TRAPPERS SIXTH AT NATIONAL DUALS

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

Competing against the top junior college teams from across the nation, the Northwest College wrestling team fought through seven duals in two days, ending with a 4-3 record and a sixth place finish at the NJCAA Coaches Duals in Miami, Oklahoma.    

CLACKAMAS 29, NORTHWEST 21
Starting out in pool play on Friday the Trappers took on Clackamas Community College out of Oregon, the second seeded team heading into the weekend.

Clackamas took the early lead, with a 19-3 tech fall over Jackie Meador at 125 pounds.

Zachary Covolo got Northwest on the board at 133 pounds, earning a 12-5 decision to make the scoreline 5-3.

Three straight wins by Clackamas extended the lead, with a 17-0 tech fall of Kaiden Rubash at 141 pounds, a 9-7 decision over Treyson Davila at 149 pounds and a 20-5 tech fall of Jack Lounsbury at 157 pounds making it 18-3.

Asad Fayzullaev got key points for the Trappers at 165 pounds, earning a pin in 2:25 to make it 18-9.

A 19-4 tech fall of Jesse Thornton at 174 pounds and a pin of Easton Hopes at 184 pounds put the match out of reach for the Trappers with the score at 29-9.

A Robby Ortega win by forfeit at 197 made it 29-15, and a pin by Jett Swain at 285 pounds in 1:33 made the final scoreline 29-21.

"We had to start with Clackamas, they were seeded second, took second, and they're a really good team," coach Jim Zeigler said.    

NORTHWEST 50, CLOUD COUNTY CC 3
Heading into the second pool match the Trappers matched up against Cloud County CC out of Kansas.

Northwest started strong, with Meador earning a 16-1 tech fall, followed by a pin from Covolo at 133 pounds to make it 11-0 early.

Rubash followed with a pin of his own in two minutes, and Davila earned a 13-5 major decision to make it 21-0.

Lounsbury earned a pin in 1:55 and Fayzullaev earned a forfeit at 165 pounds to make it 33-0.

The lone win for Cloud County came at 174 pounds with a 7-2 decision over Dustin Rhoades, before Hopes earned a 19-2 tech fall win, Austin Richens earned a forfeit win at 197 pounds and Swain finished the match with a pin in 3:52 to make it a 50-3 final scoreline.      

NORTHWEST 46, TRITON COLLEGE 9
Heading into the third round of pool play the Trappers matched up with Triton College out of Illinois.

Triton got the match started with a 14-3 major decision over Meador, before Northwest got rolling.

Covolo got the momentum started, pinning his opponent in 1:13, followed by an 8-0 major decision for Rubash to make it 10-4.

Davila earned a forfeit win at 149, before Lounsbury earned a pin in 1:16 and Fayzullaev got a pin in 6:11 to make it 28-4.

Two more Trapper forfeit wins came at 174 and 184 for Thornton and Hopes, before Triton got its second win of the match with a 19-4 tech fall of Ortega at 197 to make it 40-9.

Swain finished the dual with a pin in 4:34 to make the final score 46-9.    

NORTHWEST 51, NORTHERN OKLAHOMA COLLEGE-TONKAWA 5
Wrapping up pool play the Trappers matched up with Northern Oklahoma College-Tonkawa, looking to end with a 3-1 record and advance as the second seed in their group.

Northwest started rolling early, with a pin by Meador in 3:32, a pin by Covolo in 2:15 and a pin by Rubash in 1:55 to make it 18-0.

Davila earned a 12-3 major decision before another pin by Lounsbury in 2:14 and a 16-1 tech fall by Fayzullaev to make it 33-0.

Roades got a forfeit before Thornton got a pin in 38 seconds to make it 45-0.

The lone win for Northern Oklahoma came at 197 pounds with a 17-2 tech fall of Ortega.

"He's (Ortega) wrestling up a weight. He's a 184 probably a 174 pounder wrestling 197 and you know what? The kid does not give up falls," Zeigler said. "He just stood in there like a warrior, and I was really proud of Robbie's performances."

Swain finished the match with a pin in 1:41 to make the final score 51-5. 

WESTERN WYOMING 44, NORTHWEST 6
Heading into Saturday the Trappers went into bracket play with a quarterfinal matchup against the top team in the country in the Mustangs.

Western Wyoming got on the board with a pin of Meador in 2:43 before a 17-1 tech fall of Covolo and an 18-2 tech fall of Rubash made it 16-0.

Another 18-2 tech fall came against Davila and a pin of Lounsbury in 4:24 made it 27-0.

