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No. 5 NWC Rolls to Victory
By RANDAL HOROBIK
Tribune Sports Editor
Fifth-ranked Northwest College handily dispatched in-state rival and No. 17 Western Wyoming 31-12 in a Wednesday night wrestling dual in Hank Cabre Gymnasium. The Trappers won seven of 10 weight classes.
Heavyweight Landon Harris won by first-period fall while 174-pounder Nick Petersen turned in a 16-4 major-decision victory among the wins. The Trappers also benefitted from Western Wyoming forfeits at 184 and 197 pounds as the team rallied back from a 12-9 deficit in the upper weights.
"Nick wrestled very well tonight," said NWC head coach Jim Zeigler, noting the victory came against a Western Wyoming grappler who, like Petersen, is ranked in the top 10 of the 174-pound weight class. "He went out and did what we asked him to do in controlling the match and taking his guy to the mat."
Also winning contested matches for the Trappers on Wednesday were Jesse Hillhouse, a 2-1 victor at 125 pounds, McCade Ford, an 11-7 winner at 141, and Briston Brenton, a 6-1 winner at 157. All five of the Trappers' winning wrestlers were ranked in the top 12 of the latest NJCAA weight class polls.
By contrast, all three of the Trappers' losses in Wednesday's dual came from wrestlers making their first varsity appearances for Northwest College. Freshmen Jake Budd (133) and Bobby Robins (149) both burned their redshirt-status to compete for Northwest. Budd dropped a 9-1 decision to former Lovell grappler Jacob Bassett. Robins fell victim to a 20-2 technical fall at the hands of Rodney Dollar, currently ranked No. 5 in his weight division.
Freshman Tony Wood rounded out the results for the Trappers, falling by a 5-3 count in his match at 165 pounds.
Northwest College saw action this past weekend at the University of Great Falls open tournament, as well as duals against Simon Fraser University and Dickinson State University. Those results will appear in Thursday's edition of the Tribune.