compete since he was not at NWC in the fall semester.
He has been training and expects to make an immediate impact at the 141 pound weight class.
A unique pairing will be making its way to Powell this year, when twins will try to make their mark on the NWC program.
Roberto and Jose Garcia are state qualifiers from Victorville, California, and will make their way to Powell to compete at lighter weight classes.
Roberto will compete at 125 pounds and Jose will compete at 133 pounds.
Orrin Jackson come north to Wyoming after placing third in the Colorado State Championships at 160 pounds.
Jackson will compete at either 157 or 165 pounds for the Trappers, hoping to make the transition smooth from Platte Valley High School to NWC.
One local Wyoming recruit will hope to make his mark, when Josh Womack makes his way over to Powell from Newcastle.
Womack won the 3A state championship at 220 pounds, but will be competing against returner Ryker Blackburn at 197 pounds for the Trappers.
Another Wyoming recruit is taking a different route to Powell, coming in as a transfer student from another college.
Cody Pinkerton is a two-time state champion from Douglas, but made his way to Powell as a transfer student from Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota.
He made his way to Powell to enroll in school during the spring 2022 semester, but was not eligible to compete with the Trappers after transferring.
He will come in as a heavyweight for the Trappers, competing at approximately 245 pounds.
The final recruit and another heavyweight for NWC will be Leighton Jensen from Omak, Washington.
Jensen finished third overall in the state of Washington at 285 pounds.
He expects to compete in the heavyweight division for the Trappers at approximately 265 pounds.
Practices for the Trappers will soon kick off, with the first competition expected around the end October or in early November.