Wrestling Hosts First Home Duals Of Season On Thursday, Monday

Feb. 1, 2006

SDSU/NDSU Dual Notes in PDF Format
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Dual No. 8 * Northern Colorado vs. South Dakota State
Thursday, Feb. 2 * 7 p.m. MT
Greeley, Colo. * Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion (4,500)

Dual No. 9 * Northern Colorado vs. North Dakota State
Monday, Feb. 6 * 7 p.m. MT
Greeley, Colo. * Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion (4,500)

DUAL INFORMATION
The Bears will host a pair of teams in their first home duals of the year. Northern Colorado will take on South Dakota State at 7 p.m. on Thursday and North Dakota State at 7 p.m. on Monday.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
South Dakota State is off to a 6-7 start this season and is 2-1 in its last three matches. The Jackrabbits lost to Wyoming, 26-18, last Friday but rebounded to pick up wins over Dakota Wesleyan and Air Force.

North Dakota State has won four consecutive matches after starting the season 0-3. The Bison most recently picked up wins over Air Force and Wyoming.

SERIES HISTORY
South Dakota State leads the all-time series with Northern Colorado 15-5. The Jacks won the first eight duals in the series dating back to the 1979-80 season. The Bears were able to get the best of the Jackrabbits last season, 31-12.

North Dakota State, who is coached by Bears head coach Jack Maughan's father Bucky, has dominated the series with Northern Colorado. The Bison lead the series 24-2-1. Jack got his first win over his father last season in a 19-15 win. The Bears split the two duals last season against the Bison.

THE BEAR FACTS
The Bears are coming off a 1-1 performance in their trip to Oregon last weekend. Northern Colorado began with a 30-22 win over Portland State. The Bears posted four pins on the night. Shawn Hart (174 pounds), No. 17-ranked Reece Hopkin (197 pounds), Beau Hessler (125 pounds) and Richard Lohr (141 pounds) led the Bears to the win with their pins.

Northern Colorado had a tougher time with Oregon State, who received votes in the latest Division I wrestling poll. The Bears picked up pinfall victories from Hopkin and 165-pounder Devan Lewis, but it was not enough as the Bears dropped the dual to the Beavers, 33-12.

After the weekend performance, Hopkin improved his dual record to 7-0 and 20-4 overall.

The Bears will look to improve upon their 3-3 home dual mark from last season.

HOPKIN RANKED 17TH IN LATEST DIVISION I WRESTLING POLL
Sophomore 197-pounder Reece Hopkin garnered a No. 17 ranking in the latest 197 pound USA Today/NWCA/InterMat Division I coaches poll. Hopkin is 7-0 in duals this season and 20-4 overall. He has record six pins this season and two in-a-row. Hopkin's fastest pin this season is 1:16.

BEARS GO 1-1 IN OREGON
Northern Colorado picked up a 30-22 over Portland State and lost 33-12 to Oregon State in its trip to Oregon Jan. 27 and 28. Reece Hopkin went 2-0 on the weekend and scored two pinfalls. The Bears posted four pins over Portlands State that led them to the win. Against Oregon State, only Hopkin and freshman 165 pounder Devan Lewis picked up a win.

WRESTLERS TAKE FIRST AT 21ST ANNUAL COLORADO COLLEGIATES
The University of Northern Colorado wrestling team captured the Colorado Collegiates title and head coach Jack Maughan was named Coach of the Year on Jan. 21 at Plachy Hall in Alamosa, Colo. The Bears had seven place winners en route to winning their sixth all-time championship and first crown since 2003. Maughan was named Coach of the Year at the event for the fourth time in his career. Northern Colorado scored 86.5 points and finished ahead of in-state Division I rival Air Force, who came in second with 82.5 points. No. 19 sophomore Reece Hopkin finished 3-0 and captured the 197 pound title. Hopkin (18-4 overall) won his second Colorado Collegiates individual championship, becoming just the fifth Northern Colorado wrestler to win an individual crown twice.
Sophomore Richard Lohr had his strongest showing of the year, as he went 3-1 and finished second at 141 pounds. Lohr improved his season record to 11-13. Sophomore Shawn Hart won his last two matches after starting out 1-1 and grabbed third place honors at 174 pounds. Hart finished 3-1 and improved his season record to 17-3. Sophomore Beau Hessler finished 1-1 in the 125 pound group and came out with a second place finish. Freshman heavyweight Justin Tuell came out with a fourth place finish after going 2-2. Tuell also recorded the fastest pin at the tournament with a 23 second fall over Colorado Mines' Sean Studer. Redshirt sophomore Kyle LeValley rebounded to finish 3-1 en route to fourth place in the 149 category after starting the day 1-1. LeValley improved his season record to 11-10. Senior Nathan Gerrard took fourth place at 157 pounds after going 3-2. Gerrard is now 13-11 this season.

