TRAPPERS DOMINATE NJC AT APODACA DUALS

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

Welcoming in some of the top wrestlers across the country the Northwest College wrestling team rolled past Northeastern Junior College 41-10 on Friday night at the Apodaca Duals before falling to Western Wyoming 36-10 on Saturday.

"Our guys are showing that they're a team. Their conditioning is good, they're getting stronger and they're making less mistakes. They're capitalizing on situations better," coach Jim Zeigler said. "They're just getting more seasoned, that's what you expect in January and February as you make that run towards the end. I think they're the best they've been thus far this year, and hopefully we can improve on that."     

NORTHWEST 41, NORTHEASTERN 10
Kicking off the action Friday night the NJCAA No. 17-ranked Trappers welcomed in the No. 21-ranked Plainsmen.

Northeastern got the first win of the night, as Jackie Meador trailed early and fell via a 14-3 major decision at 125 pounds as the visitors took a 4-0 lead.

Northwest immediately responded at 133 pounds, as Zachary Covolo jumped out to a 4-3 lead after the first period. He then worked his opponent into a pin in the second with 28 seconds left to give Northwest a 6-4 lead.

Kaiden Rubash followed up with a pin of his own in the second period to carry the momentum, giving Northwest a 12-4 lead.

One of the most important wins of the night for Northwest came at 149 pounds, as Treyson Davila trailed after the first period 3-0.

He was down 4-0, but got a takedown late in the second period to make it a 4-3 scoreline heading into the final period.

After letting his opponent earn a point, Davila won with a late takedown just before time expired to take the 6-5 decision and extend the Trapper lead to 15-4.

"He deserved that win. He worked hard, the other guy was out of gas and he was pressing," Zeigler said. "A really big deal for him. So I'm really happy with that."

At 157 pounds, Jack Lounsbury held a 3-1 lead after the first period, but got caught in the second period and was pinned with 24 seconds left as Northeast cut the deficit to 15-10.

Northwest got back on track at 165 pounds, as Asad Fayzullaev controlled the match from the start, holding a 9-2 lead after the first period before eventually earning a 19-3 tech fall with 1:32 left in the third period.

Dustin Rhoades followed that up with a win of his own at 174 pounds, earning a 10-3 win to make it 24-10.

Jesse Thornton continued the strong night for the Trappers at 184 pounds, as he led 6-2 after the first period before eventually pinning his opponent with 21 seconds left in the second period.

The final two matches of the night helped cap off the dominant evening for the Trappers, as Austin Richens got a pin in just over a minute at 197 pounds while Jett Swain got a pin with 49 seconds left in the first at 285 pounds to close the evening with a 41-10 win.

"I was really proud of the way our guys wrestled on Friday. They were aggressive, our conditioning was way better," Zeigler said. "I thought they performed well."    

WESTERN WYOMING 36, NORTHWEST 10
After the victory on Friday night the Trappers turned their attention to the top ranked team in the nation in the Mustangs on Saturday, where Northwest continued to show improvement against the defending national champions. 

Western got on the board first, as Meador trailed throughout and fell via a 12-2 major decision.

Northwest responded at 133 pounds, as Covolo started with a 3-0 lead after the first period, and extended it via two stall calls in the second to lead 5-0 heading into the final period.

He ended with an 8-0 win, and Northwest tied the score at four early.

"I thought he (Covolo) wrestled an outstanding match. The kid beat him pretty good at national duals, for him to come back three weeks later and get a major in this, it's a completely different match," Zeigler said. "The first takedown made the difference. Had the other kid gotten the takedown that match could have gone the complete other way. But with that first takedown he was able to establish himself on top, and get into a comfort zone where he's riding the kid really hard. Wore the other kid down and he kind of took him out of the match." 

At 141 pounds the Mustangs got things rolling, starting with an 18-2 tech fall over Rubash in the second period.

Western won via a 13-4 major decision over Davila at 149 pounds before Lounsbury fell via a 19-3 tech fall late in the third period at 157 pounds.

At 165 pounds, Fayzullaev trailed 3-1 after the first period and 3-2 after the second before a key third period.

An escape made it a 4-2 scoreline, and a potential takedown late for Fayzullaev was not awarded and he lost via that 4-2 margin.

"Asad has got to attack a little earlier. I think he can," Zeigler said. "It came down to a really close call that didn't go our way. Nothing you can do about those things. You gotta take it out of the official's hands. I'm not saying the official was wrong, I'm just saying that to us it looked like he had a takedown. But he can't be in that close situation, you gotta do it earlier."

Thornton stepped in at 174 pounds for the Trappers, falling via a 12-0 major decision, and Robby Ortega fell via a 21-4 tech fall in the third period at 184 pounds.

Northwest got its second win of the afternoon at 197 pounds, as Richens dominated from the start and pinned his opponent in 54 seconds.

"Austin's return looks really good. He's been out for a while, so for him returning, he looked really good," Zeigler said.

Western capped the dual with a pin of Swain at 285 pounds with 56 seconds left in the first period to bring the final score to 36-10.

"They're a great team, they're the No. 1 team in the country for a reason," Zeigler said. "We know what we're up against, but I just felt like our kids' approach was different this time, they fought harder … Now are we satisfied with that (loss)? No, but no question they showed improvement."    

DUAL CANCELED
The Trappers were supposed to head on the road one last time during the regular season for a dual this Friday in Rock Springs, but that dual has been canceled following Trinidad State not traveling to dual Western.

That means that Northwest will use the next two weeks to train before heading on a long trip to La Junta, Colorado, to take part in the NJCAA Plains District Tournament on Saturday, Feb. 22.

"We'll keep training. Staying healthy is pretty amazing, this is the second year in a row," Zeigler said. "I think the system we have in place is working in terms of our strength, our conditioning, our wrestling. Knowing when to wrestle them hard and when to rest them."