TRAPPER WRESTLING BATTLES IN OPENING BOUTS

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

Opening the season on their home mat the Northwest College wrestling team welcomed the University of Providence to Powell, competing in a pair of duals on Saturday.

In the first matchup, the Trappers came up against the No. 8-ranked NAIA school and battled throughout the lineup.

In the first matchup at 133 pounds, Kaiden Rubash had a battle in the first period and trailed throughout in a difficult 17-10 loss to give the Argonauts a 3-0 lead.

Kendall Cummings made his triumphant return to the mat at 141 pounds after surviving a grizzly bear attack just over a year ago. He fell in 2:41 in a difficult matchup to give Providence a 9-0 lead.

At 149 pounds, sophomore transfer Caleb Nadig used a pair of takedowns in the first period to establish a lead and finished with a 12-6 win to give Northwest its first and only points of the first dual, now trailing 9-3.

Jack Lounsbury earned a few escapes in his match at 157 pounds, but fell via technical fall 19-4 in the third period to give Providence a 14-3 advantage.

Orrin Jackson earned a takedown early in his first bout of the year, but lost by a 9-5 decision to help the Argonauts extend their lead out to 17-3.

Jesse Thornton made his debut at 174 pounds for the Trappers, falling in 56 seconds to give the Argonauts a 23-3 lead.

Robbie Ortega started at 184 pounds with Aziz Fayzullaev out to start the season, falling in the first period at the 1:55 mark.

At 197 pounds, Gavin Carter fell at the 1:14 mark and the Argonauts extended the lead to 35-3.

A tight battle throughout at heavyweight had neither wrestler gaining a significant advantage in the first two rounds, before Cody Pinkerton fell at the 5:28 mark in the third period to give Providence a 41-3 victory in the first dual.

The second dual of the day brought all new opponents for the Trappers, giving Northwest more mat experience against a different set of wrestlers from Providence.

A strong first period that included three takedowns saw Rubash fall behind at 133 pounds, and a late rally came up short in a 9-5 loss.

Cummings was unable to find his way into the match at 141 pounds, losing by tech fall 17-0 in his second bout of the day.

Nadig earned his second victory of the day at 149 pounds, using a strong push to finish with an 8-2 win and cut the lead down to 8-3.

Lounsbury held a lead going into the third period, but a strong eight point period saw his opponent speed past to a 10-3 decision and make the match score 11-3.

Jackson, at 165, earned a 9-3 victory powered by two first round takedowns.

Thornton earned his first pin of the year, finishing the match in the second period at the 4:58 mark.

Ortega fell behind early after a takedown led to three four-point near falls, and lost by tech fall in the first period 15-0.

Carter trailed after the first period and chose down in the second, unable to escape and losing by fall at the 4:08 mark.

Pinkerton earned his first victory of the season, scoring four points on an initial escape and a takedown to seal a 7-3 win — with the final score of the second dual being 22-15 in favor of the visitors.

Northwest will now head on its first of many road trips over the next 2 1/2 months, heading on the road to Rock Springs on Saturday.

The Trappers will take on defending national champions Western Wyoming Community College at 5 p.m. before returning home and preparing for another road trip next week.

Northwest debuted in a tie for eighth in the NJCAA national wrestling poll while Western Wyoming opened the season as the top ran