NORTHERN COLORADO STAGES BIG COMEBACK TO BEAT WOLVERINES, 23-21
The University of Northern Colorado wrestling team came back from an 18-9 deficit to defeat the Utah Valley State Wolverines, 23-21, on Monday in Orem, Utah. Both teams split the 10 matches, but a technical fall gave Northern Colorado the points it needed to take the win. The score was tied at six after the opening matches in the heavyweight and 125 pound categories were forfeited by each team. UVSC's nationally-ranked Erkin Tadzhimetov gave the Wolverines a 12-6 lead after he pinned junior Adam Garcia in the 133 pound match. In the 141 pound match, Richard Lohr could not hold an early lead to the Wolverines' Daniel Polkowske to lose the decision 7-6. Polkowske's win extended Utah Valley's lead to 15-6 with six matches to go. But Northern Colorado clawed back to cut the lead to 15-9 after Kyle LeValley got a crucial 1-0 decision over UVSC's Justin Rawle in the 149 pound match. The Wolverines came back to seemingly put things out of reach in the 157 pound match after UVSC's Tanner Cowan scored a 4-1 decision over Nathan Gerrard to give Utah Valley an 18-9 lead.

The next two matches proved to be very important for the Bears. In the 165 pound match, Devan Lewis came through for Northern Colorado, claiming a 6-3 decision over the Wolverines' Devin Siddoway. The win pulled the Bears within 18-12. If Northern Colorado could manage a decision victory in the 174 pound match, they would have clinched at least a tie because Reece Hopkin got an automatic victory in the 197 pound category due to a forfeit. But Shawn Hart's effort in the match clinched the victory for the Bears, as he scored a 15-0 technical fall 7:00 into the match over the Wolverines' D.J. Meis to give Northern Colorado five points. The win made the score 18-17. Utah Valley's Ivan Bigney tallied a 10-3 decision over Tim Sexton in the 184 pound match, but Hopkin's six points gave the Bears the win.

BEARS SPLIT FOUR AT LONE STAR DUALS
The University of Northern Colorado wrestling team opened the dual portion of its 2005-06 schedule by splitting a quartet of matches at the 2006 Lone Star Duals, held at the South Grand Prairie Warrior Coliseum in Dallas, Texas. The Bears topped Clarion and Newman and fell to North Carolina and Purdue in action on Saturday. Northern Colorado (2-2 in duals) opened the ninth annual event by falling to ACC foe North Carolina 27-12. They rebounded with a 36-9 victory over NAIA Newman University before falling to the Big Ten's Purdue 25-10. The Bears capped off the event with a 21-15 come-from-behind victory over Clarion. Redshirt sophomore Reece Hopkin was a perfect 4-for-4 on the day, including moving from 197 pounds to heavyweight to claim a victory in the event's nightcap. Sophomore Shawn Hart equaled Hopkin's performance, by winning all four of his matches at 174 pounds. True freshman Will Cusker won three of his four matches in his collegiate dual debut. Sophomore Tim Sexton, redshirt sophomore Kyle LeValley and senior Nathan Gerrard were the only other Northern Colorado wrestlers to win more than one match on the day, as each were victorious twice. In the opener against the Tar Heels, it was Cusker, Hopkin and Hart who scored the only victories of the match for the Bears. But UNC was able to bounce back against Newman, winning all but two matches, at 165 pounds and heavyweight (a spot in the order they forfeited all in each of the first three matches of the day). Beau Hessler (125) and Richard Lohr (141) picked up victories in the match. Lohr did so by pinfall, 59 seconds in to the match, as did Hopkin, who won at 3:31. The trio of Cusker, Hopkin and Hart were victorious in the match against the Boilermakers, once again marking the only Northern Colorado victories in the match. In the nightcap against Clarion, the Bears fell behind early, losing the first three matches of the event. But LeValley got the Bears on the winning track, scoring a 11-4 victory over Derrick Smith. Gerrard followed that up with a win. After the Bears were on the short-end of the decision at 165, the Bears would not lose again. Hart won at 174, Sexton won at 184 and redshirt freshman Ryan Johnson claimed a forfeit victory at 197 pounds. That left Hopkin to bump up to heavyweight, and he claimed a 8-3 victory over Richard Brooks.

