Your future, our focus
Sophomore Jacob Beck Takes First
A “butt chewing” was all Jacob Beck needed to right the ship.
After a mistake in a match against a Montana State University- Northern opponent contributed to Northwest College wrestling’s dual loss (by tiebreaker) to the Lights at home on Nov. 5, Beck endured some serious words of encouragement from Trappers coach Jim Zeigler. Beck must have taken the words to heart, as he responded with a first-place finish in the 174-pound amateur division bracket of the University of Wyoming’s Cowboy Open on Saturday at Laramie.
“He got his butt chewed after that match on Wednesday,” Zeigler said. “But you know what? The kid listened and responded well and it was a big weekend for Jacob.”
Beck’s mistake a week ago came when he refused to allow his opponent from MSU-Northern to complete a reversal for two points. Instead, Beck fought it, and was eventually pinned seconds later. It ended up being the difference between a potential three-point victory for the Lights, and the six-point victory that it was.
“I really learned from that match ... I think being a little rusty after not wrestling all summer kind of affected me a little bit,” Beck said. “But after talking to coach and realizing what I did wrong, I just changed my focus and went into the Cowboy Open with a ‘one match at a time’ mentality. It felt good to be able to put MSU-Northern behind me.”
Beck was NWC’s best finisher for the day, and needed three wins to get there. He earned an 11-0 major decision over Benjamin Krantz of the Colorado School of Mines (CSM). He followed that with a tight 8-6 win over independent wrestler Lukas Poloncic, and a tense 8-7 victory against Chadron State (Division II) sophomore Caleb Copeland in the championship bout.
For the other Trapper wrestlers, sailing to a title wasn’t so smooth.
Freshman Sam Jones won his first two matches of the day at 125 pounds, but lost 4-2 in the quarterfinals and again in the consolation bracket.
Also in the amateur division Eduardo Pehna, who took third at the NWC Open on Nov. 1 before earning a pin on Nov. 5, finished fourth in Laramie at 133 pounds. Division I Air Force Academy pitted Stephen Turner against Pehna in the freshman’s first match of the day, and Pehna came up short 3-1. Still, the grappler managed to fight back for a positive outing.
“Losing your first match, it’s a long way back to the third-place match,” said Pehna, who won five straight matches to reach the consolation championship. “And it isn’t easy. You’re going up against a bunch of guys who are mad that they lost. But I was glad to finish where I did.”
Pehna lost to Chadron’s Taylor Summers, 8-5, to finish fourth.
Freshman John-David Henderson, who has also been on a nice run to start the season, followed up his second-place finish at the NWC Open with a fourth-place day at UW. Henderson reached the quarterfinals of the 141-pound amateur bracket, lost to CSM’s Hayden Tuma, 4-3, to fall to the consolation bracket. Henderson then collected three wins to reach the third-place match, but was pinned by Chadron’s Terrance McKinney in 1:58.
“I’m going to take first sooner or later ... I keep getting close,” Henderson said. “But it was nice to go out there and face some of those Division II guys with more experience, it made me realize I can hang with anybody.”
Zeigler was happy with the outings of Pehna and Henderson, saying they carry a unique confidence he hopes some of his other freshmen soon develop.
“When Eduardo and John-David go into a match, they’re already expecting to win,” Zeigler said. “You can see it in their eyes, you can see it in their faces and their body language. But some of these other young guys right now, they’re a little tentative, and I think that’ll change as the season goes along.”
At 165 in the amateur bracket, sophomore Kaelen Loveless placed fourth, reaching the semifinals of his bracket before being downed by CSM’s Ethan Ruby 5-3. Loveless then won a consolation semifinal match before bowing out to MSU-N’s Andrew Bartel, again a 5-3 decision, to fall to fourth.
“Overall, I think I’m doing much better right now than I was at this time last season,” Loveless said. “I’ve just got to keep working hard and learning from my matches and I think I’ll be fine.”
Trapper sophomores Jeff McCormick (149) and Jon Wixom (197) competed in the tournament’s elite division, which came loaded with Division I talent.
McCormick’s day ended early, as the University of Nebraska’s Justin Arthur (won took first) defeated him 7-1 in the first round. McCormick then fell to Andrew Crone of the University of Wisconsin 9-2. Wixom found success in his opening match, working past Chadron’s Devon Fors, 12-6, before losing impressively, 3-2, to Wisconsin’s Eric Peissig. Wixom was dropped from the losers bracket, however, as Spencer Johnson of Nebraska earned a 14-4 major decision to eliminate him.
“Jeff and Jon, those guys need to be in that elite bracket with those older DI guys,” Zeigler said. “Right now, those guys from the bigger schools are at a certain intensity level because they have four or five other guys in their wrestling room that are pushing them every day for their spot.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have that with our numbers this season,” he continued. “But once Jeff and Jon and the rest of the kids on this team continue to build up matches throughout the season, I don’t see any reason why they can’t reach that intensity level.”