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Team Bumped To No. 3 Nationally In Latest Poll
The Northwest College wrestling team received a bit of good news prior to their departure for West district action this weekend in Portland, Ore. In the first update of junior college wrestling rankings since December, the Trappers were bumped from No. 7 to No. 3 in the nation.
“I’m glad the kids are wrestling well and it is nice to be recognized sometimes, but it also starts to get you a bigger target on your back,” said Northwest College wrestling coach Jim Zeigler.
There will be plenty of targets to go around this weekend in Portland as the Trappers make their first-ever appearance in the West regional event. The Trappers traditionally had qualified alongside programs from Kansas as part of the North Central district, but were moved westward when the National Junior College Athletic Association opted to realign regions to account for an influx of additional wrestling programs throughout the nation. The shift kicked the Trappers and Western Wyoming to the West.
Now, they’ll find themselves in a region containing three of the top four teams in the latest national rankings.
“It’s definitely the toughest region in the country,” said Zeigler. “But part of that is us. We add just enough to tip the scales. If we were still in the North Central, then you’d have two of the top three teams in the nation over there with us and Labette.”
Toss in Highline and Western Wyoming and you have five of the nation’s top 14 programs. That will make life interesting since most weight classes will probably only send their top four wrestlers to the national championships.
“If everyone has a full team, we’ll probably send 42 from the district to the national tournament,” said Zeigler. “That would mean the top four in each class, plus two wild cards. There will be a lot of very good wrestling taking place. Whoever wins will have to be super tough.”
Several of the Trappers expect to be in the mix. Six members of the school’s 10-person lineup carry individual rankings into the tournament, led by the nation’s top-ranked 141-pounder in Payson, Utah, freshman Zach Loveless.
“Zach’s got a 35-5 record, which might already be a Northwest College record for wins in a season,” said Zeigler. “Normally we don’t have a kid with that many matches, but he’s been healthy the entire way and he’s never sat out.”
Three of Loveless’ five losses have come to the same opponent — the University of Wyoming’s Cole Mendenhall. A fourth came at the hands of a fifth-year senior from Boise State and the last was a voluntary default.
“He banged his head and I made him default the match,” Zeigler said. “He wasn’t very happy with me.”
Loveless’ success, according to Zeigler, comes from his character and work ethic. Those things translate to success on the mat.
“Zach’s just that kid on the team that’s got all the things clicking on all cylinders,” said Zeigler. “He does the little things right. He gives 110 percent in practice, wins every sprint and never shows up late for a class. He gets outstanding reviews from his instructors and all those things translate into extra wins for him. He just does things right all the time.”
In addition to Loveless, the Trappers have highly ranked wrestlers in Cody Vichi, currently No. 2 in the nation at 125 pounds. Colby Kloetzer and Colton Thornton are third in the nation at 149 and 157, respectively. T.J. Guild adds a No. 4 ranking to the Trappers’ roster at 133 pounds and Diorian Coleman currently sits sixth at 165 pounds.
Altogether, they comprise a unit of lightweight wrestlers that Zeigler has boldly declared to be the best first six weight classes fielded by any junior college program in the nation. All but Thornton, a sophomore from Kamas, Utah, are in their first year of competition and could return next season for NWC.
“You’ve got to work really hard to build the chemistry and put them in situations where they have to grow to know and trust each other and care about each other,” Zeigler said of building a young team this season. “If we concentrate on making sure they’re good students and good people in September and October, the wrestling will take care of itself come January. Building a better team makes better individuals and our kids work really hard at those things.”
As with any post-season event, the key for the weekend for all the Trappers’ wrestlers is to survive and advance to the national tournament in Des Moines, Iowa. That said, a higher finish in Portland theoretically translates into a better placement on the bracket come time for the national tournament.
“Finishing higher definitely puts you in a better position when you go (to the national tournament),” Zeigler said. “It gets you into a better first-round draw situation. You don’t want to be that No. 4 seed that has to start the national tournament against a champion from another region, even though in some cases our No. 4 might be better than the regional champ from some parts of the country.”
The Trappers’ coach expects all six of his lightweights to be on that national bracket when the dust settles in Portland this Saturday.
“I would consider that par for the course,” said Zeigler. “More than that and I’ll be excited. Less than that and I’d be disappointed.”
The national championships take place Feb. 21-23.
National rankings
1. North Idaho
2. Labette
3. NORTHWEST
4. Clackamas
5. Nassau
6. Ellsworth
7. Colby
8. Niagara Count
9. Muskegon
10. Ridgewater
11. Iowa Central
12. Highline
13. Iowa Western
14. Western Wyoming
15. Neosho County
16. Rochester Community
17. Springfield Tech
18. Iowa Lakes
19. North Iowa Area
20. Pratt
Others receiving votes: Southwestern Oregon, Northwest Kansas Tech, Mercyhurst North East, Lincoln, Harper, Gloucester County, Rend Lake, Minnesota West.
Trapper individuals
Cody Vichi (second at 125)
T.J. Guild (fourth at 133)
Zach Loveless (first at 141)
Colby Kloetzer (third at149
Colton Thornton (third at 157)
Diorian Coleman (sixth at 165)