NORTHWEST COLLEGE WRESTLING RUNS OUT OF GAS

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

The first dual back from Christmas break proved too difficult, as the No. 7-ranked Northwest College wrestling team ran out of gas and dropped a dual to NAIA Montana State University-Northern 32-19 on Tuesday night.   

MSU-NORTHERN 32, NORTHWEST 19
The Trappers first action came in the form of a rare home dual in Cabre Gym, opening up the January schedule against the Northern Lights.

It made for a wrestling-filled night in Powell, as the Panthers also hosted a quad meet.

"I apologize for the conflict with the high school," coach Jim Zeigler said. "We never want to be going at the same time as them, it splits our fans up and that was disappointing. If I had done a little better planning I would have planned something with Coach [Nick] Fulton where we could do it all at one place and all the wrestling fans could enjoy it."

Northwest fell behind early, after an open weight at 125 and a pin to Avery McSpadden by Noah McDermott in the second period made it 12-0 to the visitors early.

The Trappers got going at 141 pounds, as No. 1-ranked Bobur Berdiyorov earned a pin over Colin Silverthon at the 2:28 mark.

Northwest remained open at 149 pounds, but regained some points at 157 pounds when Gus Harrison pinned Connor Harris at the 1:48 mark.

The Trappers fell further behind when Orrin Jackson lost by a technical fall 15-0 in the third period against Devin Crawford.

"It's not on them it's on me," Zeigler said. "I didn't have them well-prepared. We were doing two-a-days and I cut them short … I don't think I pushed them far enough or hard enough this week and it showed."

Needing to gain momentum, the Trappers sent out No. 1-ranked Aziz Fayzullaev at 174 pounds to try and keep the match close.

Fayzullaev maintained a 4-1 lead after the first two periods, but an escape and takedown by NaKoda Siegel tied the match at four and sent it into sudden death overtime.

Exhausted, Fayzullaev found a takedown early in the extra session, and earned three points for Northwest to make it 23-15.

Unfortunately for Northwest the late victory did not create any momentum, as Gavin Carter was pinned in 11 seconds to give MSU-Northern a 29-15 advantage heading into the final two bouts.

"We continue to be plagued by pins," Zeigler said. "It shows a lack of fight. I think if somebody doesn't want to get pinned then they won't get pinned. My mentality is that of a grown man and they are still young men, they need to man up on some things."

No. 3-ranked Ryker Blackburn was unable to gain any traction in his matchup with Carl Hansen, losing an 8-1 decision to make it 32-15.

Cody Pinkerton earned a major decision at heavyweight, giving the No. 10-ranked wrestler a 9-0 victory over Rylan Moldenhauer to make the final score 32-19.   

NATIONAL DUALS
Northwest will not have much time to readjust from the dual on Tuesday night, heading out on Wednesday to Miami, Oklahoma, to take part in the NJCAA National Duals on Friday and Saturday.

"I can't coach desire but I can build their confidence by getting them in better shape," Zeigler said. "Their lack of conditioning is as much my fault as it is theirs."