Preview: Two duals on Sunday for @UNCBearsWrestling

Sunday, January 14

Greeley, CO

3 pm

University of Northern Colorado

CSU-Bakersfield

Photo by: Dean Popejoy

1/12/2018 11:17:00 AM | Wrestling

Northern Colorado hosts Duke and CSU-Bakersfield at Bank of Colorado

By: Matthew Kushar, UNCBears.com

GREELEY, Colo.- After a historic week on the road, Northern Colorado wrestling returns to Bank of Colorado Arena for a tri-meet against Duke and CSU-Bakersfield on Sunday, Jan. 14.

UNC (1-2, 1-1) is coming off its first win in program history over Big 12 foe Iowa State. The win is also UNC's first against a traditional Big 12 program. Earlier at the Southern Scuffle, Rico Montoya [133] had the best performance for a UNC wrestler at the tournament with a fourth-place finish. UNC was tied for 12^th at the Scuffle, which is also a program best.

Keilan Torres placed seventh at the Scuffle in the 165 lb weight class, becoming the programs first two-time placer at the tournament. Torres currently leads UNC with eight falls this season. His most recent was against Iowa St.'s Logan Breitenbach at the 4:00 mark, which was also a turning point for UNC in that dual. Torres is currently ranked 19^th by Intermat.com.

Dylan Gabel was also key in the victory over Iowa St., securing the victory for UNC with a fall against Dane Pestano at 6:23. Gabel has been a consistent performer for UNC all season and is currently ranked 23^rd by Trackwrestling.com.

Northern Colorado wrestling has made great strides as a program during Head Coach Troy Nickerson's tenure and looks to build on the already historic season the team is having. UNC will have the opportunity this weekend to pick up dual wins over two quality opponents in Duke and CSU-Bakersfield.

Scouting Duke
Duke enters the weekend with an 0-3 record under 6^th year head coach Glen Lanham. Duke lost a close dual to Army 23-20 earlier in the season and also was defeated by another Big 12 school, Wyoming, 34-7. Recently, the Devils dropped a dual against American 26-14. Despite its record in duals, Duke earned its best finish ever at Scuffle, finishing fifth with four placers. Duke finished 25^th at the Cliff Keen Invitational with heavyweight Jacob Kasper taking third. Kasper is ranked fifth in the nation in the heavyweight class as well as Mitch Finesilver in the 157 lb weight class. Mitch is one of four brothers who are on the Duke wrestling roster along with Josh [133], Zach [165], and Matt [174].

Scouting CSU-Bakersfield
CSU-Bakersfield has been busy so far this season, with a 3-5 record in Manny Rivera's second year at the helm of the program. The Roadrunners picked up wins over Fresno State (30-7), Bucknell (26-10), and Buffalo (22-14). Bakersfield had a tough stretch of loses against teams ranked at the time including, No. 18/22 Edinboro (9-34), No. 25 Pittsburgh (18-21), and No. 18 Wisconsin (18-22). At Cliff Keen, Coleman Hammond [157] and Matt Williams [197] placed sixth and fifth respectively in their weight classes. Williams is currently ranked 14^th by Intermat.com and 18^th by Trackwrestling.com.

Projected Lineups
Northern Colorado (1-2, 1-1)
125: Michael Johnson (9-8) or Sean Cannon (7-6)
133: Rico Montoya (13-6)
141: Benjamin Polkowske (8-9) or Owen Lamb (5-6)
149: Jimmy Fate (15-8)
157: Tyler Kinn (5-7) or Macoy Flanagan (7-5)
165: #19 Keilan Torres (10-6)
174: Sethan Bogulski (6-9)
184: #23 Dylan Gabel (12-6)
197: Tanner Davis (1-5)
HWT: Robert Winters Jr. (7-11)

Duke (0-3)
125: Thayer Atkins
133: Josh Finesilver
141: Jeremiah Reitz
149: Brandon Leynaud
157: No. 11 Mitch Finesilver
165: Zach Finesilver
174: Matt Finesilver
184: Kaden Russell
197: Alec Schenk
285: No. 5 Jacob Kasper

CSU-Bakersfield (3-5)
125: Sergio Mendez
133: Sean Nickell
141: Russell Rohlfing
149: Kalani Tonge
157: Coleman Hammond
165: Lorenzo De La Riva
174: Bryan Battisto
184: Dominic Ducharme
197: Matt Williams
285: Mark Penyacsek or Dominic Balmer

Following the Bears
Northern Colorado faces Duke at 1 P.M. (MT) and CSU-Bakersfield at 3 P.M. on Sunday, January 14^th in Bank of Colorado Arena. Duke and CSU-Bakersfield will wrestle against each other at 11 A.M. Fans can purchase one ticket for the whole day of competition starting at $10 for adults and $7 for youth. Tickets can be purchased On-Line(fees may apply) or at the box office. The two UNC duals will air live on CET (Comcast 900) and streaming on the free PlutoTV app for any smart device. Live scoring will be available on trackwrestling.com and you can follow the match on twitter for updates and results with @UNCBearsWrestle.