Two dual wins helped propel the Northwest College wrestling team to a strong weekend on the road. The Trappers rallied to defeat host Northeastern Junior College 31-19 and Otero Junior College 46-3 on Thursday in Sterling, Colorado, before a strong showing at the University of Nebraska-Kearney, with several wrestlers grabbing top finishes at the competitive Younes Hospitality Open on Saturday.

NORTHWEST 31 NORTHEASTERN 19

In the first dual of the weekend the Trappers needed to come from behind after an early deficit against the hosts.

Northwest trailed after the first four weights, after Adrian Trujillo was pinned by Trevor Hermosillo at 125 pounds, Zachary Covolo lost via a 3-0 decision to Calvin Mendez at 133 pounds, Kaiden Rubash lost via a 15-4 major decision to Bronson Richins at 141 pounds and Akea Cariaga was pinned by Silas Thompson at 149 pounds resulting in Northwest trailing 19-0.

The Trappers got on the board when Jack Lounsbury won via a 13-4 major decision at 157 pounds over Ethan Sinclair, which was followed by an Asad Fayzullaev pin of Angel Vela at 165 pounds to make it 19-10.

“When Jack came up at 157, I mean we’re talking about a sophomore leader and a captain. He was fired up and he made up his mind that he was going to go out there and turn it around, and he did,” coach Jim Zeigler said.

Dustin Rhoades earned a 9-6 decision over Luke Arthur at 174 pounds to put Northwest in striking distance, and Easton Hopes followed with a pin of Mason Eddy at 184 pounds to tie the match at 19.

Austin Richins gave the Trappers the lead at 197 pounds with a pin of Rene Perez, and Jett Swain capped off the win by pinning Ryan Escamilla at 285 pounds to make the final score 31-19.

“They just decided, hey, we’re going to flip this. That’s enough, and it was a great turnaround,” Zeigler said.

NORTHWEST 46, OTERO 3

In the second dual the Trappers lost the opening match when Jackie Meador lost a 4-1 decision to Elijah Montalvan at 125 pounds.

That was the only match the Trappers lost in the dual.

Covolo earned a pin over Joseff Rivera to give Northwest a 6-3 lead and Rubash won by forfeit to make it 12-3.

Cariaga earned a 5-1 decision over Joe Zamora and Lounsbury earned a 15-0 tech fall over Frederico Luna to make it 20-3.

Fayzullaev earned a 17-8 major decision over Dylan Ruiz and Rhoades earned a 17-0 tech fall over Camren Galicia to make it 29-3.

“Dustin has got some maturity. He’s been on a mission and he’s just a gritty, gutty kid,” Zeigler said. “He’s just tough. It’s been his first opportunity. He’s been out with some illnesses and other things, he got married so he had a week off for that and you know, he has just found a way to stay really dedicated and tough through a lot of other things going on in his life, to maintain his focus in wrestling and dedicate himself still. He stepped in the lineup and we’re like, ‘wow, this kid looks good.’ He looks really good.”

Hopes earned a 19-3 tech fall over Kaleb Cooper, Richens earned a pin over David Williams and Swain earned a pin over Griffin LaRue to make the final score 46-3.

“They wrestled great. They just really wrestled great all weekend,” Zeigler said.

YOUNES HOSPITALITY OPEN

Continuing the trip into Kearney, Nebraska, the Trappers took part in the Younes Hospitality Open on Saturday which featured teams of all levels of competition in college wrestling.

“That Kearney tournament, that’s a tough tournament. I bet there’s 60 or more teams in it,” Zeigler said. 

Leading the way for Northwest was Richens, who won four matches, three by pin, before he was withdrawn from the final as a precaution for an injury to place second at 197 pounds.

“We pulled him out of the finals match because he sprained an ankle in the semis pretty good … On the weekend, I don’t know that he wrestled a full seven minutes except that one (semifinal) match, he pinned everybody. He was awesome,” Zeigler said.

Two NWC wrestlers finished 5-1 at their respective weights, reaching the allowed limit for matches in the consolation rounds as Fayzullaev at 165 pounds and Swain at 285 pounds both wrestled six matches with the loss for both wrestlers coming to NCAA Division II opponents.

Covolo finished the weekend with a 3-2 record at 133 pounds before being withdrawn from competition as a precaution for an injury, with Hopes also earning a winning record at 184 pounds to finish 3-2.

“We wanted to pull him (Covolo) out a match earlier, but he insisted that he wrestle that NJC (Northeastern) kid again. He was behind 9-3, came back, tied it up at nine and then pinned him to avenge his loss on the weekend,” Zeigler said.

Lounsbury went 2-2 at 157 pounds; Rubash went 1-2 at 141 pounds; Sunny Espinoza went 1-2 at 141 pounds; Cariaga went 1-2 at 149 pounds; Rhoades went 1-2 at 174 pounds; Meador went 0-2 at 125 pounds and Trujillo went 0-2 at 125 pounds.

“I love what’s happening with our team. I love the growth that I’m seeing,” Zeigler said. “We just spent basically five days on the road together, 24 hours a day, and they get along beautifully on the bus and in the hotel. They’re on time for everything, the organization is running smoothly with these guys. They get it.”

KEEP ON ROLLING

Early in the season the Trappers continue to improve while putting up some impressive team performances, with Zeigler planning to carry the team’s momentum following Thanksgiving before the final events of the first semester in Montana on Dec. 6-7.

“We don’t need to change anything. We’re going to do the same thing, we’re doing perfectly,” Zeigler said. “Our system is to continue to get better throughout the year and they’re showing that our system is working. We’re lifting, we’re getting stronger, we’re doing great conditioning. We’re doing technique in the room. They’re learning through competition and developing confidence. It’s just a process and they’re early in that process. They just continue on the same path.”

He said that the team will continue to improve, with the end goal to be their best in February.

“People that have followed our teams over the last 30 years know that our teams, all of them get better. They get better from November-February, they look completely different. That’s what it’s supposed to be. We’re in college, this is a place of education and these guys grow and develop through that time frame,” Zeigler said. “They’re not the same kids in January and February that they were in October, November and December. And in that second year, they’re not the same kid. They’re much better the second year. So we’re going to keep doing what we do, because we see growth and development through time with these guys. That’s time on the bus, time in the locker room, time in the practice room, time in class, time in the hotels and time in the competition. We’re coaching them all the time, watching film with them on the bus … I’m really proud of our guys. They’re doing a great job.”