NIC leads after 1st day

DES MOINES, Iowa - To North Idaho College wrestling coach Pat Whitcomb, it was a typical first day of the NJCAA tournament on Friday afternoon.

You win some, you lose some.

But mostly winning.

NIC advanced four wrestlers - sophomores Mike Carreon (133 pounds), Jeremy Golding (149), Ryan Zumwalt (165) and Caleb Rivera (184) - to today's semifinal round at the Jacobson Exhibition Center.

NIC leads the tournament with 81 points, followed by defending champion Labette with 73 points in second.

Both schools have four wrestlers in the semifinals and three in the consolation rounds.

Kyle Sweedman, who was a national runner-up last year at 174 pounds, was eliminated after losing in the quarterfinals of the consolation round late Friday. Freshmen Nicholas Moreno (157) and Curtis Berger (heavyweight) were also eliminated Friday.

“You always hope for more, but it’s a tough tournament,” Whitcomb said. “Kyle just couldn’t get it going today in his first match and loses by a point. He battled back and gets some points, but just couldn’t get it going in that last match.”

The top eight wrestlers in each weight class are named All-Americans. NIC will have seven as sophomores Brock Banta (125) and Jarrett Morill (141), and freshman V.J. Guilio (197), remain in the consolation bracket.

“Both (Ryan) Zumwalt and (Caleb) Rivera wrestled really well,” Whitcomb said. “There’s going to be bad things and there’s going to be good things. V.J. gutted out a tough match and Jarrett gutted another one out. We’re fortunate to be in first right now. We had an awful lot of bonus points today and that’s what the national title is going to come down to.”

The finals, which are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. PST, will be available by webcast by clicking on the link at www.nicathletics.com.

TEAM SCORES (top 10) — 1, North Idaho 81. 2, Labette 73. 3, Nassau 61. 4, Clackamas 58.5. 5, Iowa Central 48.5. 6, Western Wyoming 47. 7, Northwest College 45. 8 (tie), Harper, Lincoln 44.5. 10, Rend Lake 42.

NIC results

Championship

First round

125 — Brock Banta, North Idaho, had a bye.

133 — Mike Carreon, North Idaho, md. Kyle Johnston, Southwestern Oregon, 14-5.

141 — Jarrett Morrill, North Idaho, d. Royale Jones, Kennedy-King, 8-4.

149 — Jeremy Golding, North Idaho, had a bye.

157 — Nicholas Moreno, North Idaho, d. James Zupko, Springfield Tech, 12-6.

165 — Ryan Zumwalt, North Idaho, p. Parker Sturges, North Iowa, 2:29.

174 — Garrett Miller, Rochester, d. Kyle Sweedman, North Idaho, 7-6.

184 — Caleb Rivera, North Idaho, d. Miguel Montelongo, Northwest Kansas Tech, 5-1.

197 — V.J. Guilio, North Idaho, p. Alex Thurber, Ridgewater, 1:44.

285 — Christop Kiel, Northwest Kansas Tech, d. Curtis Berger, North Idaho, 2-1.

Second round

125 — Brock Banta, North Idaho, p. Thomas Angsten, Wright College, 5:48.

133 — Mike Carreon, North Idaho, d. Cody Tow, Northwest Kansas Tech, 6-2.

141 — Jarrett Morrill, North Idaho, d. Logan Kellogg, Mercyhurst, 3-0.

149 — Jeremy Golding, North Idaho, p. Grant Kylio, Rochester, 2:05.

157 — Jeromy Davenport, Labette, p. Nicholas Moreno, North Idaho, 1:30.

165 — Ryan Zumwalt, North Idaho, d. Trent Williams, Spartanburg Methodist, 5-4.

184 — Caleb Rivera, North Idaho, d. Brandon Riggins, Springfield Tech, 6-4.

197 — V.J. Guilio, North Idaho, p. West Cathcart, Lincoln, 5:56.

Quarterfinals

125 — John Pellegrino, Nassau, d. Brock Banta, North Idaho, 4-3.

133 — Mike Carreon, North Idaho, d. Zach Hummel, Harper, 8-5.

141 — James DeKrone, Nassau, d. Jarrett Morrill, North Idaho, 2-1.

149 — Jeremy Golding, North Idaho, d. Spencer Rutherford, Labette, 7-4.

165 — Ryan Zumwalt, North Idaho, p. Nate Lawrence, Iowa Lakes, 3:34.

184 — Caleb Rivera, North Idaho, d. Devin Peterson, Iowa Western, injury default.

197 — Josh Dasilveira, Ellsworth, d. V.J. Guilio, North Idaho, 9-5.

Consolation

First round

174 — Kyle Sweedman, North Idaho, md. Edward Mora, Ellsworth, 11-0.

285 — Christop Ballard, Iowa Central, p. Curtis Berger, North Idaho, 6:51.

Second round

174 — Kyle Sweedman, North Idaho, p. Ben Goodwin, Minnesota West, 1:25.

Quarterfinals

157 — Irvin Buck, Niagra, d. Nicholas Moreno, North Idaho, 8-4.

174 — Michael Clevenger, Spartanburg, d. Kyle Sweedman, North Idaho, 9-4.

197 — V.J. Guilio, North Idaho, p. Cash Drylie, Colby, 3:41.