NWC WRESTLING HEADS TO NATIONAL DUALS

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

The Northwest College wrestling team is hitting the mat for one of the biggest competitions of the season — the NJCAA Coaches/National Duals on Friday and Saturday in Miami, Oklahoma.
The Trappers have been working the past week to prepare for the event, with coach Jim Zeigler noting they are taking a different approach this week compared to years' past.
"Nobody's been sick yet (knock on wood), I've been trying to keep them kind of sheltered and a little different approach this year coming back from Christmas. In the past, we've done two-a-day workouts and did a boot camp and that's kind of what I had in mind. But when they got back, they seemed really good," Zeigler said. "It's a different group, and I looked at the time frame and decided that I'd work them hard, but we alternate. Do two practices one day, one another and just go by how they feel. Really concentrate more on getting back in the swing of things, getting where they feel good."
He said the reasoning for the shift is because the journey to Oklahoma is long, and he feels the Trappers didn't lose much of their conditioning over break — he is hopeful the other teams will push their teams too hard and come into the event tired.
"I thought pushing them too hard was just going to tire them out. So we'll see," Zeigler said. "The way that I'll know I'm wrong is if their intensity level is not where it needs to be."
After the winter break, Zeigler is hopeful some of the team's early season injuries are in the past. He's excited to see one of his freshmen, Colby Ducatt, who was sidelined for several weeks with an ankle injury, get through a full weekend.
"He's still a little tentative mentally about it, driving off his foot and some things," Zeigler said. "This is going to be a really good weekend for him if we can get him through the whole weekend without any injuries or any problems. That goes for everybody. But, he's going to get seven matches and that'll be great."
After ending the first semester with a positive step on the road with a dual against Western Wyoming Community College, Zeigler is hoping the team continues to show growth this weekend squaring off with a number of ranked teams from across the country.
"I just want to see growth. I want to see that they're coming into themselves, they're figuring things out, that they're competing better and that they're having a good time," Zeigler said. 
He said that final point is an emphasis he has started putting into the program over the past several years, helping wrestlers continue to love the sport while letting the winning take care of itself.
"I want our team to have fun. We enjoy each other, we enjoy it and it makes practice fun. You're working really hard, you don't even realize you're working hard because you like what you're doing and like the people you're doing it with. It just promotes growth," Zeigler said. "Just trying to get away from the old school thinking of a fixed mindset, of just win, win, win. I think we've done a really good job of it over the last several years."
He said as an aging coach he's learned new things as the kids have changed, which has led to a mindset change over the last several years as he's moved away from the old wrestling coach mentality.
"That mentality puts pressure on the kids," he added. "I think it was about toughness and a lot of them weren't a better version of themselves. They were the same version, just hardened and tougher, older and stronger and more experienced. I'm trying to grow them into a better version of themselves. With that in mind, you've got to enjoy what you're doing. I think the old mindset, kids end up hating wrestling a lot of the time because it's so demanding. Let's make it fun. Let's make it about competing. Let's make it about getting better and letting winning take care of itself. I think we've done a good job of that."
He pointed to wrestlers the past several seasons who have made significant progress and made an impact on the national stage in Kaiden Rubash and current assistant coach Orrin Jackson, as well as several other competitors who have shown growth and made an impact nationally as a Trapper.
"The kids that come back and visit and call and everything, it turns out that their experience has just been great. That's what we want," Zeigler said.
Heading to Oklahoma the Trappers are uncertain of the opponents in their pool, as those had not been determined as of press time. He said the tournament does well with seeding and placing you with teams that you don't see often, and is hopeful the Trappers can make a splash at the national event.
"I'm looking forward to whoever we wrestle. I feel like our mindset is in the right place. I've just got to make sure the intensity is there, it can't be all fun," Zeigler said.
Northwest will finally compete at home for the first time this season next week, hosting Western Wyoming in a dual on Friday evening.