BEARS PLACE SIX AT UNK LOPER OPEN
The University of Northern Colorado wrestling team had six grapplers place at the Nebraska-Kearney Loper Open on Saturday. Sophomore Kenny Hashimoto was named the most outstanding wrestler. Hashimoto, wrestling as unattached, took the 141 pound title after going 4-0, including two pinfalls. Hashimoto won the championship match on an 8-4 decision over Nebraska-Kearney's Jeff Rutledge. Senior Luke Salazar went 4-1 in the 157 pound class and beat teammate Chase Walker on his way to taking third place. Walker claimed fifth place in the same category after beating Chadron State's Jared Webster 11-3 in a majority decision. Freshman Tony Mustari wrestled unattached and went 4-1 on his way to a third place finish in the 125 pound category. Mustari lost his first match but rebounded to win four straight matches, capped off by a 3-1 decision over Dana College's Craig Trampe. Redshirt freshman Tito Rinaldis went 3-2 in the 165 pound class and took fifth place honors after scoring a pinfall at 3:51 over Morningside's Eric Hume.

HART CLAIMS 174 POUND TITLE AT BOB SMITH/FORT HAYS OPEN
Sophomore Shawn Hart claimed the title at 174 pounds on Saturday at the Fort Hays State/Bob Smith Open. Two other Bears had third place finishes on the day for Northern Colorado. Hart breezed the the championship, winning matches by scores of 4-0, 7-0 and 6-2 before pinning Chadron State's Willy Jones at 5:10 in the championship bout. Sophomore Tim Sexton claimed third place at 184 pounds while sophomore Reece Hopkin was third at 197. A pair of redshirts, Tony Mustari (4th at 125) and Kenny Hashimoto (2nd at 141) also competed well, wrestling unattached.

THREE BEARS WIN TITLES AT OLD CHICAGO/NORTHERN COLORADO OPEN
Northern Colorado's Tony Mustari (125), Kenny Hashimoto (141) and Nathan Gerrard (157) each won individual titles on Nov. 19 at the Old Chicago/Northern Colorado Open held at Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion. Hashimoto defeated several quality opponents on his way to the title at 141 pounds, and earned Most Outstanding Wrestler honors. He topped NAIA National runner-up Chris Smith in the finals by a 6-4 margin. On his way through the bracket, Hashimoto had a pair of fall victories and an 11-0 win over Anthony Elder of Western Wyoming. Mustari topped No. 1 seed Talon Vickers of Utah Valley State by a 3-1 margin in the final at 125. At 157, Gerrard scored a 6-4 sudden victory over teammate Luke Salazar. Salazar had dominated his way through the bracket early in the day, winning 6-0, 9-2, 7-2 and by fall at 1:36. Sophomore Chase Walker defeated Noomis Jones 4-0 in the third place match at 157. Kyle Kaiser earned a fourth place finish at 133 as did Kyle LeValley at 149.

BEARS PLACE SIX AT COWBOY OPEN
The University of Northern Colorado wrestling team started its season on Nov. 14 at the Wyoming Cowboy Open at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyo. The Bears had six place-winners, including three wrestlers that took first place in their divisions. Shawn Hart recorded three pins and one decision en route to snatching first place in the 174 pound open division. Hart notched a 4-0 open record. Chase Walker took first place in the open 157 pound division after recording a 7-6 decision over Oregon's Kyle Hartzel. Walker went 4-0 in the open. Tim Sexton claimed first in the 184 pound 20 and under division after going 2-0. Reece Hopkin went 3-1 and tallied two pins on his way to taking second place in the 197 pound open division. Sophomore Kenny Hashimoto placed third in the open 141 pound weight division. Hashimoto went 4-1 at the event and recorded two pins. Redshirt freshman Tito Rinaldis went 3-2 and recorded a fourth place finish in the 165 pound 20-and-under division. Unattached wrestlers with Northern Colorado ties also had success. Tony Mustari went 4-1 and took second in the 125 pound 20-and-under division in his first collegiate action. Senior Luke Salazar claimed third in the 157 pound open division after posting a 5-1 record.

BEARS HOST FIVE DUALS THIS SEASON
The Bears will host five duals this season. The first dual will be at 7 p.m. on Feb. 2 against South Dakota State. Northern Colorado will also host North Dakota State (7 p.m. on Feb. 6), Cal State-Fullerton (2 p.m. on Feb. 11), Air Force (6 p.m. on Feb. 23) and Utah Valley State (8 p.m. on Feb. 23).

HEAD COACH
Currently in his 19th year at Northern Colorado, head coach Jack Maughan will continue a new era as the Bears re-enter the Division I ranks after a more than 30-year absence. With the Bears competing as an Independent school, Maughan will hope to be instrumental in forming a new wrestling conference with neighboring rivals Wyoming and Air Force along with former North Central Conference rivals North Dakota State and South Dakota State. Maughan is 110-134-1 in his career.