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Lowry Wins Title At 149 Pounds: NWC Open This Weekend at Cabre
Northwest College freshman wrestler Brady Lowry shined in his collegiate debut over the weekend, winning the 149-pound title in the amateur division at the Cowboy Open in Laramie.
Lowry went a perfect 5-0 with four pins for the meet; he decisioned Western State Colorado University’s Giovanni Cassioppi 5-2 in the championship match.
A native of Cedar City, Utah, Lowry was a two-time Utah state champion who posted a 59-0 record with 56 pins his senior year.
“Brady looked really good,” said NWC head coach Jim Zeigler. “He dominated his weight class, and it was a tough class. He was quite impressive. There was a lot of talk about him around the tournament.”
It was a solid meet overall for the Trapper wrestling team, with just about every wrestler who made the trip winning at least one match, which Zeigler said is very promising.
“It was a respectable start,” Zeigler said. “It was a tough weekend on some levels, but overall it was decent.”
NWC redshirt freshman Majid Muratov was the only Trapper to wrestle in the elite division, posting a 2-2 record at 197 pounds with wins against Adams State’s William Tyler and Air Force’s Cole Forrester.
“Majid wrestled well in the elite class ...,” Zeigler said. “It’s hard sometimes to make the transition from international-style wrestling to collegiate-style wrestling. That will take some time, but his skill set is good.”
On the amateur side, the Trappers had three wrestlers compete in the 125-pound class: Dawson Barfuss, Devyn Mosteller and Sterling Quinn. Mosteller finished with a 2-2 record, while Barfuss and Quinn finished 1-2.
“Devyn Mosteller wrestled pretty well,” Zeigler said. “He’s a kid that came to us late from Kelly Walsh High School in Casper. Quinn is a Montana state champion from Bozeman, and he wrestled well — sometimes you can wrestle well and still not end up on the winning end. But winning is something you hopefully learn as the season goes on as you make that transition from high school to college wrestling.”
At 133 pounds, sophomore William Fish posted a 3-2 record, with decisions over Northwest Kansas’ Alex Barela (9-2) and Cloud County’s Chandler Schoenberger (14-12). Up a weight class from last year, Fish “wrestled really well,” Zeigler said. “He’s fairly small at 133, but in terms of his growth and development, we’re wanting him to move up in weight.”
Freshman Christian Dean, a two-time Montana state champion from Sidney, was well on his way to winning his opening match against Noah Hone before an injury took him out of the tournament.
“That was the killer for the weekend,” Zeigler said. “Christian [Dean] came out and scored right away against his guy and then popped his knee.”
The coach said Dean is one of the program’s top kids — and he appears to be out for a while.
Dean’s teammate at 141, Carson Pinske, finished 1-2, picking up his first collegiate win against Adams State’s Tyler Valencia (4-0 dec.).
At 184 pounds, freshman Tyson Carter posted a 2-2 record, with wins over Northwest Kansas’ Jacari Deal (4-2 dec.) and Colorado Mesa’s Dillon Ryan (8-2 dec.).
“Tyson [Carter] had first-tournament jitters, so hopefully he’s past that now,” Zeigler said. “Getting that first tournament under your belt is always important.”
The Trappers host the NWC Open this Saturday at Cabre Gym. The event will feature wrestlers from the University of Providence, MSU-Northern, North Idaho College and Western Wyoming, as well as unattached wrestlers from Utah Valley and the University of Wyoming. A club team from the University of Montana will also be competing, as will a team from Canada.
“This is our kick-off event, kind of a ‘Meet the Trappers,’ event,” Zeigler said. “It gives folks the chance to see the kids for the first time, put the names with the faces. It gives you a baseline of where we’re beginning, so when you see them again at the Apodacas, you’ll hopefully see an improvement.”
“It’s a fun day,” the coach said. “Introducing the Trappers at their first home meet is always fun.”
Every Trapper wrestler who competed at the Cowboy Open, with the exception of Dean, will be participating, as well as a couple of wrestlers who will be making their season debut. Sophomore Porter Fox — a national qualifier and Apodaca Award winner last season — will make his first appearance of the season at 174 pounds.
“Porter had double-knee surgery this summer, so we were just giving him an extra week of preparation,” Zeigler said. Freshman Van Bray will also be making his Trapper debut at 133 pounds. A native of Fillmore, Utah, Bray is a three-time Utah state champion who posted a 59-2 record as a senior.
“We’re looking forward to seeing Van this week at the NWC Open,” Zeigler said. “It was really hard for him to sit on the sidelines and watch last weekend, because he is one of our premiere recruits.”