Bears Overwhelm Mountaineers on Saturday Night

Saturday, November 16

Greeley, Colo.

7 pm

University of Northern Colorado

West Virginia

Photo by: Dean Popejoy

11/16/2019 10:51:00 PM | Wrestling

WVU results

Northern Colorado won seven matches for the program's first win over West Virginia in the Big-12 era

By: Matthew Kushar, UNCBears.com

Northern Colorado put the Big 12 and the nation on notice Saturday night, as they beat West Virginia, 31-10 in front of a packed Bank of Colorado Arena. UNC won seven of 10 matches, picking up bonus points in four.

The dual began in the 174-pound bracket.

Billy Higgins started off strong in his first dual start, beating Scott Joll in an 11-4 decision. Higgins took his shots early and often, getting three, first-period takedowns of Joll. In the match, Higgins earned 2:41 minutes of riding time to give UNC a 3-0 lead.

No. 18 Alan Clothier was on the mat next at 184-pounds, making his UNC dual debut against Jackson Moomau. After a scoreless first period, Clothier scored a takedown on Moomau to take a 3-0 lead into the final period. At 1:16, Clothier got the fall on Moomau to give UNC a 9-0 lead over West Virginia.

At 197-pounds, No. 31 Jacob Seely faced No. 18 Noah Adams. After the first period, Adams led 6-1 and extended the lead to 10-2. He would push the lead to 15-4 and added riding time for a 16-4 major decision win over Seely.

Now at 285-pound, Dalton Robertson went against No. 24 Brandon Ngati. Robertson trailed Ngati, 2-1, after two periods. With :42 seconds left in the match, Robertson went on the offensive, scoring a takedown on Ngati. Robertson would ride out Ngati for the rest of the period, earning the 3-2 decision win over the No. 24 wrestler.

No. 17 Jace Koelzer faced off against Joey Thomas in the 125-pound match, his first career dual start. Koelzer showed why he earned his FloWrestling ranking, recording a reversal and takedown on Thomas. The redshirt-freshman won the 4-1 decision over Thomas. UNC's lead ballooned to 15-4 at the intermission.

True freshman Mosha Schwartz got the call at 133 and he did not disappoint against Lucas Seibert. The top-rated prospect blitzed Siebert in the first period, scoring four takedowns and a four-point nearfall to lead 12-3. Schwartz added three more takedowns in the second period to build a 19-7 lead. In the third period, Schwartz finished off Siebert with a takedown to win 22-7 by tech fall. UNC was now up 20-4.

Brody Lamb went against Caleb Rea at 141-pounds and electrified the crowd after getting the fall at 1:17. Lamb scored a takedown at 1:58 and turned Rea to snag his first dual win. The win secured the dual victory for the Bears up 26-4 with three matches left.

Now at 149-pounds, No. 13 Andrew Alirez gave his hometown fans what they wanted, shutting out Seth Houge, 17-0. Alirez, overwhelmed Hogue with two, four-point nearfalls in the first period. In the second period, Alirez ended the match with a 4-point nearfall to earn the tech fall.

Alex Hornfeck defeated Jimmy Fate in a 5-2 decision in the 157-pound bout. Hornfeck rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat Fate.

No. 18 Nick Kisussis won a 5-1 decision against Macoy Flanagan to end the dual. Kisussis had two takedowns on Flanagan.

UNC avenged its loss to the Mountaineers in 2018, after the team fell 22-14 in the season debut. The Bears won the first dual against West Virginia since the team joined the Big-12 prior for the 2015-16 season.

Post Game Thoughts

What's Next
Northern Colorado will be off until November 30, when they travel to face Fresno State on the road in the team's second Big-12 dual of the season.