University of Northern Colorado Athletics

Photo by: Anna-Lee Marie
Bears Qualify Five for NCAA's, Best Team Finish at Big 12s
3/8/2020 6:33:00 PM | Wrestling
Northern Colorado finished the Big 12 Championships on Sunday, with Mosha Schwartz earning a second-place finish
TULSA, Okla. – Northern Colorado wrestling will send five wrestlers to the NCAA Championships in March after the Big 12 Championships concluded on Sunday. After Mosha Schwartz and Dalton Robertson punched their tickets on the first day, Andrew Alirez, Alan Clothier and Jacob Seely added their names to UNC's squad that will head to Minnesota.
Schwartz fell just short of becoming the program's first Big 12 Champion on Sunday evening, falling to North Dakota State's Cam Sykora, the three seed at 133 lbs.
Sykora led 2-0 after the first period, but Schwartz fired off a pair of takedowns in the second to tie up the matchup. Before the second period ended, Sykora managed to get the late escape and held off Schwartz in the third period to get the 5-4 decision win. Schwartz earned second place as a true freshman.
Alirez advanced to the 149 lbs third-place match and automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships after Northern Iowa's, Max Thomsen medically forfeited. In the third-place match, Alirez had a rematch against Iowa State's and fourth-seeded, Jarrett Degen. Degen defeated Alirez with a 5-3 decision. Alirez placed fourth in his true freshman season.
Clothier would earn his invite to the NCAAs with a 6-5 decision win over the seventh seed, Tate Samuelson from Wyoming at 184 lbs. Now in the third-place match, Clothier faced Oklahoma State's, Anthony Montalvo. Clothier would drop the match, 11-7 by decision to place fourth.
Seely would knock off Wyoming's Stephen Buchanan, the four seed, in his first match of the day with a 5-4 decision. The win automatically qualified Seely for the NCAAs. Seely would take on the fifth-seeded, Dakota Geer from Oklahoma State for third place. Geer got the better of Seely in a 17-0 tech fall, giving Seely fourth in the 197 lb bracket.
Robertson started day two against Northern Iowa's Carter Isley, the four seed. Isley defeated Robertson in a 5-1 decision, sending him to the fifth-place match. Robertson met Utah Valley's, Tate Orndorff, in the fifth-place match, falling in an 11-0 major decision. Robertson earned a sixth-place finish in the 285 lbs bracket.
Jordan Robison wrestled in the 165 lbs, seventh place match against Northern Iowa's Austin Yant, the eighth seed. Yant topped Robison with a 8-2 decision in the match. Robison placed eighth at Big 12s.
As a team, UNC had its best performance at the Big 12 Championships in program history. The Bears finished eighth in the team standings, with 72.5 points, both the top marks since the team joined the conference in 2015.
The Bears five qualifiers is the most for head coach Troy Nickerson since he took over the program in 2014.
What's Ahead?
UNC's five qualifiers, Mosha Schwartz, Andrew Alirez, Alan Clothier, Jacob Seely and Dalton Robertson will compete in the NCAA wrestling Championships in Minneapolis, Minn., taking place March 19th through 21st. The five will learn who they will wrestle later this week.
To always stay up to date on all aspects of UNC Wrestling, you can visit UNCBears.com, as well as follow the team on Twitter at @UNCBearsWrestle.
Schwartz fell just short of becoming the program's first Big 12 Champion on Sunday evening, falling to North Dakota State's Cam Sykora, the three seed at 133 lbs.
Sykora led 2-0 after the first period, but Schwartz fired off a pair of takedowns in the second to tie up the matchup. Before the second period ended, Sykora managed to get the late escape and held off Schwartz in the third period to get the 5-4 decision win. Schwartz earned second place as a true freshman.
Alirez advanced to the 149 lbs third-place match and automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships after Northern Iowa's, Max Thomsen medically forfeited. In the third-place match, Alirez had a rematch against Iowa State's and fourth-seeded, Jarrett Degen. Degen defeated Alirez with a 5-3 decision. Alirez placed fourth in his true freshman season.
Clothier would earn his invite to the NCAAs with a 6-5 decision win over the seventh seed, Tate Samuelson from Wyoming at 184 lbs. Now in the third-place match, Clothier faced Oklahoma State's, Anthony Montalvo. Clothier would drop the match, 11-7 by decision to place fourth.
Seely would knock off Wyoming's Stephen Buchanan, the four seed, in his first match of the day with a 5-4 decision. The win automatically qualified Seely for the NCAAs. Seely would take on the fifth-seeded, Dakota Geer from Oklahoma State for third place. Geer got the better of Seely in a 17-0 tech fall, giving Seely fourth in the 197 lb bracket.
Robertson started day two against Northern Iowa's Carter Isley, the four seed. Isley defeated Robertson in a 5-1 decision, sending him to the fifth-place match. Robertson met Utah Valley's, Tate Orndorff, in the fifth-place match, falling in an 11-0 major decision. Robertson earned a sixth-place finish in the 285 lbs bracket.
Jordan Robison wrestled in the 165 lbs, seventh place match against Northern Iowa's Austin Yant, the eighth seed. Yant topped Robison with a 8-2 decision in the match. Robison placed eighth at Big 12s.
As a team, UNC had its best performance at the Big 12 Championships in program history. The Bears finished eighth in the team standings, with 72.5 points, both the top marks since the team joined the conference in 2015.
The Bears five qualifiers is the most for head coach Troy Nickerson since he took over the program in 2014.
What's Ahead?
UNC's five qualifiers, Mosha Schwartz, Andrew Alirez, Alan Clothier, Jacob Seely and Dalton Robertson will compete in the NCAA wrestling Championships in Minneapolis, Minn., taking place March 19th through 21st. The five will learn who they will wrestle later this week.
To always stay up to date on all aspects of UNC Wrestling, you can visit UNCBears.com, as well as follow the team on Twitter at @UNCBearsWrestle.
Players Mentioned
HC Nickerson, Vinny Zerban, and AJ Heeg Post Dual Press Conference vs Cal Baptist 01/24/2025
Wednesday, May 21
Andrew Alirez Press Conference
Wednesday, May 21
Postmatch Press Conference - HC Troy Nickerson
Wednesday, May 21
Head Coach Troy Nickerson and Andrew Alirez Post Match Press Conference
Monday, February 24