Northern Colorado Falls 26-9 to Wyoming

Sunday, February 16

Laramie, Wyo.

2 p.m.

University of Northern Colorado

Wyoming

Photo by: Amanda Geyer

2/16/2025 6:43:00 PM | Wrestling

Despite early successes from Serrano and Alirez, Northern Colorado falls 26-9, unable to recover from key losses across multiple weight classes

By: Amanda Geyer, Assistant Director of Bear Vision

LARAMIE, Wyo. – The Northern Colorado Bears (10-6, 3-4) fell 26-9 to the Wyoming Cowboys (11-6, 5-3) in a hard-fought Big 12 matchup on Sunday at the UniWyo Sports Complex. Despite a strong start and some standout individual performances, the Bears couldn't overcome a series of tough losses in key weight classes.

The dual began at 125 pounds, where freshman Bryson Valdez came up just short in a tough battle against Garrett Ricks. At 133, junior Dom Serrano, ranked No. 14, secured the first win of the night with an exciting and dominate pin over Stockton O'Brien.

Senior Andrew Alirez, ranked No. 2 at 141, extended Northern Colorado's lead with an 11-6 decision over Cole Brooks. Redshirt junior Benji Alanis fought hard against No. 20 Gabe Willochell but was edged out 2-0. Heading into 157 pounds, Northern Colorado held a 9-6 lead.

Redshirt junior Vinny Zerban, ranked No. 18 at 157, suffered a sudden victory loss after fighting hard during regulation time against No. 21 Jared Hill. Northern Colorado was then trailing 12-9 at the halfway point.

Freshman Daishun Powe was called upon to face off against Cooper Voorhees in a hard-fought match. Despite his best efforts and determination, Powe came up short, falling 7-3. In the 174-pound matchup, senior Clayton Ulrey was bumped up a weight class but couldn't overcome the challenge, losing 4-1 to Riley Davi.

At 184 pounds, freshman Aj Heeg squared off against No. 25 Eddie Neitenbach in a tough battle. Heeg fought valiantly but was overpowered, ultimately losing by a 15-3 major decision.

At 197 pounds, junior Andrew Donahue battled hard against No. 10-ranked Joey Novak. Despite his effort, Donahue couldn't overcome Novak, falling by a 16-2 major decision.

In the heavyweight matchup, senior Jose Valdez faced off against Sam Mitchell. Valdez showed his resilience throughout, but Mitchell ultimately secured the win with a 5-1 decision, edging out the Bears' senior in a tough contest.

Northern Colorado falls to 10-6, 3-4, while Wyoming moves to 11-6, 5-3.

UP NEXT
The Bears are returning home for their final dual of the season against Air Force at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 23.

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