SIX TRAPPERS ADVANCE TO NATIONALS

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

The Northwest College wrestling team took another important step in the rebuilding of its program over the weekend in Sterling, Colorado, finishing second as a team at the Plains District Championships on Saturday and qualifying six individuals to the NJCAA National Championships in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Bobur Berdiyorov at 141 pounds was the first Trapper to qualify. He finished with a pin (1:50) over Bronson Richins from Northeastern before defeating Joseph Mecham from Western Wyoming in the championship bout in a 15-5 major decision to claim the title.

"[Berdiyorov] came back at his best this weekend," coach Jim Zeigler said.

Brady Lowry lost a difficult first round matchup by a pin (4:52) to Channing Warner from Northeastern before coming back and finishing with a dominant pin of Evan Alder from Otero in 57 seconds to advance to the second place match.

That third match was deemed a no contest, with Lowry earning a spot at the national tournament through a wild card spot selected by the coaches.

Gus Harrison followed a similar path to Lowry, losing a difficult opening match 6-5 to Deegan Palmer from Northeastern before winning by pin (1:15) in the third place match over Jed Garcia from Otero to also punch his ticket through a wild card spot.

"Gus was up in his first match and one mistake cost him," Zeigler said. "He came back like a champ."

At 165 pounds, Orrin Jackson battled in two bouts that ended with late pins, losing to Dallas Porter of Otero by pin (5:30) and Tyson Moffit also earned a pin of Jackson late at the six minute mark resulting in Jackson
coming up just short of qualifying for the national championships in his freshman year.

"[Jackson] put a little pressure on himself that maybe he didn't need to," Zeigler said. "He will be back."

Aziz Fayzullaev returned to the mat for the Trappers after suffering an injury at the Apodaca Duals, and came out with a pin in his first match (5:28) over Adam Schulz from Otero.

In the final, Fayzullaev came up against Christian Smoot from Western Wyoming, finishing with a hard-fought 4-3 victory to take home the crown at 174 pounds.

For his efforts, Fayzullaev was named the outstanding wrestler of the tournament.

"Aziz was a pro, he was great," Zeigler said. "Any one of our four guys had a legitimate claim to be the outstanding wrestler of the tournament."

The Trappers continued to battle throughout the weights, but came up just short at 184 pounds when Cody Todd lost by tech fall (17-0) to Darion Johnson from Western Wyoming and by pin (3:42) to Connor Davis from Northeastern to finish fourth.

Ryker Blackburn was the third Trapper to earn an individual title over the weekend, taking the title through a pin (4:01) of Joseph Shaver from Otero and a pin (4:13) of Talmage Carman from Western Wyoming to win the title at 197 pounds.

"Ryker was very solid this weekend, that kid from Western is a tough kid," Zeigler said.

Finishing out the weekend at heavyweight was Cody Pinkerton, who has been involved in a tight bracket that has seen each wrestler battle with the other to overtime matches, wins and losses in a long difficult season for the heavyweight division.

"It was a super tough heavyweight division, they have all been super close," Zeigler said. "He just completely moved a notch above."

Pinkerton took that extra step above the competition last Saturday, earning a pin (4:42) of Gavin Howes from Otero and a pin (5:46) of Matthew Boone from Western Wyoming to take first place in the heavyweight division.

"The four guys that were champs were really good out of the gates and all the way through," Zeigler said. "It was a little slower start for the other four guys, they seemed tense. We regrouped after the first round and then all four of those guys came out really hard. That second round is where we wrestled really well." 

Despite having two open weights at the competition, the Trappers battled to finish with 73 points and take second overall as a team for the Plains District.    

CONTAGIOUS COMPETITION
Throughout the season the Trappers have had some of the top wrestlers in their respective weight classes bringing a tough mindset driven by lofty goals that coaches Zeigler and Chris Cooley have seen influence the rest of the team.

Cooley joined the Trappers midway through the season, originally volunteering to come in and help coach at the start of December before officially joining as an assistant in January.

"Their attitude is that they have an expectation to win and that is something that has changed a little bit as the season has gone on," Cooley said. "You can see it, it's an attitude that the expectation is to win but it is transcending into the other guys like Brady and Gus. Aziz and our big guys right now think they are going to win every match and that is awesome, and then they go out and wrestle that way."

Zeigler said the team has continued to mature throughout January and February, growing more in the last month than they did the entire first semester.

"Building a house is not fun pouring the foundation, framing it and all that," Zeigler said. "Now we are doing finishing work and we can see the product and it looks great."

Cooley said the leadership of the older wrestlers on the team has been outstanding and key to the success of the Trappers, saying they have set a strong example for the younger wrestlers on the team who may not have the opportunity to step on the mat this season.   

HIGH EXPECTATIONS
Northwest returned home after the Plains District Championships and now have their sights set on the national championships next week in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on March 3 and 4.

"We are going there with the mindset of we are going to get four champs," Zeigler said. "That is lofty but we are looking for four champs and six All-Americans."

This will not be the first time at the national championships for most of the Trappers, with Lowry earning an All-American nod in 2020, Berdiyorov attending the national tournament in 2019 and Harrison alongside Blackburn both returning after making the trip last year.