Your future, our focus
Coach Pleased as Freshmen Show Promise at NWC Open
Northwest College wrestling coach Jim Zeigler already knows the strength his sophomore class possesses.
At the Northwest Open at Cabre Gym on Saturday, his freshmen showed they plan to pull their weight this season, too.
“I was really proud of how the kids responded all day long on Saturday,” Zeigler said. “There were a lot of tough matches and the freshmen especially really surprised me with their resiliency out there.”
Led by Arab, Ala., native and freshman John-David Henderson, the Trappers’ rookie class asserted itself as a talented group as NWC as a whole enjoyed a positive day on the mats.
“It was really just great to get out there and experience college wrestling,” said Henderson, who as a junior and senior at Arab High School compiled a record of 124-0 while winning his second and third straight state championships. “I think it was important for all of us freshmen to get these first few matches out of the way and build some confidence.”
Before Henderson got his day started, fellow NWC freshman Sam Jones took to the mat in impressive fashion in the 125-pound bracket, pinning University of Montana-Western’s (UMW) Noah Brown in 1:52. Jones then earned another fall, this time in 2:49, of Benny Dixon of the University of Great Falls (UGF).
Jones was pinned in the quarterfinals by Michael Nguyen of North Idaho College (NIC), but went on to win a match in the consolation bracket before bowing out with a 3-2 record.
“I think this was a great start for me,” Jones said. “This has really helped me build some confidence and give me the momentum I need to build my season the way I want it to go.”
Eduardo Pehna, a Las Vegas product who came to the United States from Brazil as a young child, used his jiu jitsu-infused wrestling style to reach the semifinals of the 133-pound division. He earned a 13-0 major decision over Justin Rodgers (MSU-Northern) in his first collegiate match before blanking Brett Jones, 6-0, of Western Wyoming Community College (WWCC) in the quarterfinals. Pehna was pinned in the semis by P.T. Garcia of the University of Wyoming (UW), but Pehna bounced back for two wins in the consolation bracket, finishing his day with a pin of Air Force Prep’s (AFP) John Twomey to earn third place.
“I just tried to go out there and wrestle my way,” said Pehna, who is only in his fourth year of amateur wrestling. “I’m happy that I could start strong and really get a feel for what college wrestling is going to throw at me.”
After Pehna’s first win of the day, Henderson started his march to a spot in the 141-pound championship match with a 7-0 victory over Travis Vermulm of UGF. He proceeded to then work past Jonah Whitt of AFP, 5-0, to set up a semifinal showdown with Bryce Weatherston of NIC.
The match turned out to be a learning experience for Henderson, as the youngster was ahead 8-1 at one point in the match, but allowed Weatherson to climb back to 8-7 before nearly being pinned with a spladle maneuver with just five seconds remaining in the second period. Henderson recovered in the final period, but learned an important lesson in the process.
“I just realized that at any moment, things can change quickly,” Henderson said. “I realized that you can never stop wrestling, and that no lead is safe. I was lucky to win that match.”
Henderson’s luck ran out in the championship bout, as UGF’s Michael Ruiz overwhelmed him before pinning him at the 6:17 mark. Still, Henderson was happy with his first college run.
“I definitely can take a lot of positives away from this,” Henderson said. “Now I know I’m beatable and that’s only going to make me work harder during every practice and every match.”
Former Powell High School wrestler Matt Widdicomb also started his freshman season with a bang, collecting a pin over NIC’s Tim Parten in 1:40 in his first match. Widdicomb finished the tournament 1-2.
Freshman Jorge Rodriguez earned two wins to begin his trek through the 285-pound bracket, beating Cooper Thomas (NIC) 6-2 before pinning Sam Eagan of UW in 4:10 to reach the semifinals. Morales would finally lose to Dylan Lemery (UGF) in a 3-2 heartbreaker, before falling again in his lone consolation contest.
“It’s definitely different wrestling at the college level, but that first match helps you get the butterflies out,” Morales said.”After that first match, I just wanted to get back on the mat and get back to it.”
Last season’s national runner- up at 197 pounds, Jon Wixom, reached the title match in his division but also came up short of the championship victory. He pinned Andreas Geranios (UGF) in 2:42 before barely escaping UW’s Brandon Tribble in the semifinals. Wixom trailed 5-3 after the first period against Tribble, but managed to tie the match after two. Wixom was able to score a reverse and a takedown late to sneak into the title bout with a 12-8 win.
Anthony McLaughlin of AFP found Wixom’s number in the championship, however, and downed Wixom with a 13-3 major decision.
“I just realized that there’s a ton of work left for me to do, and that I have a ton of room to get better,” Wixom said. “What I did last year doesn’t matter this season, and I’ve got to build off of Saturday.”
Jeff McCormick, who placed third in the nation at 149 pounds a year ago, also finished as Saturday’s runner-up in his bracket. He posted a quick pin of Kyle Leir (UGF) in 24 seconds before earning tight 1-0 and 3-0 decisions to meet Jake Elliott (UW) in the 149-pound championship. Elliott just barely outworked McCormick however for a 3-1 triumph.
“It was the first meet of the year, that’s how you’ve got to look at it,” McCormick said. “I know I can get better, and so do the rest of the guys on this team. There were a lot of good things to take away from Saturday.”
Coach Zeigler agreed, as he noted some positive things from his freshman class, and continued improvement from his veterans.
“Overall, I was definitely surprised by how hard the freshmen came out and worked, and how quickly they adapted,” Zeigler said. “They really didn’t let the pressure get to them. Based off of that first tournament, I could look at some of those young kids at the end of the day and know that they’d be on the (national) podium at some point.”
Zeigler was also happy that some of his wrestlers, like Henderson, tasted defeat for the first time in a while, as he believes it can help the young grapplers in the long run.
“It can be good for a kid to suffer a loss early, because then they know they’re beatable, and it forces them to work harder, and usually they do,” Zeigler said. “As a whole, I think our team started things on the right foot, but there’s a long season ahead of us and it’s going to be a challenge the whole way.”