The Front Row with MARK NELKE March 1, 2012

North Idaho College wrestling coach Pat Whitcomb attributed the Cardinals’ sixth-place finish at the NJCAA championships last weekend in Rochester, Minn., in part to youth — and in part to a lot of good competition.

“It was probably as competitive a tournament as I’ve ever been involved in,” said Whitcomb, in his 15th year at NIC. “I was proud of our guys — we had five All-Americans, and all are freshmen. Last year we had five All-Americans and came in second place.”

Labette had nine All-Americans and won with 161.5 points, followed by Iowa Central (145), Lincoln (111), defending champion Clackamas (97), Nassau (87.5) and NIC (86).

“Six teams were right in the mix,” Whitcomb said. “This year, more teams were in the mix.”

NIC’s Kyle Sweedman (174) finished fourth at the Region 18 tourney, and needed a wild card to even get to nationals. Not only did he get there, he made it all the way to the finals before finishing second.

“He kept getting stronger and stronger and stronger,” Whitcomb said. “We couldn’t ask for anything more. When you’re fourth at regionals, you don’t expect to be in the national title match. But we saw going in that it was a weight that was evenly matched, and we told him, ‘You’re sitting pretty good.’”

Whitcomb said Ryan Zumwalt “showing great character plowing through for third” after a tough loss in the semifinals at 157.

The Cardinals are already looking ahead to next year. Whitcomb planned to return to the Midwest this weekend for the Michigan state high school tournament, and assistant Keri Stanley was headed to the California state tournament.

With Brock Banta and 2011 All-American Jake Mason coming back after redshirting this year, NIC could have as many as six All-Americans on next year’s squad — counting this year’s other All-Americans in Michael Rodriguez (133), Jarrett Morrill (141) and Caleb Rivera (184).

Zumwalt could move on to a four-year school next year, but also could return for a second season at NIC.

NIC has won 13 national titles, but it has been since 2003 that the Cardinals won their last one. Nationals are in Des Moines, Iowa, next year, then return to Spokane in 2014.

“The reason we redshirted Banta and Mason was, I knew we were going to be young,” Whitcomb said. “But we will definitely be in the national title hunt next year.”

• Lakeside’s loss to Clearwater Valley last Saturday marked the third time in four years that the 1A Division I District 1 champion from the North Star League failed to advance to state.

Only Wallace in 2009 has advanced since the 1A classification was split into separate Division I and Division II tournaments starting with the 2008-09 school year.

The last four years, the 1A Division I District 1 champ went into a play-in game against a team from the District 2 tournament.

In 2010, Wallace lost in the play-in game; the past two years, Lakeside lost to Clearwater Valley.

Lakeside coach Bill Brebner said the District 2 teams have an advantage coming into the play-in game because they have been in a tournament atmosphere, whereas Lakeside and Wallace simply meet in a one-game playoff for the District 1 title.

“They always seem to be more ready,” Brebner said. “They’re more tournament tested. I’d love to play in their league.”

On the girls side, Lakeside has lost to a District 2 team in the state play-in game in each of the four years.

• In a switch from previous years, semifinal winners will get one day of rest between the semifinals and finals of the West Coast Conference men’s basketball tournament.

Gonzaga, the No. 2 seed, opens Saturday against the team still to be determined. The title game is on Monday night.

Saint Mary’s is the top seed, having ended Gonzaga’s run of 11 straight conference titles. But don’t forget No. 3 seed BYU, No. 4 Loyola Marymount and No. 5 San Francisco.

Gonzaga has made it to the NCAAs 13 straight seasons, though a loss in the WCC semis could make for a few anxious days leading up to Selection Sunday.

Gonzaga coach Mark Few said he couldn’t remember a season where so many teams had a good chance to win.

“It’s usually been one to two teams tops, and this year there is probably four or five of them you can say have a shot at it,” he said.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at CdAPressSports.