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NIC wrestling third in nation

heading into duals

The North Idaho College wrestling team moved up this week to No. 3 in the nation in the National Junior College Athletic Association poll. The latest poll also ranks seven individual Cardinal wrestlers in the top 10.

Jacob Swift retains the No. 1 spot at 157 pounds; Navarro Nanpuya is ranked third at 165 pounds; Andrew Lucero is ranked third at 125 pounds; Hunter Gregerson is ranked fourth at 184 pounds; Micah Tynanes is ranked fifth at 197 pounds; Zay Duran is ranked fifth at 174 pounds; and Sal Silva is ranked seventh at 149 pounds.

The Cardinals wrestling team bumped up to No. 3 after being ranked 4th in the last poll, released on Dec. 3. The first NJCAA poll of the season, released on Nov. 5, had NIC ranked 11th in the nation.

NIC returns to action on Friday in the NJCAA Duals on the campus of Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in Miami, Okla., then compete in the Northeastern Oklahoma Duals on Saturday.

Gonzaga’s Petrusev named to

Wooden Award Midseason List

Gonzaga’s Filip Petrusev was named to the John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 list, announced by the Los Angeles Athletic Club. The award is presented to the nation’s most outstanding basketball player.

Chosen by a poll of national college basketball experts based on their performances during the first half of the 2019-20 season, the list comprises of 25 student-athletes who are front-runners for the sport’s most prestigious honor.

Petrusev is currently third in the West Coast Conference averaging 16.6 points per game. He is second in the league grabbing 8.1 rebounds per outing and blocking 1.3 shots per contest, and ninth shooting 54.2 percent from the field. The sophomore has reached double-digit scoring in 16 games this season, with a team-high five 20-point performances.

The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2020 John R. Wooden Award Men’s Player of the Year presented by Wendy’s. Players not chosen to the preseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award late season list, and the National Ballot. The National Ballot consists of 15 top players who have proven to their universities that they meet or exceed the qualifications of the Wooden Award. Nearly 1,000 voters will rank in order 10 of those 15 players when voting opens prior to the NCAA Tournament and will allow voters to take into consideration performance during early round games.

The winner of the 2020 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by during the ESPN College Basketball Awards on April 10.