Bears Knock Off Mustangs and Honor Three Seniors Friday Night

Friday, February 7

Greeley, Colo.

7 pm

University of Northern Colorado

Cal Poly

Photo by: Anna-Lee Marie

2/7/2020 11:16:00 PM | Wrestling

Results Sheet

Northern Colorado defeated Cal Poly, 25-18 behind bonus-point wins

By: Matthew Kushar, UNCBears.com

Northern Colorado wrestling honored its senior class on Friday night and delivered with a 25-18 dual win over Cal Poly. UNC won six matches, scoring bonus points in three. The Bears saw the return of multiple starters to the lineup to help give the team the spark for the victory. Sean Cannon, Austin Matthews and Sethan Bogulski were honored for their careers at intermission.

The dual started at 125-pounds, as Jace Koelzer looked to keep rolling against Benny Martinez. Koelzer would control Martinez in the match, with eight takedowns, a two-point, nearfall and two penalty points. The redshirt-freshman ended the match in the third period with a 21-6 tech fall at 6:41. UNC was out ahead 5-0 quickly.

No. 16 Mosha Schwartz was next up, facing off against Cole Reyes at 133-pounds. Schwartz was also aggressive, scoring a takedown and a two-point, nearfall in the first period. Schwartz tacked on another takedown in the second period for a 7-2 advantage. He would push the score to 14-2 behind another takedown, a four-point, nearfall and 4:12 minutes of riding time. The major decision by Schwartz gave UNC a 9-0 lead.

With the lead, Chris Sandoval faced Wyatt Cornelison at 141-pounds. Sandoval had the 2-1 lead on Cornelison after the first period. In the second, following a takedown by Cornelison, he was able to get the fall on Sandoval at 3:40. Cal Poly was now down only 9-6 to UNC.

At 149-pounds, No. 11 Andrew Alirez made his return to the mat against Joshua Cortez. Alirez built a 2-0 lead after the first period and extended it out to 4-0 in the second. Alirez racked up two takedowns and two penalty points, adding 1:22 of riding time to win an 8-1 decision over Cortez. The Bears now led the Mustangs, 12-6.

Jimmy Fate faced Brawley Lamer in the 157-pound bout. Fate quickly fired a shot and scored the takedown on Lamer for the 2-0 lead. Lamer tied the bout up at two in the second period. In the final period, Lamer managed to finish a takedown on Fate for the 4-2 lead. Despite Fate holding 1:20 minutes of riding time, Lamer won the 4-3 decision. Cal Poly was now down only 12-9.

No. 32 Matthews got the start on senior night against No. 29 Bernie Truax. After the first period, Truax held a 2-0 lead on Matthews with a takedown. Another Truazx takedown in the second period extended his lead to 4-0 over Matthews. In the final period, Matthews would get a takedown on Truax, but it was not enough to make up the deficit. Truax won a 6-2 decision over Matthews and tied the dual at 12.

Billy Higgins met Nathan Tausch in the 174-pound match. The two wrestlers were scoreless after the first period. In the second period. Higgins got the takedown on Tausch at 54 seconds and managed to turn him for the fall at 4:26. The redshirt-freshman's win gave UNC an 18-12 lead.

In the 184-pound match, No. 23 Alan Clothier battled Trent Tracy. Clothier would score a takedown and a two-point, nearfall on Tracy for the 4-0 advantage. The second period was scoreless, as Clothier managed to ride out Tracy. Clothier too advantage in the third period, scoring a takedown and a four-point, nearfall on Tracy to push the lead to 10-0. Adding 3:46 of riding time, Clothier won an 11-0 major decision and the lead for UNC was now 22-12.

The 197-pound match saw a one-second injury default by No. 19 Jacob Seely against No. 12 Tom Lane. Cal Poly was in striking distance at 22-18.

The final match was at 285-pounds as Dalton Robertson would go against Sam Aguilar. Regulation was not enough for the two heavyweights, as they advanced to overtime. In the second overtime, Robertson managed to get a four-point, nearfall on Aguilar. Robertson would hold on for the 4-0 win by tie breaker.

The UNC ended its losing streak and improved to 2-6 in dual matches this season with the 25-18 win over Cal Poly.

Post-Dual Thoughts

What's Ahead?
Northern Colorado will be on the road next weekend for a pair of duals, starting with Utah Valley on Friday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. They then take on Wyoming on Sunday, Feb. 16 at 2 p.m.