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No. 11 Northwest Hammers No. 14 Western Wyoming In Dual
A highly anticipated meeting of nationally-ranked Wyoming junior college wrestling programs turned into a rout as No. 11 Northwest College hammered No. 14 Western Wyoming 36-16 in a head-to-head dual between the schools on Thursday.
The in-state match raised the curtain on the 2012-13 wrestling season for Northwest.
“We came out with three straight pins in the first three weights and really took a lot out of them early,” said Trapper wrestling coach Jim Zeigler. “They were really looking forward to the dual and thought they could give us a run, so to open like that really sucked a lot of life out of them.”
Cody Vichi (125) got the Trappers off to a fast start with a second- period win by fall to open the dual. Ben Jorgensen (133) followed by pressing his opponent to the mat before the first period expired. Zach Loveless (141) followed with another second-period win by fall.
Northwest left the 149-pound slot vacant for the dual, giving Western its first points. The Mustangs weren’t able to get any momentum, however, as Colton Thornton won by decision at 157.
Arizona freshman Diorian Coleman followed with a decision win over a nationally-ranked wrestler from Western Wyoming, all but clinching the dual victory for Northwest in the process.
Cole McArther dropped a major decision at 174, subbing in at the weight as the Trappers juggled their lineup to account for some early-season weight certification issues. Powell’s Randy Andrews secured the dual victory officially for the Trappers at 184 with a win. Caleb Cotter gave Northwest more points with a win over a nationally ranked opponent at 197 and Western Wyoming struck last with a win by fall over Jade Parsons in the heavyweight division.
“It was a really good win for us,” said Zeigler. “I was excited. We’re a young crew with only one sophomore wrestling at Western, so for most of those guys that was their first official college match. I’m really pleased with how they came out of the gate. We’re still really green, but we showed that we’re also really talented.”
That talent continued to be on display on Saturday as the Trappers took part in the Cowboy Open at the University of Wyoming.
Colby Kloetzer took the championship in the amateur bracket at 149 pounds, defeating all five of the opponents he faced along the way. Teammate Jeff McCormick added a third-place finish at that weight, finishing 5-1 and showcasing the Trappers’ depth at the division.
Zach Loveless also advanced to the championship match of the 141-pound division, but was medically defaulted prior to the start of that match, finishing his day 5-0. Medical defaults do not count against wrestlers’ individual records.
“Zach got hit in the head in a really hard semifinal match and he just seemed really dopey and groggy to me,” said Zeigler. “I didn’t want to fool with that, especially this early in the season.”
Colton Thornton went 4-1 at 157 pounds to also place for the Trappers. The team had several others who narrowly missed a place on the podium in Laramie.
“Vichi went 2-2 for us at 125,” said Zeigler. “T.J. Guild wrestled up a weight at 141 and finished 3-2 despite giving up several pounds. Ben Jorgensen was 2-2 at 133. Diorian Coleman went 4-2 at 165. Randy Andrews went 3-2 and missed by a match at his regular weight of 174. Cole McArther was also 3-2 in that 174-pound bracket. Overall, it was a great tournament for us.”
The Trappers host their own tournament this Saturday. Wyoming, Air Force, Colorado State-Pueblo, the University of Great Falls, Montana State-Northern and North Idaho will be in attendance. Other schools and club teams may also send wrestlers to the meet.
“We’ll start wrestling on four mats at 9 a.m. and go straight through until we’re finished,” said Zeigler.