Your future, our focus
BY DAVID DICKEY
Tribune Sports Editor
Harris, Guerrero, Carranza enjoy solid efforts
A trio of Trapper wrestlers registered solid finishes in Old Chicago's Northern Colorado Open last Sunday in Greeley, Colo.
Freshman heavyweight entry and No. 2 seeded Landon Harris wrestled his way to the best finish for the Trappers. In four bouts, Harris endured just one loss - a 3-1 setback in overtime to top-seeded Charlie Alexander from Colorado's Western State College. In his other bouts, Harris opened the tournament by pinning Colorado State University- Pueblo's Jon Russel, who was wrestling unattached, at the 5:15 mark.
Harris followed that opening round victory by registering a victory by fall at the 36-second mark of his bout with Bryan Stansbury of the Colorado School of Mines. Bout three saw Harris advance after a default by New Mexico Highlands University's Jesse Boggs.
NWC's other placers included Saul Guerrero and Luis Carranza in the 133-pound weight class. Guerrero, a freshman from Fort Lupton, Colo., notched a 5-1 mark, while Carranza went 4-1. The two wrestlers were scheduled to meet in the bout for third place, but NWC head coach Jim Zeigler held them out to help avoid injury to either competitor.
"Both of those guys had wrestled a lot of matches, and they were both tired and beat down," Zeigler said. "We didn't want to have them wrestle one more time and run the risk of one of them getting injured."
In the remaining weight classes for NWC, freshman Eddie Whiting went 1-2 at 125, and freshman McCade Ford posted a 2-2 mark at 141. At 149, the Trappers had a pair of entries - freshmen Tyler Jones and Briston Brenton. Jones finished with a 2-2 record, and Brenton enjoyed a 3-2 effort.
Trapper freshman Corey Woodruff endured a 1-2 record in the highly competitive 157-pound weight class. Fellow freshman Mak Jones, a 2008graduate of Powell High School, also endured a 1-2 mark in the tournament.
Due to injuries, illness and other lineup changes, the Trappers did not enter wrestlers in the 165-, 174- and 184-pound weight classes Sunday.
"We're still seeing a lot of promise from this group," Zeigler said. "There's a lot of potential there, and we're expecting even better things from them this season."
The Trappers, who were given time off for the Thanksgiving holiday, are scheduled to report to practice Saturday. When they return to the practice mats, they'll be preparing for a dual meet against the University of Great Falls Tuesday, Dec. 2, at 7 p.m. That matchup was originally scheduled to be conducted at Skyview High School in Montana, but Zeigler noted that Billings West now will serve as the host venue for that event.
As for the remainder of December's schedule, the Trappers have a series of road meets scheduled against Iowa Central (Dec. 4, Fort Dodge, Iowa), North Iowa Area Community College (Dec. 6, Mason City, Iowa), North Idaho College (Dec. 12, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) and Southwest Oregon Community College (Dec. 13, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho)