Your future, our focus
Trappers Hoping To Advance To National Championships
The NJCAA West District Tournament takes place Saturday, and Northwest College head wrestling coach Jim Zeigler is hoping for the best when his team hits the mats in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, looking for national championship berths.
All six of the schools competing in the district tournament are ranked, including top-ranked Clackamas Community College and No. 3 North Idaho College. No. 10 Southwest Oregon Community College, No. 16 Western Wyoming Community College and No. 17 Highline College will also join the fray.
With stiff competition present in all weight classes, Zeigler said he’s unsure what to expect from a majority of his No. 13-ranked Trappers.
“I’m just not sure right now. My only expectations are with Jeff McCormick (149 pounds),” Zeigler said. “He’s the only one I know who is the top guy in his weight and what to expect from him.
“Jon Wixom (197) is very, very capable, but he hasn’t been consistent,” he said. “Kaelen Loveless (165) is wrestling the best he’s wrestled all year, but he’s still the number-four or number-five seed in his weight class. He’s got three of the top four kids in the country in our region and in his weight.”
Wixom took second in the nation last season, but has flashed moments of inconsistency this year. Loveless, a national qualifier a year ago, has also been plagued with inconsistency at times. McCormick has been Zeigler’s most effective grappler one season after taking third in the nation. Zeigler is hoping more Trappers can follow his lead, but he also isn’t waiting on any miracles.
“I can only tell you that we’re just going to go out, and we’re going to see what happens,” Zeigler said. “We’ve been training hard, working hard ... we’re not looking at our opponents, we’re just looking at ourselves — what we can do better, not really what we’re facing, because what we’re facing is ourselves. So that’s what we’re focusing on.”
The district tournament is especially important for McCormick, as the redshirt sophomore is heading into tourney completely healthy. Last season, he barely made it to the tournament after undergoing an emergency appendectomy to remove a burst appendix.
This season, he’s avoided any setbacks and said he’s ready for a final run at a national title.
“I’m just looking to have some fun here toward the end. It’s a lot of fun and I just want to enjoy it, especially with it being my last year here,”
McCormick said. “This is when you really get to test yourself and push yourself. You don’t really think about the past or anything that’s happened throughout the year, you just go out there and wrestle your best and hope everything takes care of itself.”
Zeigler said that anything can happen Saturday, but is also a self-proclaimed realist, and knows a tough road lies ahead for NWC.
“We’ve shown flashes of brilliance, we’ve had good practices and we’ve had bad practices,” he said. “Can something click for us Saturday? Sure. But unfortunately, we’re the number five or six seed in half the weight classes. That’s how good our region is. So it’s going to be a challenge for our kids.”