Northwest got on the board through Fayzullaev, who earned a 9-5 decision to make it 27-3.

Western continued pressing with a pin of Thornton in 1:52 and a pin of Hopes in 1:04 before a 15-0 tech fall of Ortega to make it 44-3.

Northwest got one last win with a tight 2-1 decision for Swain at 285 to make the final score 44-6.

"They're better than when we saw them before. They're clearly the best team out there," Zeigler said. "We've got to compete better than that."      

NORTHWEST 24, NORTH IDAHO 21
After the quarterfinal loss the Trappers dropped down to the consolation semifinal to take on North Idaho College.

The dual came down to a final bout, with North Idaho taking the lead early with a pin of Meador in 2:06 and an 8-0 major decision of Covolo at 133 made it 10-0.

Northwest responded via a 5-4 decision by Rubash, but a 10-3 decision over Davila made it 13-3.

The Trappers worked their way back in through a pin in 1:51 by Lounsbury, followed by a Fayzullaev pin in 4:14 to give Northwest a 15-13 lead.

A forfeit for Thornton extended the lead to make it 21-13, before a 10-6 decision over Hopes and a 20-3 tech fall over Ortega tied the match at 21 each heading into the final bout.

Swain pulled out a 5-2 win, and the Trappers earned a 24-21 win to head into the fifth place match.

"A really good win against North Idaho. That's a good team," Zeigler said. "They were seeded fourth and we matched up pretty well … Jett went 7-0 on the weekend and did a great job, Asad also went 7-0 on the weekend. Those two guys were real standouts."   

SOUTHEAST COMMUNITY COLLEGE 33, NORTHWEST 10
Heading into the seventh dual of the weekend the Trappers matched up with Southeast Community College out of Nebraska with the winner taking fifth place.

Southeast took the lead early, getting points via a 12-6 decision over Meador and an injury forcing a Covolo forfeit in 2:55 to make it 9-0.

"Covolo had a medical default in the second match and that really puts a kink in it. Takes away momentum, anything that you get building," Zeigler said. "They butted heads and he (Covolo) got a goose egg above his eye and I didn't want to let him wrestle. I was afraid it would break or something, so I pulled the plug on that."

Another 9-2 decision over Rubash and a major decision over Davila made it 16-0.

A pin of Lounsbury in 57 seconds made it 22-0 before Fayzullaev earned a 10-1 major decision to get Northwest on the board.

Thornton followed with a 4-1 decision to make it 22-7, before a pin of Hopes in 31 seconds and a 19-4 tech fall of Ortega made it 33-7.

Swain finished the dual with a 6-0 decision to make the final score 33-10.

"I wasn't very happy with that final dual. When you've wrestled seven and that's your seventh dual, sometimes that last one they've already checked out and that's kind of what it felt like," Zeigler said. "They just didn't have the same competitive spirit when you're up there wrestling for sixth place and everybody's screaming and yelling on the first place mat with Clackamas and Western and all the excitement is over there for the crowd and it feels like a consolation. Just not the same excitement level for our kids or anybody for that matter, but Southeastern held up, so I expect us to hold up, that's something we'll work on. Other than that it was a great trip."    

HOME DUAL CANCELED
The Trappers went through some long days on that road trip, and Zeigler was proud of the way his team handled the travel to Oklahoma.

"It starts at 5 a.m. every morning on these road trips and we're usually out by 6:30 doing something. Going to work out or going to weigh in," Zeigler said. "Our day doesn't end until 11 at night from our duties. Get guys down to weight and help work out, going to the grocery store. It's a lot, our team, wrestlers and coaches, I think we did a great job of getting through without any hitches, being able to manage any problems or any curve balls thrown at us."

After starting the year with those seven duals in two days the Trappers season will come to a halt once again, with a home dual against Western Wyoming scheduled for Friday being canceled.

Currently there are no other duals on the schedule for the Trappers until the end of January, with Northwest returning to Cabre Gym on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 for the Apodaca Duals.

"We'll make do. We'll train and we'll do fine, stay healthy," Zeigler said. "That's the great thing is we've stayed healthy, and I credit that to a lot of different things in our system, but we've been two years without any major injuries. I think our strength and conditioning program, coach (Chris) Cooley's got them on has a lot to do with that. I think the way that we're running our workouts more conservatively has got a lot to do with it. I think that our athletic training staff, Alan (Hill) has a lot to do with it and so a combination of all those things, we've managed to stay healthy."

Zeigler said he is attempting to find a match for the Trappers to wrestle before the Apodacas.