Four Placers for @UNCBearsWrestle, Sandoval Qualifies for NCAAs

Saturday, March 9

Tulsa, Okla.

All Day

University of Northern Colorado

Big 12 Championships

Photo by: Anna-Lee Marie

3/10/2019 3:45:00 PM | Wrestling

Chris Sandoval placed fifth to earn an automatic bid to the national tournament

By: Matthew Kushar, UNCBears.com

TULSA, Okla.- Chris Sandoval will make the trip to Pittsburgh in two weeks after automatically qualifying for the NCAA Championships. In the 141 lb bracket of the 2019 Big 12 Championships, Sandoval placed fifth after a 10-3 decision win over West Virginia's Caleb Rea.

"I saw a lot of good things," head coach Troy Nickerson said. "We continue to get better. Certainly some good things from some young guys. Robert Winters had a really good tournament and we can see he's pretty close. I feel great for [Chris]. He did a really nice job and continues to get better. Qualifying for the National Championships is huge. I'm looking for him to go out there and leave it all out there."

In the fifth place match, Sandoval separated from Rea early with two takedowns and a four-point, nearfall in the first period to lead 8-2.
Sandoval was able to hold his big lead for the next two periods and added an escape, along with the riding time advantage to earn the victory.

Sandoval started the day in a rematch against No. 1 seeded Josh Alber, but could not recreate the magic from Saturday and lost a 7-2 decision in the consolation semifinals.

"I went into it knowing that it doesn't really matter how the season went," Sandoval said "I'm pretty excited to go and I'm just hoping I get some of my boys to come with me so I'm not alone in [Pittsburgh]."

Robert Winters Jr. faced off against South Dakota State's Blake Wolters in the seventh place match for the 285 lb bracket. Winters Jr. had the 1-0 lead after the first period, when Wolters was hit with a penalty. Wolters would tie the match with an escape in the second period, but Winters Jr. returned the favor in the third to take a 2-1 lead. Winters Jr. held on to his lead and placed seventh in the bracket.

No. 4 seed Rico Montoya placed sixth in the 125 lb bracket, after dropping both of his matches on Sunday. Montoya dropped an 8-0 major decision to Oklahoma's and No. 7 seeded Christian Moody. Montoya then lost to the No. 3 seed Jay Schwarm from Northern Iowa by fall.

Jacob Seely wrestled in the seventh place match of the 197 lb bracket, dropping a 6-2 decision to Air Forces' Anthony McLaughlin.

Nickerson talked about the chances of getting more wrestler to Pittsburgh. "It's a tough feeling to have to sit around and wait. I think we probably have a good chance to get some wild cards. It's out of our hands at this point. We kind of have to leave it to the committee. Hopefully, we get a couple of extra spots. If not, it is what it is. We train to go earn our spots rather than wait on chance."

Next Up
Northern Colorado will wait to see if Montoya, Seely and Winters Jr. can earn at-large qualifier spots to the NCAA Championships. The NCAA's begin on March 21^st through March 23^rd.