Seven Trojans headed for Nationals
2-13-05

Colby CC Wrestling

The Trojans (ranked 4th in the NJCAA) qualified seven wrestlers for the NJCAA National Tournament Saturday at the West Central District Qualifying Tournament in Colby.

Sophomore Kyle Patton (6th, NJCAA) qualified at 125 lbs for the second straight year. He beat Brandon Pigorsch of Labette, 16-9 in the first round. He then dropped his second round match to Seth Wright (#1, NJCAA) of Northwest Wyoming, only to come back and beat Jacob Lugo of Pima, to earn his bid to nationals. He lost the third place match to Dave Beagley of Western Wyoming, 7-4.

Freshman Daniel Prater (5th, NJCAA), who wrestled on Saturday with a broken hand, lost both his matches, but was chosen as one of the Region’s two wild cards. He will wrestle in Rochester, Minnesota in the 133 lb. class.

Freshman Mat Gilliland (6th, NJCAA) won the region championship at 141 lbs in impressive fashion. After a first round bye, he defeated Cody Moulton of Northwest Wyoming, 13-4. He then moved on to defeat Jeremy Spoon of Neosho County, 9-2, in the championship match.

Freshman Matt Schippers (8th, NJCAA) qualified for nationals at 149 lbs. despite a close loss in the championship bout to C.J. Rathjen of Northwest Wyoming, 3-2. Rathjen won by way of riding time. Schippers defeated Sam Allen (5th, NJCAA) of Western Wyoming, 10-1, in the semifinals to earn his trip to Rochester.

Freshman Jason Schippers qualified for nationals with a third place finish at 157 lbs. He lost a tough battle to fourth ranked Chase Walker of Northwest Wyoming in the second round, 3-1, but came back and defeated Marc Fenwick of Western Wyoming, 18-8. He then earned third place by way of injury default over Greg Smith of Neosho County.

Sophomore Eric Luedke (#1, NJCAA) was once again impressive. He defeated David Mullins of Neosho County by fall in the first period in the semifinals. He then beat James Varner of Pima in the final, 6-0.

Sophomore Zach Luedke (6th, NJCAA), defeated Jasper Lockett of Neosho County, 3-1, in the third place match, and earned his second straight trip to Rochester, Minnesota. He beat Chris Riding of Northwest Wyoming, 5-3, but lost to Mark Vujovil of Pima by fall. Not discouraged, Luedke came back to beat Adam Barnett of Glendale to earn his third place match and his ticket to Rochester.

The Trojans were not as fortunate in the heaviest three classes. Freshman Bobby Dennis lost a heartbreaker in the last seconds to Zach Gutenson of Pima, 4-2, in the first round. He then dropped his second match to eventual third place finisher Shawn Vincent of Northwest Wyoming, and was eliminated from the tournament.

Sophomore Ed Jaramillo also lost a close contest in the first round. With seconds left, Jon Quinton McGill of Neosho County scored a take down, barely staying inbounds, to win, 12-10. Jaramillo then lost to eventual third place finisher Jesse Forbes of Pima.

Finally, freshman James Mason suffered an injury in his first round loss to James Arbertha of Neosho County, and had to default out of his second round match.

The Trojans finished fourth in the team standings with 57.50 points. Labette (#1, NJCAA) finished first with 86.50 points, followed by Western Wyoming (3rd, NJCAA) with 71.50 points and Northwest Wyoming (8th, NJCAA), who tallied 64.50 points.

The NJCAA National Tournament will take place in Rochester, Minnesota on Sunday, February 26 and Monday, February 27.