NJCAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS: An odd road to Iowa for NIC

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

To say that second-year North Idaho College wrestling coach Mike Sebaaly has been a little on edge this week might be an understatement.

For him, and his team, the season could have ended just like that, due to COVID-19.

"I fought like hell and the kids fought like hell to get here," Sebaaly said. "To be honest, I doubted it a lot. On Sunday night, my phone rang and it was (NIC athletic director) Bobby (Lee). Both my wife and I thought, 'Oh great, here's the call' that things were canceled and I was going to be home the rest of the week."

But ...

"He just called to wish us good luck," said Sebaaly, whose team opens at the NJCAA Tournament today in Council Bluffs, Iowa. "Once we got to the airport on Monday, I joked to (NIC head athletic trainer) Randy Boswell and (NIC assistant wrestling coach) Junior (Lule) to put their phones on airplane mode and we're not answering any calls until we get to Iowa."

Typically, the wrestling season begins in late October and stretches into nationals the first weekend of March. Due to the pandemic, NIC didn't begin practices until January and live competition until mid-February.

"It's been a year since we've traveled," said Sebaaly, whose last road trip as a team came at nationals in 2020, where the Cardinals finished ninth. "We're just grateful that we've got a chance to do this."

When practices began in January, NIC was limited to having just 10 people (eight athletes and both coaches) in the wrestling room at a time, with wrestlers practicing in groups instead of in full-team workouts.

"Even when we started, it wasn't normal and made for a unique season," Sebaaly said. "We tried to have more fun with it this year. We'd play dodgeball, handball and ultimate Frisbee just to get some cardio work in. Because we'd started in the spring, we'd go and play capture the flag on the soccer field and were able to social distance and condition in different ways when it was nice."

The team was also COVID tested three times a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday).

"We were tested up the wazoo," Sebaaly said. "But we've been really fortunate and adapting to stuff we're not used to. We're just grateful that we get the chance to compete."

NIC hosted matches on Feb. 19 (Southwestern Oregon, Feb. 20 (Clackamas, Feb. 27 (Northwest of Powell, Wyo.) and March 13 (Southwestern, Clackamas and Northwestern). Highline Community College of Des Moines, Wash., opted not to field a team this year.

NIC last wrestled on March 13.

"In some ways, it was good we didn't have to travel," Sebaaly said. "We didn't have to learn different protocols at each school, and everyone had to follow our rules."

NIC President Rick MacLennan, NIC Vice President of Student Services Graydon Stanley and Lee kept in contact about various protocols on campus, such as limiting attendance to 50 in the gym for matches and keeping social distance to keep competitors safe.

"Those guys put together great rules," Sebaaly said. "We did not have any problems within our program and made sure things didn't go through our team. I really think having that elevated us to be safe and prepared, and our guys did a great job with that."

With the NJCAA doing away with regional qualifiers for this year only, each team qualifies 10 wrestlers (one in each weight class) for nationals, which begins today at 7:15 a.m. PDT.

Clackamas has won the last two national titles (2019, 2020). NIC, which has won 14 team titles, last won in 2013 when the Cardinals finished tied with Labette (Kan.).

"The tournament size is about the same," Sebaaly said. "We're going to have guys that are going to get hurt and beat up. We're just not used to wrestling five matches in a day because we haven't done that in a year. We're just going to have to grind."

Championship finals are scheduled for Thursday night.

"Our guys are excited and thankful to be able to compete," Sebaaly said. "Our goal is to bring another national title back and get as many names on that wall as All-Americans as we can. We're going to give it our best."

Returning All-Americans (top eight finishers) for the Cardinals are sophomore Salvador Silva (third at 149 pounds in 2020) and Cohle Feliciano (seventh at 285). Freshman Brandon Bollinger is seeded fourth at 157. Silva is seeded second at 149.

"They're our leaders," Sebaaly said. "It's a close-knit group and at times, we had to practice in smaller pods with eight guys in the room. Cohle has a tough draw and if he wins, he's got three other returning All-Americans in his side of the bracket."

Other NIC competitors include freshmen Izzy Tubera (125), Brant Porter (133), Parker Corwin (141), Weston Presser (165), Ledger Petracek (184), Johnny Franke (197) and sophomore Navarro Nanpuya (174).

Sebaaly believes his team is ready for whatever comes next.

"Our expectations are to compete for national championships," Sebaaly said. "But you've got to be ready to go right from the start and can't take anything for granted. Once it starts, you've got to be ready for whatever happens."