NWC wrestling ‘overmatched’ in Great Falls

Posted 2/16/21

The Northwest College wrestling team’s most recent outing has head coach Jim Zeigler looking for answers.

The Trappers ventured to Great Falls, Montana, for a dual at University of …

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NWC wrestling ‘overmatched’ in Great Falls

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The Northwest College wrestling team’s most recent outing has head coach Jim Zeigler looking for answers.

The Trappers ventured to Great Falls, Montana, for a dual at University of Providence on Thursday. They lost duals to Providence and Montana State University-Northern, winning just one individual match all weekend. 

“We were overmatched,” Zeigler said. “There were some glaring problems. There was a lack of umph, and I don’t know exactly where I’m going to pull that from. We have got to want to succeed.”

NWC kicked off the day with a 46-6 loss to Providence. Freshman Ryker Blackburn earned the Trappers’ lone victory, pinning Emmit Augare in 2:18. In the next dual, Northwest didn’t come out on top in any matches, losing 43-0 to MSU-Northern.

The coach noted Blackburn as the Trappers’ standout on the day, going 1-1. Even in his loss, Blackburn “wrestled hard” against MSU-Northern’s Isaac Bartel — one of the premier NAIA wrestlers, Zeigler said. And despite going 0-2, Zeigler was impressed with freshman Tahjae Jenkins-Harris, who “was competitive” in both matches.

As for the team’s overall performance, the coach doesn’t know if his teams’ problems are stemming from the season’s unconventional nature from COVID-19 or a lack of competitive desire.

“There seems to be some fear and hesitation,” Zeigler said. “My overall assessment is that we’re not competing at a level where I want to see us compete at.”

Though Thursday didn’t go as the coach planned, Zeigler is confident his team can get out of this rut. 

“We will work past this,” Zeigler said. “We need to be more competitive. I don’t know exactly where I’m going to pull that from, but we’re trying to address that currently.”

The Trapper wrestlers are next scheduled to compete on Saturday, Feb. 27, when they’ll grapple with Northeastern Junior College, Otero Junior College and North Idaho College in Sterling, Colorado.

Northwest College, Trapper Wrestling

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