Cards Kick Ricks Pins Propel Nic To 32-9 Win

Ricks College wrestling coach Bob Christensen said he watched a “fannykicking contest” on Friday night.

“We were just on the wrong side,” Christensen said after second-ranked North Idaho College handled the visiting Vikings 32-9 in a Region 18 match at Christianson Gym.

NIC dominated as sophomore Kirk Hartzell (118 pounds) and returning All-Americans Ray Routh (158) and Scott Surplus (177) all won via pin.

Surplus nearly flattened Jory Dalling in the first 10 seconds before earning a pin 1 minute into the opening period.

NIC sophomores Rick Moreno (150) and Matt Paulson (126) also scored lopsided victories.

NIC’s most impressive win may have been 142-pound freshman Bob Presta’s 9-2 drilling of Mitch Stevens. Presta was pinned by Stevens in a November match.

“I shouldn’t have lost that first match. He kind of caught me after I had taken him down,” Presta said of the earlier encounter. “I made some adjustments and I stayed intense the whole way.”

Three narrow losses tempered NIC coach John Owen’s elation.

Chad Edgar fell 4-3 to Ricks’ Brett Gappmayer, who scored the winning point on riding time. At 167, Ricks’ Corey Anderson used a takedown in overtime to edge Seth Kernodle 7-5. And Ricks heavyweight Mike Roberts shaded Matt Rosen 3-1.

Kernodle was so distraught after his match he lay flat on his back behind the NIC bench, barely moving for 10 minutes.

“You always remember that close one that got away; the big fish that got off the hook,” Owen said. “At this time of year (nearing the regional tournament), you want to win those close matches. We lost (at 134 and 167) on the bottom. We couldn’t get away.”

Like Christensen, NIC 190-pounder Travis Hughes thought he was at a fanny-kicking contest, too.

“I thought he (Ricks opponent Luke Stradinger) was going to kill me in the first period,” said Hughes, who trailed 4-2 entering the second period.

But Hughes, a Mead High graduate, rallied to claim a 7-5 victory with a third-period takedown.

“He (Stradinger) was tough,” Hughes said. “He just got tired.”

Christensen said Stradinger is a recent addition to the lineup and is still working on his conditioning.

Christensen admits his Vikings are inexperienced, but he believes NIC has a mature, balanced team that could be a factor at nationals.

“If he (Owen) can have a good regional and get a lot of guys through, he’ll have a great chance to win at nationals,” Christensen said. “Maybe all of his guys are so good that nobody outshines the others.”

“We’ve got to have Edgar and Kernodle come through in the regional,” Owen said. “We’ve really got to go to work with those two physically and mentally. We’ve got to feel like we can get them next time.”

North Idaho 32, Ricks 9

118-Hartzell (NIC) p. McCrimmon 6:27

126-Paulson (NIC) md. Holman 17-7

134-Gappmayer (Ricks) d. Edgar 4-3

142-Presta (NIC) d. Stevens 9-2

150-Moreno (NIC) tf. Eldredge 6:21

158-Routh (NIC) p. Shumway 2:14

167-Anderson (Ricks) d. Kernodle 7-5 (OT)

177-Surplus (NIC) p. Dalling 1:00

190-Hughes (NIC) d. Stradinger 7-5

Hvy-Roberts (Ricks) d. Rosen 3-1