NINE TRAPPERS QUALIFY FOR NATIONAL TOURNEY

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

Nine Northwest College wrestlers have qualified for the national tournament, as the Trappers finished third at the NJCAA Plains District Qualifiers and had two individual winners in La Junta, Colorado.

"Austin [Richens] and Jett [Swain] were fantastic, both of them did a great job," coach Jim Zeigler said of his individual winners.

Swain took the top spot at 285 at the district tournament, winning his first match over Miguel Perez Diaz from Southeast Community College via pin in 3:33.

Swain followed that up with an upset of Western Wyoming's Dmarian Lopez who was the top seed heading into the tournament, winning via a 4-1 decision.

Swain pulled off the win after trailing 1-0 heading into the third period, getting an escape after choosing bottom and then a takedown with three seconds left.

"That's a huge win, beating the No. 1 heavyweight in the country. He got pinned by the kid here at the Apodacas and got beaten by him in the (previous) two duals and for him to come through and beat him this time, that was pretty awesome," Zeigler said. "He wrestled a great match. Really smart, strategic match."

For his efforts Swain was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament.

Richens also had a dominant weekend at 197 pounds, winning both of his matches via pin to claim the top spot in the Plains District.

He won his first match over Marcel Gordon from Trinidad State in just 37 seconds, before defeating Corey Hyatt from Southeast in the final bout in 2:46.

"He pinned his way through and the guy he pinned in the finals was a ranked guy," Zeigler said. "A good kid from Southeast, we've been wanting to wrestle him and Austin handled him, took him down, built a 7-0 lead and then turned him and pinned him."

Northwest had two additional finalists, as Asad Fayzullaev advanced to the final at 165 pounds with a pin and a major decision, but fell 4-3 in the championship bout to Banks Nordby from Western Wyoming.

"Asad lost an identical match that he lost to the Western kid in the Apodacas, he (Fayzullaev) got late takedowns right on the edge," Ziegler said. "The guy was able to get out of bounds, we did a video challenge on both of them and came up without (the result). He's waiting too long, we all feel like he was the better wrestler. He was in more scoring situations, and he just closed it too late and too close to the edge. We gotta take our opportunities earlier." 

Jesse Thornton was the other Trapper finalist, winning his first match via a 3-2 decision before falling via major decision 12-1 to Sam May from Western Wyoming.

Northwest had one wrestler finish third, as Zachary Covolo went 2-1 at 133 pounds.

Fourth place finishes for the Trappers included Jack Lounsbury going 2-2 at 149 pounds; Treyson Davila going 2-2 at 157 pounds; Kaiden Rubash going 1-2 at 141 pounds and Robby Ortega going 1-2 at 184 pounds.

All four fourth place finishers qualified, as automatic qualifiers determined before the tournament were at 125, 141 and 149 pounds, while Davila and Ortega were selected as wild cards for the national tournament.

The final competitor for the Trappers was Jackie Meador, who finished fifth at 125 pounds after going 1-2.

As a team the Trappers finished in third with 66 points well ahead of fourth place Northeastern Junior College and Otero Junior College which each finished with 25, but 17 behind Southeast in second place. Western Wyoming won the team title with 124.

"I think Jett's and Austin's performances put us above par," Zeigler said. "Qualifying nine is a big deal. I thought seven would be solid, six would be disappointing, above seven would be above par and we're definitely there."

Zeigler added that his two assistant coaches, Chris Cooley and Orrin Jackson, were huge parts of the success of the team this weekend, helping each of the top wrestlers progress through hard work in the training room.

"Chris and Orrin did a great job. Those two big guys winning, Chris has a lot to do with that. He trains with those guys and works with them regularly. So Austin and Jett are a real reflection of his coaching skills," Zeigler said. "Orrin works with Asad quite a bit and those middle area guys. So a credit to those guys and everything they do to make us better. A good team effort."

The Trappers will now take the next week to sharpen their skills even further before heading to the NJCAA National Championships on March 7-8 in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

"Just trying to sharpen them up, keep them solid between the ears. The work has been done to this point, so now it's just mental preparation and doing the physical activities and things that prepare them mentally," Zeigler said. "Really important that they make it to every class, that they maintain a solid routine and that they're trying to achieve perfection outside of wrestling in everything they do, and that'll trickle into their wrestling performance. So just a real focus on all areas of their lives, and just keeping things in great order and organized and prepared. Eating, sleeping, class, studying, if you're sharp in all those things doing a good job, then you're doing a good job when you get on the mat."