Perry second, Cardinals sixth at nationals

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — In an effort to try to make something happen in the 184-pound national championship match, North Idaho College sophomore Levi Perry swung for the fences.

He almost knocked it out of the park.

But Perry, a sophomore from Kuna, lost by decision to Tanner Harvey of South-western Oregon 14-9 in the national champion-ship match on Saturday night at the Mid-American Center.

“Levi had been pinned twice by that kid,” NIC coach Pat Whitcomb said. “It really came down to a takedown.”

Perry — who finished third last year at 184 — rallied from a 6-2 deficit to take a 7-6 lead in the third period before Harvey pulled away.

“Tanner took him down and Levi tried a home run move,” Whitcomb said. “The match definitely came down to where we wanted it, but just came up a little short. Levi wrestled a great match. He left it all out there.”

Sophomore Damian Trujillo finished fourth at 285 for NIC, which finished sixth with 80.5 points.

“Damian just kind of ran out of mental juice in that third/fourth place match,” Whitcomb said. “He just couldn’t bounce back. Physically, he was OK. Damian had a great tournament.”

Trujillo was also an All-American in 2016, when he finished seventh at nationals. He redshirted last year.

Freshmen Jacob Swift was fifth at 165 and Esco Walker, Jr. seventh. Sophomore Thomas Stevenson, who was one match from placing at nationals last year, was sixth at 157.

Top-eight finishers at nationals earn All-American honors.

Northeast Oklahoma won the national title with 147.5 points, followed by Clackamas in second with 124.5.

“Northeast had a phenomenal tournament,” Whitcomb said. “They just got a ton of pin points. They really got it going from the first day. They’re well coached and always right in the mix.”

TEAM SCORES — 1, Northeast Oklahoma 147.5. 2, Clackamas 124.5. 3, Iowa Central 121. 4, Western Wyoming 99.5. 5, Iowa Western 86.5. 6, North Idaho 80.5. 7, Ellsworth 76.5. 8, Northwest Wyoming 73. 9, Barton 70.5. 10, Northwest Kansas Tech 61. 11, Niagara 46.5. 12, Iowa Lakes 44. 13, Nassau 43. 14, Muskegon 42.5. 15, Harper 37.5. 16, Southwestern Oregon 35. 17, NIACC 34.5. 18, Rochester 32.5. 19, Highline 29.5. 20, Spartanburg 26.5. 21, Triton 25. 22 (tie), Joliet, Pratt 22. 24, Labette 20.5. 25, Lincoln 19. 26, Colby 17. 27, Jamestown 16. 28, Itasca 15.5. 29, Cowley 15. 30, Camden 14.5. 31, Northeastern 12.5. 32, Cloud 11. 33, Northland 10.5. 34, Middlesex 10. 35 (tie), Henry Ford, Neosho, Thaddeus Stevens 8. 38, Ridgewater 7.5. 39, Sullivan 5.5. 40, Rowan 5. 41, St. Clair 3.5. 42, Mercyhurst 2.5. 43, Bergen 1. 44 (tie), Lackawanna, Ulster 0.5. 45 (tie), Ancilla, Minnesota West 0.

NIC RESULTS

Placing matches

125 — Esco Walker, Jr., NIC, d. Javier Moreno, Ellsworth, 9-7. Walker seventh.

157 — Liam Corbett, Highline, d. Thomas Stevenson, NIC, 7-3. Stevenson sixth.

165 — Jacob Swift, NIC, d. Jose Rodriguez, Iowa Central, 16-9. Swift fifth.

184 — Tanner Harvey, Southwestern Oregon, d. Levi Perry, NIC, 14-9. Perry second.

285 — Brian Andrews, Northeast Oklahoma, md. Damian Trujillo, NIC. 13-3. Trujillo fourth.

Semifinals

184 — Perry, NIC, d. Nick Maximov, Clackamas, 13-5.

285 — Odgerel Batkhising, Northwest Kansas Tech, d. Trujillo, NIC, 8-5.

CONSOLATION

Semifinals

157 — Steven Lawrence, Ellsworth, p. Stevenson, NIC, 1:42.

165 — Michial Foy, Harper, p. Swift, NIC, 1:12.

285 — Trujillo, NIC, p. Bryan Ditchman, Joliet, 2:15.

Fifth round

125 — Jaxon Cole, Western Wyoming, d. Walker, Jr., NIC, 4-2.

157 — Stevenson, NIC, p. Noah Jackson, NIACC, 5:12.

165 — Swift, NIC, d. Sangobunmi Smith, Iowa Lakes, 5-2.