NWC WRESTLERS HEAD TO DISTRICT QUALIFIERS

BY SETH ROMSA TRIBUNE SPORTS WRITER
Courtesy of the Powell Tribune

Following the Apodaca Duals the Northwest College wrestling team has had nearly three weeks to prepare for the NJCAA Plains District Tournament. The Trappers will head to La Junta, Colorado, the home of Otero College, on Saturday to compete for spots at the national tournament next month.

"I feel good about where we're at," coach Jim Zeigler said. "Workouts have been great, attitudes good. Health is good, so we're in a position to give our best performance in terms of the kids being able to be at their best. They have an opportunity to succeed here and cash in on that."

Heading into the weekend the Trappers will compete against Otero, Trinidad State, Northeastern Junior College, Southeast Community College and Western Wyoming.

Qualifying numbers will depend on the combined number of participants from all the teams, with 70% of participants advancing to the national tournament.

The max number of participants is 60 across all 10 weights, which would mean if all teams entered participants at every weight then four from each weight would advance to the national tournament alongside two additional wild cards.

Entering the tournament, Zeigler is hopeful that there will be some more upsets this year. 

"I want to see some upsets. So often we go to a regional tournament and they seed the brackets and they end up exactly the way they were seeded. Nobody upsets anybody. You can't have that in the postseason, somebody's got to step up and beat someone that's seeded higher than them," Zeigler said.

He said the Trappers are going to have some changes in their lineup, including Jack Lounsbury dropping to 149 pounds and Treyson Davila moving to 157, while Robbie Ortega will slot in at 184 pounds and Jesse Thornton will wrestle at 174.

Zeigler added that the team will be able to make the trip easier by flying down on Thursday as opposed to driving.

"Hats off to Brian Erickson and Tom Havron, those guys jumped right in and said 'you need to do what you've got to do to allow our students the best chance,'" Zeigler said.

Qualifiers for the national tournament will have two weeks of rest following the district tournament before competing at the NJCAA National Championships on March 7-8 in Council Bluffs, Iowa.