NIC ROUNDUP: Cardinal wrestlers tripped up in opener by MSU-Northern
• WRESTLING
HAVRE, Mont. — In a match that could have swung at 285 pounds, it was a former North Idaho College national champion that did in his former school.
Senior Taylor Kornoely, now at Montana State-Northern, beat Cooper Thomas of NIC by technical fall 19-2 in the final match of the night as the NAIA Lights beat the Cardinals 25-16 in the season opening dual for both schools on Saturday.
“We had a couple of matches that could have went either way, both ways,” NIC wrestling coach Pat Whitcomb said. “Montana State-Northern is a tough crew. The key for us tonight was to have the freshmen get on a train, make the 11-hour trip and make weight. I liked how we wrestled, and I don’t think the loss sat well with the team. I was pleased with the things we did right, but not the outcome of the score.”
Garrett White (125 pounds) and Bryson Beard (133) won by decision for NIC, which faces Highline of Des Moines, Wash., on Thursday. Beard beat former Coeur d’Alene High standout Dylan Lockwood by a 2-0 decision.
125 — Garrett White, NIC, d. Robert Pair, 14-10. 133 — Bryson Beard, NIC, d. Dylan Lockwood, 2-0. 141 — Dylan Veis, MSN, p. Carlos Quinones, 4:01. 149 — Drake Randall, MSN, md. Jaran Sumauang, 13-4. 157 — Tommy Cooper, MSN, d. Brent Evans, 9-7. 165 — Trey Meyer, NIC, md. Drew Randall, 13-3. 174 — Andrew Bartel, MSN, d. Alex Aguilar, 6-4. 184 — Levi Perry, NIC, p. Steeler French, 6:37. 197 — Ben Stroh, MSN, d. Jeremy Merryweather, 12-4. 285 — Taylor Kornoely, MSN, tf. Cooper Thomas, 19-2.
• MEN’S SOCCER
North Idaho 3
Wenatchee Valley 2
SPOKANE — Max Mularski and Koby Murphree scored first-half goals and Alec Maldonado scored in the 88th minute as the Cardinals rallied past the Knights at Spokane Falls Community College, securing the second seed from the East Region and the right to host an opening round playoff match.
“Our key was to stay calm and play the way we’d been playing,” NIC men’s soccer coach Ken Thompson said. “We probably had gotten in the final third of the field and got close to putting something on goal. We had good possession and just couldn’t connect on passes. We didn’t panic because we got down. Our guys played well and they were composed and played hard.”
NIC (7-8-4, 7-6-2 NWAC) will face Pierce College of Puyallup, Wash., on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at SFCC.
Wenatchee Valley finishes 6-10-1, 5-9-1.
First half — 1, WVC, Lenin Guzman (unassisted), 11:00. 2, WVC, Guzman (unassisted), 22:00. 3, NIC, Max Mularski (Oscar Padilla), 27:00. 4, NIC, Koby Murphree (Irvin Angulo), 39:00. Second half — 5, NIC, Alec Maldonado (unassisted), 88:00.
Shots on goal — WVC 7, NIC 7.
Saves — WVC, Alex Sabria 4; NIC, Garrett Boyce 5.
• WOMEN’S SOCCER
North Idaho 1
Wenatchee Valley 1
SPOKANE — Meg Lowery scored in the 56th minute on an assist from Aliea Son for the Cardinals in a draw with the Knights in the Northwest Athletic Conference regular season finale for both schools at Spokane Falls Community College.
“It was the first time in a couple of weeks we played on a field where we could really play,” said NIC women’s soccer coach Dan Hogan, whose team moved the game to Spokane after field conditions at Eisenwinter Field were deemed unplayable. “It was actually difficult for us to get into a rhythm because we haven’t trained on a full field in quite a while.”
NIC (12-2-3, 10-1-3 NWAC) will face Green River on Wednesday at 4 p.m. at Spokane Falls in an opening round match in the NWAC playoffs starting at 4 p.m.
“Knowing we were already in a playoff game, we only played the starters for about 15 to 20 minutes each half,” Hogan said. “It was great to give all the reserves a lot of playing time and give the starters a bunch of rest in preparation for our first round game.”
Wenatchee Valley finishes 8-7-3, 6-7-1.
First half — none. Second half — 1, NIC, Meg Lowery (Aliea Son), 56:00. 2, WVC, Brenna Whitney (unassisted), 66:00.
Shots on goal — WVC 5, NIC 8.
Saves — WVC, AdriAnna Simmons 6; NIC, Kinzie Hunter 3.