NJCAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP: Cardinals sit seventh after first day

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — At a point when it was time of fight, North Idaho College freshman Brandon Bollinger fought like crazy in the NJCAA wrestling championships at the Mid-American Center on Wednesday.

Bollinger, along with sophomores Sal Silva and Navarro Nanpuya are just one victory away from fighting for a national title later today.

Bollinger, who trailed 4-2 early in the first period to Willy Van Roden of Rochester, rallied to win by a 16-10 decision in the 157-pound quarterfinals.

"He came back and got 11 points in that first period," said second-year NIC coach Mike Sebaaly, whose team is in seventh after the first day of competition. "He's got the defending national champion in the semifinals (Isaiah Crosby of Iowa Western). It's going to be a tough match, but there's no easy matches in the semifinals."

Silva advanced with a 5-1 decision in the 149-pound quarterfinals.

"Sal's been in the semis and think that experience will help him," Sebaaly said. "I think he's ready to win."

Nanpuya advanced to the 174-pound semifinals.

Sophomore Cohle Feliciano remains alive in the consolation bracket at 285, assuring himself of an All-American finish (Top 8) for the second-straight year. Freshman Weston Presser advanced in the 165 consolation bracket.

"Cohle lost his first match and then pinned his way back," Sebaaly said. "It's the first matches that Weston has wrestled in college and first tournament of the year because of a knee injury. We finally got him healthy, and he's done a fantastic job."

Western Wyoming leads the tournament with 103.5 points, followed by two-time defending champion Clackamas with 95.

"There's big points to be had," Sebaaly said. "With our guys in the championship round, that's 21 points right there we can get with wins in the semis. We just need to go in there and finish as high as we can and try to take advantage of this opportunity."

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, athletes will not be charged a year of eligibility.

"We're a young group, and it's a free year," Sebaaly said. "As of right now, everyone is coming back but Sal (who signed with Arizona Christian in February). Hopefully we can climb the podium and finish strong."

TEAM SCORES — 1, Western Wyoming 103.5. 2, Clackamas 95. 3, Pratt 88.5. 4, Iowa Central 83. 5, Northeastern Oklahoma 80. 6, Indian Hills 65. 7, North Idaho 62.5. 8, Iowa Western 58. 9, RCTC 57. 10, Northwest Kansas Tech 49.5. 11, Cowley 43. 12, Cloud 39.5. 13, NIACC 39. 14, Labette 35. 15, Southwestern Oregon 34.5. 16, Jamestown 30. 17, Triton 29. 18, Iowa Lakes 27.5. 19 (tie), Neosho, Niagara 26. 21, Muskegon 23. 22, Henry Ford 21.5. 23, Rowan 21. 24, Barton 19.5. 25, Mott 18.5. 26, Ellsworth 17.5. 27 (tie), Otero, Umpqua 12.5. 29, Camden, Joliet 9, 31, Garrett 8.5. 32, Colby 6. 33 (tie), Lackawanna, Minnesota West, 5, 35, St. Claire County 2. 36 (tie), Ancilla, Mountain West CTC, Sussex 0.

NIC RESULTS

Championship bracket

First round

125 — Izzy Tubera, NIC, md. Alex Cantu, Muskegon, 10-0.

133 — Dillon Stewart, Iowa Western, d. Brant Porter, NIC, 10-6.

141 — Michael Barfuss, Cloud, md.. Parker Corwin, NIC, 11-1.

149 — Sal Silva, NIC, d. Cameron Bergman, Joliet, by forfeit.

157 — Brandon Bollinger, NIC, received a bye.

165 — Weston Presser, NIC, tf. Tyson Villalpondo, Neosho, 26-7.

174 — Navarro Nanpuya, NIC, p. Austin Hacker, Colby, 2:29.

184 — Ledger Petracek, NIC, received a bye.

197 — Johnny Franke, NIC, d. Roger Vadilles, Otero, 16-3.

285 — Dillyn Miller, Iowa Western, d. Cohle Feliciano, NIC, 3-2.

Second round

125 — Garrett Ricks, Western Wyoming, d. Tubera, NIC, by DQ.

149 — Silva, NIC, md. Kael Bunce, Muskegon, 15-5.

157 — Bollinger, NIC, d. Otto Davidson, Jamestown, 11-3.

165 — Fabian Padilla, Iowa Western, d. Presser, NIC, 6-2.

174 — Nanpuya, NIC, d. Seth Dominguez, Mott, 7-1.

184 — Deron Pulliam, Indian HIlls, d. Petracek, NIC, 3-1.

197 — Jerrell Belcher, Ellsworth, d. Franke, NIC, 8-3.

Quarterfinals

149 — Silva, NIC, d. Joel Ostrom, Cloud, 5-1.

157 — Bollinger, NIC, d. Willie Von Ruden, Rochester, 16-10.

174 — Nanpuya, NIC, d. Cayden Atkens, Pratt, 7-1.

Consolation bracket

First round

141 — Corwin, NIC, d. Cole French, Niagara, 6-0.

285 — Feliciano, NIC, d. Daniel Landano, Joliet, 3:09.

Second round

133 — Ryan Smith, Cowley, p. Porter, NIC, 4:15.

141 — Ethan Ewing, Neosho, p. Corwin, NIC, 3:58.

285 — Feliciano, NIC, d. Michael Lieberman, Labette, 3:39.

Third round

125 — Riley Weir, Labette, d. Tubera, NIC, by DQ.

165 — Presser, NIC, tf. Kody Hahn, Colby, 16-0.

184 — Petracek, NIC, p. Micah Sterling, Cloud, 4:48.

197 — Ryan Murphy, Neosho, d. Franke, NIC, 5-4.

285 — Feliciano, NIC, p. Caleb Collins, Indian Hills, :26.

Fourth round

165 — Presser, NIC, d. Montez Robinson, Cowley, 4-2.

184 — Petracek, NIC, md. Dean Elder, Henry Ford, 12-1.

Fifth round

165 — Presser, NIC, tf. Caleb Warner, Umpqua, 20-1.

184 — Michael Gasper, Clackamas, md. Petracek, NIC, 12-4.

285 — Feliciano, NIC, d. Noah Broderson, RCTC, 5:36.