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Trapper Wrestling AT UW This Weekend
Eduardo Penha picked up where he left off and the Northwest College Trappers wrestling team earned four top-four finishes at the season-opening NWC Open on Saturday in the Cabre Gym.
Penha, Northwest’s lone returning National Tournament qualifier, won three straight bouts on his way to first place in the 133-pound bracket.
The sophomore from Las Vegas received a first-round bye, won by a 6-2 decision in the quarterfinals, 11-9 in the semifinals and pinned Jared Berlinger of the University of Great Falls in the finals.
Sophomore Matthew Schmidt, also in the 133-pound bracket, took third place with a 4-1 showing. Schmidt lost his opening match by a 6-4 decision, but won four straight bouts in the consolation bracket. He was hardly challenged as he won 6-0 (against NWC freshman Mason Colledge), 19-8, by way of pin (1:26) and 14-4 in the third-place bout.
Sophomore Matthew Widdecombe, a 2013 Powell High School grad and Wyoming Class 3A state champion, took third place at 157 pounds.
Widdicombe earned third place with a 10-5 win against Montana State University- Northern’s Tommy Cooper. Widdicombe won his quarterfinal match by way of pin at 6:21 before being edged out by North Idaho’s Alex Aguilar 6-4 in the semis. Widdicombe needed only one win — a 12-2 major decision — to reach the consolations finals.
Freshman Colton Parham was the second Powell Panther turned Trapper to wrestle in the Open. Parham dropped a tight 3-2 decision in his first bout and lost 17-2 in the 141-pound consolation bracket.
Northwest’s Cameron Braden finished behind Widdicombe in the 157-pound bracket. Braden took a 3-2 decision into the quarterfinals, but was bounced to the consolation bracket with a 12-0 major decision loss to North Idaho’s Bryce Weatherston in the semis. Braden lost his first consolation bout by way of fall at 3:49.
Freshman Riley Loveless lost to Kyle Leir of Great Falls in the third-place bout and settled for fourth at 149 pounds. Loveless received a bye in the first round before beating Leir 3-2 to advance to the semis, Loveless beat Northwest’s John-David Henderson in the consolation semis.
Henderson won his quarterfinal match — after receiving a bye in the first round — by way of fall at 2:01.
Freshman Heber Shepherd reached the semifinals of the 184-pound bracket and finished the day 2-2. Shepherd lost to eventual champion Adrian Mack of Western Wyoming. Shepherd pinned Kolbjorn Skalestad (UGF) in the 5th minute and won his quarterfinal bout 3-2. He lost his final match, his only in the consolation bracket, 4-0 to Skalestad, who went on to claim third place.
Also at 184 pounds was NWC’s Reece Prosser. The freshman followed a 16-0 technical fall loss in his first bout with a pin in 4:26 in his first consolation bout. Prosser’s day was finished with a pin in 1:55 against UGF’s Michael Ayala.
Justin Polkowske beat teammate Andre VonRein in the 165-pound consolation quarterfinals, but lost to MSUNorthern’s Andrew Bartel 13-2 in the semis. Polkowske started his day with a tough draw against last year’s national runner-up, Dajour Reece of North Idaho. Reece won 10-5 and sent Polkowske to the consolations, where he won three straight matches — by fall at 4:21 in the first round, by an 8-0 major decision, and then 9-1 against VonRein.
VonRein received a first-round bye, but lost his first bout 7-1 against Utah State University’s Khaldoon Rashid. A 7-3 win sent VonRein into his bout with Polkowske.
At 125 pounds, Gage Currier reached the semis before being bounced to the consolation bracket by a 14-3 major decision loss. Currier won his first bout by a pin and advanced out of the quarterfinals with a 15-10 decision.
William Kishpaugh won his opening bout, but lost his next two to finish at 1-2 at 174 pounds. Kishpaugh pinned Western Wyoming’s Jay Westcott in 2:07 before losing to MSU-Northern’s Zach Havilland 14-13 in overtime. In the consolation bracket, Kishpaugh lost a 2-0 bout to UGF’s Francisco Rueda.
Dean Gerber went 1-2 at 197 pounds, though his one win was by way of injury. Gerber opened with a 5-3 loss and was pinned in 1:04 in his first actual bout of consolations.
Heavyweight Colton Horn’s day prematurely ended by a frightening injury midway through his first bout. Horn injured his left arm when he was picked up and thrown to the mat by Miguel Morales of MSU-N. His arm was put into a temporary cast and Horn walked off the mat under his own power.
Jacob Wells was pinned in both of his heavyweight bouts, first in 4:52 by Western’s Aspen Naylor, and then by UGF’s Octavio Alejandre in 4:25.
The Trappers travel to Laramie to compete in the Cowboy Open on Saturday.