Cards hold narrow lead after first day
ROCHESTER, Minn. – The North Idaho Cardinals found themselves on top of the standings after the first day of the NJCAA wrestling championships at the Mayo Civic Center on Friday.
NIC advanced six of 10 wrestlers into today’s second day of action, three via the championship bracket.
Second-ranked Labette (Kan.) CC, last year’s runner-up, stands in second place with 65 points, just short of NIC’s 68 1/2 . Third-place Itasca has 58 1/2 points, fourth-place Ellsworth 52 1/2 , and fifth-place Harper 52.
“Obviously a couple of more matches could’ve gone our way, putting us farther ahead,” said NIC head coach Pat Whitcomb. “Even though our lead is slim heading into the semis, we are in the hunt.”
Justin Pearch, Derek Kipperberg and Kyle Frawley all advanced in the championship bracket for the Cardinals.
Following up a solid performance in last year’s tourney, Frawley recorded three major decisions on the first day. The 174-pounder opened up with a 10-0 shutout over Rochester’s Brad Swanson. After a 16-4 win over Iowa Central’s Antione Love, Frawley finished the day with a 15-7 quarterfinal win over Jasper Lockett of Neosho.
Kipperberg also had three wins on the day. After an 18-0 blanking of Rochester’s Charles Arendts, the 149-pounder finished off Dan Collins of Middlesex 16-4, and C.J. Rathjen of Northwest Wyoming 7-5.
Pearch, a 141-pounder, began with a pin of Triton’s Eric Polland in 2 minutes, 4 seconds. He then decisioned Matt Gilliland of Colby 5-3 and Niagara CC’s Josh Lange 4-1.
Three Cardinals are alive in the consolation bracket.
Josh Edmondson bounced back in the 184-pound class. After a first-round win, he was decisioned by Nick Wilkes of Itasca 4-2. Edmondson rallied with pins over Western Wyoming’s Craig Mock and Mark Arnold of Spartanburg.
After a first-round bye, Jeff Hedges lost to Northwest Wyoming’s Seth Wright 9-6. The 125-pounder rallied with three wins.
Cody Nicholson (133) also received a first-round bye, and then pinned Itasca’s Trevor Brady in 6:34. He fell to Earl Jones of Labette 10-2 in the quarterfinals, but bounced back to pin Keil Barnhisel of Lincoln in 1:08.
NIC’s Evan Mattingly (197), Garret Johnson (285) and Josh Erickson (165) went 1-2 and were eliminated. Nick Wright (157) went 0-2 and was also ousted.
“We have six All-Americans left, with three in the semis and three in consolation – the same as second-place Labette,” Whitcomb said. “We’re very pleased to be in position to be in the race for first (when the event concludes today).”