Your future, our focus
Clever Coaching, Overtime Bout Lead To Victory
Jim Zeigler made the message clear to his wrestlers: The Trappers do not lose to Western Wyoming Community College.
Gabe Escobedo lost to his opponent, but he made sure Northwest College didn’t lose the meet.
With the Trappers leading WWCC by three points heading into the final bout of the night Wednesday, Escobedo, a 285-pounder filling in for Zeigler’s regular starter, battled his opponent through five overtimes, finally losing a 5-2 decision that still allowed NWC to escape with a 22-21 victory at Cabre Gym in Powell.
“The odds were heavy against us with the lineup that we had tonight,” said Zeigler, who started three reserves due to injuries and disciplinary reasons. “But my record against Western Wyoming is 42-3, and I told the guys before the match that they better not be [loss] number four.”
Early on, it looked as though NWC’s first dual win of the season would have to wait.
125-pound freshman Sam Jones was pinned by WWCC’s Ronald Wardleigh to open the meet, and Jaydon Rogers then earned a 5-1 decision over Matthew Schmidt (redshirt freshman) at 133 pounds to put the Trappers in an early 9-0 hole. NWC got on the board with freshman John- David Henderson’s tense 11-9 victory at 141 pounds.
Henderson was in control of WWCC’s Brenn Schiess for the majority of the contest, and led 6-4 after two periods thanks to a flurry of takedowns. But Schiess challenged Henderson with an escape and a pair of his own takedowns to force a 9-9 tie late. Henderson snuck away with the win due to a late escape and a point earned for riding time.
“John-David got a little lucky there,” Zeigler said. “He can take kids down all day, but once they figure him out, you saw what can happen. Luckily, JD held on.”
Things got a little easier for NWC in the 149-pound match when sophomore Jeff McCormick wasted little time with the Mustangs’ Ezekiel Mamalis. McCormick pinned Mamalis with 30 seconds left in the first period to tie the team scores at nine.
NWC and WWCC then traded decisions in the 157 and 165 weight classes before Zeigler showed some coaching savvy at 174 pounds. With sophomore Jacob Beck slated to take on Colby Barlocker at 174 and forfeit the 184-pound match, Zeigler opted to keep Beck off the mat and absorb the forfeit, giving six points to Barlocker and the Mustangs. Beck instead bumped up to 184 pounds, facing Hunter Riggs, who was not expecting a match Wednesday night.
What resulted was a dominating performance by Beck, who just barely missed a pin before earning a 13-2 major decision and four points for NWC.
“Coach told me to wait before I stepped on the mat at 174 pounds, and I knew that I’d be wrestling up a class,” Beck said. “I was pumped, and I just did what coach told me, I went out there and got the major decision. It felt good to get us those points.”
WWCC still held an 18-16 cushion, but last season’s runner-up at 197 pounds gave the Trappers the lead for good when he took down WWCC’s Aspen Naylor in the first five seconds of their match, and pinned him with a crossface cradle at the 13-second mark of the opening period.
“That’s my number one pinning move that I have,” Wixom said. “I usually don’t go for it right away, but once [Naylor] put his arm where I needed it, it was just go time.”
Wixom’s quick fall gave NWC six points and a 22-18 lead it wouldn’t relinquish thanks to Escobedo’s marathon-like loss.
Two escapes had Escobedo and the Mustangs’ Dexter Bess tied 1-1 after three periods, and Escobedo’s ability to avoid a major decision loss to his opponent, which would have spelled doom for NWC, provided a dramatic finish for his team.
“It’s unfortunate that Gabe wasn’t able to get that victory, but he wrestled his heart out and he did a nice job,” Zeigler said. “Overall, the kids on this team battled hard and they worked for this win ... they earned it.
“Given the injuries we have to kids like Eduardo Pehna (133 pounds) and some other guys who couldn’t compete tonight, I thought we did an excellent job of rallying together as a team and getting a big win.”
NWC won’t return to the mat Dec. 5, when it travels to Great Falls, Mont., for the University of Great Falls Duals.
Northwest College 22,
Western Wyoming Community College 21
RESULTS
125 - Ronald Wardleigh (WWCC) def. Sam Jones, fall 4:18
133 - Jaydon Rogers (WWCC) def. Matt Schmidt, dec. 5-1
141 - John-David Henderson (NWC) def. Brenn Schiess, dec. 11-9
149 - Jeff McCormick (NWC) def. Ezekiel Mamalis, fell 2:30
157 - Ryan Slaugh (WWCC) def. Batista Covolow, dec. 6-2
165 - Kaelen Loveless (NWC) def. Kaden Campbell, dec. 2-1
174 - Colby Barlock (WWCC) wins by forfeit
184 - Jacob Beck (NWC) def. Hunter Riggs, maj. dec. 13-2
197 - Jon Wixom (NWC) def. Aspen Naylor, fall :13
285 - Dexter Bess (WWCC) def. Gabe Escobedo, TB-3 5-2