Bears To Host Old Chicago's NC Open On Sunday

COMPLETE NOTES: Old Chicago's NC Open

Home Sweet Home

Northern Colorado hosts the Old Chicago's Northern Colorado Open on Sunday. Bouts are scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. Tickets are $12 for a full day and $7 for a half-day, beginning after 2:00 p.m. The Bears are expecting over 200 wrestlers which includes student-athletes from Adams State, Colorado School of Mines, Mesa State and Wyoming.

We Are The Champions

Northern Colorado had three wrestlers return home from the Cowboy Open with individual titles. Junior 125-pounder Tony Mustari won his second straight title after posting a 3-0 record in Laramie. Freshmen Mitchell Polkowske and Tanner Weiks won the 149 and 157 pound brackets in the amateur division, respectively. Polkowske won five bouts, two by technical falls and three by major decisions while Weiks also posted a 5-0 record winning one major decision.

Good Showings

Several other wrestlers got their seasons off to a good start at the Cowboy Open. Freshman Brandon Kammerzell recovered from his loss against Boise State to post a 3-1 record in the tournament, losing in the finals of the 184-pound amateur bracket. Freshman Zach Maes went 5-2 in the amateur 125-pound bracket and posted two pins in under three minutes. Junior Tim Frank posted a 3-1 record at 165 pounds and all three victories were either major decisions or technical falls.

Rankings

Junior Tony Mustari is currently ranked 15th at 125-pounds in the Intermat/NWCA national poll. He began the season ranked 14th in the preseason poll and has fallen one spot despite posting a perfect 4-0 record thus far. Mustari was ranked a majority of the 2007-08 season and is looking to build off his 33-8 record.

Tough Start

Northern Colorado faced Boise State, ranked 18th in the preseason polls, to open the 2007-08 season in a neutral site match in Spokane, Wash. The Bears fell 39-3 to the alma mater of current assistant coach Ben Cherrington, winning only the 125-pound weight class. Junior Tony Mustari won a 1-0 decision over Brian Owen in the final bout of the evening.

Back In The Blue & Gold

After taking last season off to train in the sport of Judo, Kenny Hashimoto returns to the Northern Colorado roster for his junior season. Hashimoto will not compete in the opening meets, but figures to be an important figure in Western Wrestling Conference action. In 2006-07, Hashimoto advanced to the NCAA Championship at 141-pounds.

Playing Hosts

Northern Colorado earned the distinct honor of hosting the NCAA West Regional in Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion on March 7. Tickets are available by calling the Northern Colorado ticket office at 970.491.4TIX or going online at www.uncbears.com. Winners of the NCAA West Regional automatically qualify for the NCAA Championship in St. Louis, Mo. The NCAA West Regional also serves as the Western Wrestling Conference Championships, where last season the Bears finished fourth overall.

Second Place

Northern Colorado finished the 2008 regular season in second place in the Western Wrestling Conference standings, behind two-time champions Northern Iowa. In the first year of the league, 2006-07, the Bears posted a 2-4 record. At the Western Wrestling Conference Championships, the Bears finished fourth.

West Regional Recap

The Bears finished fourth with 47.5 points, while Northern Iowa posted 119.0 points to win its 23rd straight regional title. 125-pounder Tony Mustari finished second, losing in the finals, 7-5 to Eric Hoffman of North Dakota State, but earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Championship. At 157-pounds, Rocco DePaolo finished third, while Ryan Johnson was third at 174-pounds and Patrick Carey finished third at 197-pounds.

Starting 22

Head coach Jack Maughan begins his 22nd season at the helm of the Bears wrestling program. He sports a dual record of 124-158-1 in his 21 years and is one of the winningest coaches in school history. Both assistant coaches remain the same for 2008-09 in Austin DeVoe and Ben Cherrington, while the director of operations, Leister Bowling begins his second season and the quartet adds Shane Carwin to the fold as a volunteer coach.