Preview: @UNCBearsWrestle meets Fresno State at home, Oregon State on the road

GREELEY, Colo.- Northern Colorado wrestling gets right back to action this week as they host Big 12 opponent Fresno State on Friday night, before traveling to face Oregon State in Corvallis Sunday afternoon.

Last week, Northern Colorado picked up a win against Cal Poly 21-20, before dropping its match against Oklahoma 28-10. The Bears record now stands at 2-5, but the team has a number of wrestlers in a good position to represent the program at the NCAA Championships in March.

The NCAA released its first coaches panel rankings for individual wrestlers last Thursday and four Bears made the list. Rico Montoya (#24), Keilan Torres (#22), Dylan Gabel (#20), and Jacob Seely (#20) are ranked among the top 33 wrestlers in the nation for their respective weight class.

Montoya [133] won both his matches this past weekend against Cal Poly's Ty Schilling (MD 17-6) and Oklahoma's Jacob Rubio (Dec 4-2). On the season, Montoya is 4-3 in duals and 15-8 overall with five falls. He is currently ranked No. 18 by flowrestling.com.

Torres [165] has carried over his success from last season and is currently leading UNC with 10 falls. He added another fall against Ryan Farina of Cal Poly and returned to his home state of Oklahoma to defeated Dawaylon Barnes, who wrestled for the Sooners. Torres has a 6-1 record in duals and a 14-6 record overall. Currently, he is ranked No. 18 by Intermat.com.

Gabel [184] added two more wins over the weekend against Cal Poly's Sohrab Movahedi (MD 9-1) and Oklahoma's Matt Waddell (MD 8-0). In duals, Gabel is a perfect 7-0 record and 16-6 overall this season with five falls. He is the highest ranked Bear, currently No. 16 by W.I.N. Magazine.

Despite the injury, Seely continues to be ranked among the nation's best in the 197 lb weight class. Seely is No. 19 according to flowrestling.com. His injury occurred in his last match against Iowa State's Sam Colbray.

UNC faces two quality opponents this weekend and they will need the entire lineup to perform to pick up two wins.

Scouting Fresno State
Fresno State is well experienced in duals this season and its record currently stands at 3-11 and 0-2 in Big 12 bouts. In conference, the Bulldogs dropped matches against Oklahoma (27-8) and Iowa State (25-26). Fresno State also has tough losses against No. 14 Illinois (33-10), No. 19 Minnesota (38-7), and No. 19 Lock Haven (25-13). The Bulldogs picked up wins against San Francisco State (19-17), Cal Poly (29-13), and Bucknell (37-8). Khristian Olivas [149] and AJ Nevills [HWT] are both ranked in the first release of the NCAA Coaches Panel. Olivas sits at No. 22 with a 21-3 overall record and Nevills comes in at No. 28 with a 24-3 record.

UNC and Fresno State last faced each other in 2005, with the Bulldogs topping the Bears 30-6.

Scouting Oregon State
Oregon State mirrors UNC with a 2-5 record this season under 12th-year head coach Jim Zalesky. So far this season, Oregon State defeated Eastern Oregon (42-6) and George Mason (32-9). The Beavers have already faced two Big 12 teams, dropping both bouts against Iowa State (24-16) and Wyoming (29-12). Oregon State had a tough match against No. 9 Michigan, falling 48-0. The wrestlers for Oregon State performed well at the Reno Tournament of Champions, finishing fourth. The Beavers also finished in 31st place at the Cliff Keen Invitational. Three Oregon State wrestlers are ranked, including No. 12 Ronnie Bresser, No. 15 Corey Griedo, and No. 8 Amar Dhesi.

Last season, the two teams met in Greeley with UNC droping the match 31-15 to Oregon State.

Projected Lineups
Northern Colorado (2-5, 1-2)
125: Michael Johnson (9-10, 0-3)
133: #19 Rico Montoya (15-8, 4-3)
141: Benjamin Polkowske (9-12, 1-6)
149: Jimmy Fate (17-10, 2-5)
157: Tyler Kinn (8-10, 1-6)
165: #18 Keilan Torres (14-6, 6-1)
174: Sethan Bogulski (6-13, 2-5)
184: #16 Dylan Gabel (16-6, 7-0)
197: Tanner Davis (1-9, 0-4)
HWT: Robert Winters Jr. (9-13, 2-5)

Fresno State (3-11, 0-2)
125: Sean Wiliams, RSr. (5-12; 4-8 dual record)
133: Trevor Williams, Fr. (6-16; 3-11)
141: Chris DeLoza, Fr. (7-17; 1-13)
149: #22 Khristian Olivas, RSo. (21-3; 13-1)
157: Greg Gaxiola, So. (13-10; 8-6)
165: Isaiah Hokit, RSo. (13-12; 5-9)
174: Dominic Kincaid, RSo. (9-16; 2-12)
184: Richie Brandt, RSo. (6-11; 1-6)
OR Angel Solis, Fr. (7-15; 2-11)
197: Josh Hokit, So. (4-4; 4-4)
285: #28 AJ Nevills, Fr. (24-3; 14-0)

Oregon State (2-5, 0-1)
125: #12 Ronnie Bresser (14-4, 3-1)
133: Devan Turner (6-12, 2-4)
141: Jack Hathaway (16-11, 3-4)
149: Kurt Mode (7-11, 3-3) or Josh Reyes (4-3, 0-1)
157: Hunter Willits (13-12, 3-4)
165: Rodney Williams (0-6, 0-2)
174: Myles Terry (4-13, 2-5)
184: Bob Coleman (17-5, 0-0)
197: #15 Corey Griedo (14-5, 5-2)
285: #8 Amar Dhesi (13-3, 4-0)

Following the Bears
Northern Colorado takes on Fresno State in Bank of Colorado Arena at 7 P.M. (MT) on Friday, Jan. 26^th. The dual will be streamed live on the free PlutoTV app for all smart devices. Follow the dual on Twitter for live updates and results with @UNCBearsWrestle.
CALLING ALL KIDS: UNC Wrestling will host the 2018 Kids Clinic on Friday, Jan. 26, prior to their dual against Fresno State. Tune-up your skills with the team at 5:45 pm then cheer on the bears at 7! To register for the free clinic, visit uncbears.com/kidsclinic or for more information call 351-1832.

*Please note This year's clinic does NOT include a ticket to the match but tickets are available at a special discounted rate of $3 for kids and $5 for adults (plus fees). These can be purchased ahead of time online with promo code WRKidsDay or at the time of registration at the Bank of Colorado Arena Box Office.

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Sethan Bogulski

Tanner Davis

Jimmy Fate

Dylan Gabel

Michael Johnson

Tyler Kinn

Rico Montoya

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Jacob Seely

Keilan Torres

Robert Winters Jr.

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