University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Wednesday, January 1
Chattanooga, Tenn.
All Day
University of Northern Colorado
at
Southern Scuffle
Photo by: Garett Kiley
Four Bears Place as UNC has Historic Performance at the Southern Scuffle
1/2/2020 9:11:00 PM | Wrestling
Alirez, Robertson, Schwartz and Clothier propelled Northern Colorado to its best performance at the tournament
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Only two days into the New Year, Northern Colorado wrestling had a historic performance at the Southern Scuffle. UNC had four placers, the most in program history. Andrew Alirez and Dalton Robertson both earned runner-up status, while Mosha Schwartz and Alan Clothier placed seventh.
"Today was a record setting day for the Bears," head coach Troy Nickerson said. "Our guys competed hard and fought for every point. While we would have liked to be coming home with a championship, Alan Clothier and Mosha Schwartz finished strong and we are proud of their effort."
The Bears also had the best team performance in program history, finishing sixth with 85 points.
Alirez faced Jaden Abas(Stanford) in the finals of the 149-pound bracket. The two wrestlers were scoreless after the first period. Abas chose down to start the second period and earned the escape after 20 seconds to take the lead. Alirez returned the favor to start the third with an escape four seconds into the period. Alirez and Abas traded shots near the end of the quarter, but it was Abas who was able to get the takedown on Alirez and squeak out the 3-2 decision win.
In his semifinal match, Alirez defeated Jonathan Miller(Appalachian St.) in a 9-5 decision. Alirez held the 4-2 lead after the first quarter on two takedowns. Alirez added two more takedowns in the second period to separate from Milner for the decision win.
Robertson faced top-seeded and No. 10 in the nation Demetrius Thomas(Pittsburgh) in his semifinal match. Thomas jumped ahead 2-1 over Robertson in the first period and was in control of the match, 4-1, after a second-period takedown. Robertson was on top to start the third period and was able to get the four-point, nearfall on Thomas to pull ahead. Robertson rode out Thomas for the rest of the match to get the 5-4 decision win. Robertson was forced to take an injury default in finals against No. 12 Gannon Gremmel(Iowa St.).
Schwartz battled Casey Cobb(Navy) in his seventh place match, winning an 8-4 decision. The true freshman scored an early takedown, three escapes and the riding time bonus to get the victory.
In his first match of the day, Schwartz advanced over Colton Landers(Chattanooga) by medical forfeit. Schwartz would next face Cole Manley(Lock Haven) in the consolation round of four. Manley defeated Schwartz in a 14-2 major decision.
In the seventh place match, Clothier defeated No. 33 Colt Doyle(Oregon St.) with a 11-2 major decision. Clothier scored six points in the final 10 seconds of the match to score bonus points.
Clothier went against the No. 5 seed, George Walton(Rider), in his first match. Clothier scored a takedown on Walton in the first period to take the lead. After an escape by Walton in the second period, Clothier responded with his own escape to start the third. Clothier added another takedown and the riding time bonus to win a 6-1 decision over Walton. In the consolation round of four, Clothier dropped a 3-1 decision against the No. 7 seed, Anthony Montalvo(Oklahoma St.).
UNC showed huge improvement, surpassing its on its 11th place finish at the 2019 Scuffle. The Bears doubled its wrestlers on the podium stand with four and nearly doubled it point total from 45.5 to 85.
What's Next
Northern Colorado will get back to dual wrestling, as they travel to take on Oregon State on Jan. 10 at 8 p.m. (MST).
"Today was a record setting day for the Bears," head coach Troy Nickerson said. "Our guys competed hard and fought for every point. While we would have liked to be coming home with a championship, Alan Clothier and Mosha Schwartz finished strong and we are proud of their effort."
The Bears also had the best team performance in program history, finishing sixth with 85 points.
Alirez faced Jaden Abas(Stanford) in the finals of the 149-pound bracket. The two wrestlers were scoreless after the first period. Abas chose down to start the second period and earned the escape after 20 seconds to take the lead. Alirez returned the favor to start the third with an escape four seconds into the period. Alirez and Abas traded shots near the end of the quarter, but it was Abas who was able to get the takedown on Alirez and squeak out the 3-2 decision win.
In his semifinal match, Alirez defeated Jonathan Miller(Appalachian St.) in a 9-5 decision. Alirez held the 4-2 lead after the first quarter on two takedowns. Alirez added two more takedowns in the second period to separate from Milner for the decision win.
Robertson faced top-seeded and No. 10 in the nation Demetrius Thomas(Pittsburgh) in his semifinal match. Thomas jumped ahead 2-1 over Robertson in the first period and was in control of the match, 4-1, after a second-period takedown. Robertson was on top to start the third period and was able to get the four-point, nearfall on Thomas to pull ahead. Robertson rode out Thomas for the rest of the match to get the 5-4 decision win. Robertson was forced to take an injury default in finals against No. 12 Gannon Gremmel(Iowa St.).
Schwartz battled Casey Cobb(Navy) in his seventh place match, winning an 8-4 decision. The true freshman scored an early takedown, three escapes and the riding time bonus to get the victory.
In his first match of the day, Schwartz advanced over Colton Landers(Chattanooga) by medical forfeit. Schwartz would next face Cole Manley(Lock Haven) in the consolation round of four. Manley defeated Schwartz in a 14-2 major decision.
In the seventh place match, Clothier defeated No. 33 Colt Doyle(Oregon St.) with a 11-2 major decision. Clothier scored six points in the final 10 seconds of the match to score bonus points.
Clothier went against the No. 5 seed, George Walton(Rider), in his first match. Clothier scored a takedown on Walton in the first period to take the lead. After an escape by Walton in the second period, Clothier responded with his own escape to start the third. Clothier added another takedown and the riding time bonus to win a 6-1 decision over Walton. In the consolation round of four, Clothier dropped a 3-1 decision against the No. 7 seed, Anthony Montalvo(Oklahoma St.).
UNC showed huge improvement, surpassing its on its 11th place finish at the 2019 Scuffle. The Bears doubled its wrestlers on the podium stand with four and nearly doubled it point total from 45.5 to 85.
What's Next
Northern Colorado will get back to dual wrestling, as they travel to take on Oregon State on Jan. 10 at 8 p.m. (MST).
Players Mentioned
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