Wrestling Hosts Ohio and Minnesota

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Homeward Bound
Northern Colorado opens the home dual season with matches against Ohio on Wednesday and fifth-ranked Minnesota on Sunday. The Bears host seven duals in 2009-10, with four coming in Western Wrestling Conference action.

Ain't No Mountain High Enough
Ohio is currently 3-0 on the season, winning all three duals at the Bobcat Duals on Friday. They defeated The Citadel 32-3, Appalachian State 26-9 and Cleveland State 41-4. The Bobcats currently do not have any wrestlers ranked among the top 20 according to InterMat. This is the first-ever meeting between Ohio and Northern Colorado in dual action.

Minnesota is 1-1 on the year after dropping a 21-8 road match to No. 3 Oklahoma State over the weekend. The Gophers also won a 31-9 match over Cal State Bakersfield and they host No. 12 Nebraska on Thursday before traveling to face the Bears. They have eight ranked wrestlers including #4 Zach Sanders (125), #2 Jayson Ness (133), #6 Mike Thorn (141), #9 Mario Mason (149), #12 Jake Deitchler (157), #4 Dustin Schlatter (165), #18 Sonny Yohn (184) and #11 Ben Berhow (285). Last season, Minnesota defeated Northern Colorado at the Northern Duals, 42-4, improving the Gophers to 4-0 all-time against the Bears.

Oh What A Night
Junior Justin Gaethje (157) put on quite a performance at the Cliff Keen Invitational, winning seven straight bouts through the back draw to finish fourth and help lead NC to a 22nd place finish. Gaethje started the tournament losing to the top-ranked wrestler in the nation, Jordan Burroughs of Nebraska, 7-3, but bounced back to win seven straight, including back-to-back wins in the consolation semifinals and finals over No. 9 Colton Salazar from Purdue (9-7) and No. 2 Chase Pami from Cal Poly (11-4). In the third-place bout, he lost an 8-0 major decision to No. 15 Jesse Dong of Virginia Tech. In his seven-straight victories, he recorded two major decisions and did not lose to an unranked wrestler. Senior Kenny Hashimoto (141) also finished eighth with a 3-2 mark, though he had to withdraw from the final rounds of competition after sustaining an undisclosed injury.

I'm Into Something Good
Senior Tony Mustari (125) is now just five victories shy of appearing on the school's all-time career victories list. Mustari sits with 83 wins, while Lanny Paulson (1980-83) and Marty Vigil (1988-92) are tied for ninth on the chart with 88 wins.

The Leader Of The Pack
Senior Kenny Hashimoto (141) is currently ranked 17th according to InterMat and is the only Bear to currently appear in the national rankings. Hashimoto is 11-3 on the year and 4-0 in dual action. After the Northeast Collegiate Duals, he was named the WWC Wrestler of the Week, the first honor of the year for the team.

The Way You Do The Things You Do
Senior Tony Mustari (125) has been good at obtaining bonus points for the Bears as almost half of his career victories are recorded by either fall, technical fall or major decisions. This season, five of his nine wins are bonus wins, while 40 of his 83 career victories have been for more than seven points or by fall.

This Magic Moment
The award for quickest pin so far this season goes to senior Justin Tuell (285) at just 15 seconds. Tuell recorded his fall over William Lewman from Western Wyoming in the second round of the Old Chicago's Open. Northern Colorado has recorded 24 falls so far this season with senior Tony Mustari (125) and sophomore Casey Cruz (133/141) tied for the team lead with four each. Senior Kenny Hashimoto (141) has a team-best 21 falls for his career with the Bears.

Pride & Joy
Seniors Kenny Hashimoto (141 pounds), Tony Mustari (125 pounds) and sophomore Casey Cruz (133 pounds) have been named team captains for the 2009-10 season.