Cardinals look to regain stranglehold on Region 18

Seeing his team's streak of 10 straight Region 18 wrestling championships come to an end last year didn't sit well with North Idaho College coach Pat Whitcomb.

And while the ultimate goal is for the team to qualify all 10 of its wrestlers to nationals, Whitcomb would like to see the Cardinals regain their status as the dominant team in the region.

This year's Region 18 tournament unfolds today at Yakima Valley Community College, starting at 10 a.m., with the finals scheduled for 6 p.m.

"That (losing) never sits well," Whitcomb said. "Even though a lot of these kids didn't wrestle here last year, our young guys know what our history is. We lost by 6 to Clackamas in a dual this year, and this is a chance to reverse that, and set us up for nationals."

The top three placers in each weight class advance to the NJCAA tournament Feb. 24-25 in Rochester, Minn. Some of the fourth-place finishers could also earn wild-card berths to nationals.

With last year's second-place finish to Clackamas, which went on to win the NJCAA title, NIC has now won 35 of the last 39 Region 18 tournaments.

"If you go just on seeds, Clackamas definitely has an advantage," Whitcomb said. "They have a lot of 1 and 2 seeds. In a five-team region, it's going to have to come down to the semifinals and finals."

NIC has one top-seeded wrestler - Ryan Zumwalt at 157 pounds.

Whitcomb also had praise for freshman Justin Gillespie, who has performed well after taking over at heavyweight part-way through the season.

And, perhaps just as important, Whitcomb said the Cardinals are about as healthy as could be expected for a team at this stage of the season.

But still, he wouldn't mind regaining that regional title. For that to happen?

"We'd have to be solid, and get a little help from those other teams," Whitcomb said.