NORTHWEST TRAPPER WRESTLING SPLITS ROAD DUALS

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

Northwest wrestling went back on the road this past week, heading to Sterling, Colorado, where the No. 17-ranked Trappers split a pair of duals — losing to NCAA Division II school Chadron State 31-18 before defeating hosts No. 11-ranked Northeastern Junior College 30-20.

After the duals the team moved on to Kearney, Nebraska, to take part in the Younes Hospitality Open, where Cody Pinkerton wrestled back to a fourth place finish.

CHADRON STATE 31, NORTHWEST 18
Kicking off the night on Thursday the Trappers (2-1) went to battle with the Chadron State Eagles (2-1).

At 125 pounds, Roberto Garcia lost by technical fall while Jose Treyes fell by major decision at 133 pounds to put Northwest behind 9-0 early.

Bobur Berdiyorov earned the Trappers a victory at 141 pounds, giving the Trappers six points after a pin in the first round.

After pulling closer at 9-6, Northwest fell further behind after Jake Olsen lost by technical fall at 149 pounds, Gus Harrison lost by decision at 157 pounds and Orrin Jackson lost by technical fall at 165 pounds.

Trailing 22-6, Aziz Fayzullaev earned a pin in the first round at 174 pounds to cut the deficit to 22-12.

Cody Todd was pinned at 184 pounds in the second round to seal the victory for Chadron, while Ryker Blackburn earned a pin in the first round at 197 pounds to make the score 28- 18.

Cody Pinkerton was defeated by a tight decision in the heavyweight class, to make the final score 31-18.

NORTHWEST 30, NORTHEASTERN 20
After a couple hours rest the Trappers got back on the mat to take on hosts Northeastern (1-3).

Garcia got things started at 125 pounds with a strong come from behind victory — after trailing 10-0 he was able to get on top to start the second period and earn a pin to give Northwest an early 6-0 lead.

"That second period we put him in that top position and he was able to get a pin," coach Jim Zeigler said. "It was a big shift and a big turn for us."

At 133 pounds Treyes trailed throughout the match, and gave up points late to lose by a tech fall and make the match 6-5.

Berdiyorov got Northwest back on track at 141 pounds, earning a victory by tech fall to extend the lead back out to 11-5.

Olsen again got the nod at 149 pounds, and was pinned to tie the match at 11-11. "Jake is weighing in at 141 pounds and wrestling up at 149," Zeigler said.

Harrison got a victory at 157 pounds, earning the decision after battling through an injured rib he suffered in the Chadron State match.

"With the rib he had a tough time breathing but he held on for a win and that saved us," Zeigler said.

At 165 pounds, Jackson pushed the lead out to 20-11 after a pin.

Zeigler said that Jackson is beginning to learn the college wrestling style the fastest out of the freshmen thus far.

At 174 pounds, Fayzullaev pushed the lead out to 24-11 after a major decision.

Northeastern cut into the lead at 184 pounds with a pin over Todd.

Blackburn secured the victory for Northwest with a pin at 197 pounds, before Pinkerton lost by a 9-3 decision in the heavyweight class to make the final score 30-20.

YOUNES HOSPITALITY OPEN
After a day off on Friday, Northwest made its way to Nebraska to take part in the Younes Hospitality Open.

Leading the way for Northwest was Pinkerton, who advanced to the quarterfinals before falling to Antonio Ramos from Air Force Prep in overtime.

Pinkerton battled his way back to the third place match, but was unable to wrestle in the match due to reaching the match limit of six for the day — finishing 5-1 for the tournament in fourth place.

"We wrestled the young guys and Cody because he did not have a lot of matches yet," Zeigler said. "Cody did great."

The next top performer for Northwest was Treyes, who finished 3-2 on the day.

Olsen wrestled at his preferred weight of 141 pounds and went 2-2, while Todd went 2-2 at 184 pounds and Jackson went 1-1 at 165 pounds after being ruled out due to a concussion.

Zeigler said the best part of the tournament was the wrestlers that were not competing walked around as a group from mat to mat to support each of their teammates competing while also coaching them throughout their matches. He said one of his favorite parts about long road trips such as these gives him the opportunity to focus solely on coaching.

THANKSGIVING BREAK
Zeigler said he is giving his athletes the entirety of Thanksgiving week off from practice in order to rest and recover from what has already been a long first semester.

After returning from break the Trappers will head to Montana for a set of duals and a tournament before heading to Western Wyoming the week after.