In brief: NIC national co-champion

College wrestling: North Idaho had six wrestlers finish in the top five of their respective weight classes and the Cardinals finished as co-champions of the NJCAA National Tournament Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa.

NIC and Labette CC both finished with 120 team points to share the title. It was the 14th national championship for the Cardinals and first since 2003.

North Idaho led Labette 120-116 heading into the 184-pound title match, but Labette’s Devin Aguirre posted an 11-7 decision over NIC’s Ryan Zumwalt (U-Hi) to even the team standings.

Later, a Labette defeat to a Pratt CC wrestler in the 184-pound final prevented Labette from winning the team title outright.

Cardinals Jarrett Morrill (141) and V.J. Giulio (197) won their third-place matches.

Also finishing inside the top five for North Idaho were Brock Banta (fourth, 125 pounds), Michael Carreon (fifth, 133) and Jeremy Golding (fifth, 149, Mead High).

Another WCC title for Bulldogs

Women’s basketball: Gonzaga captured the West Coast Conference title outright with a 66-55 win over Brigham Young at Provo, Utah, on Saturday afternoon.

The Bulldogs (24-5, 14-1) recorded their 12th consecutive win and the 350th of coach Kelly Graves’ career while claiming their ninth consecutive WCC title.

Gonzaga had already clinched at least a share of the title, but Brigham Young (19-8, 10-4) opened the day with an outside shot at tying the Bulldogs.

Gonzaga will complete its regular season at 6 p.m. Thursday at home against Portland.

The top-seeded Bulldogs will have a bye at the WCC tournament in Las Vegas until the March 9 semifinals.

Complete story, C5