NIC dominates at Cardinal Duals

The North Idaho College wrestling team routed Highline Community College (Des Moines, Wash.) 41-4 and Doane College (Crete, Neb.) 52-3 at the Cardinal Duals Saturday at Christianson Gymnasium.

Freshmen Carlos Lozoya (133), Terrance McKinney (141) and Matt Hopkins (184) earned pins in both duals for NIC.

“They’re starting to not be freshman as much,” NIC head coach Pat Whitcomb said. “Now they’ve gotten enough matches under their belt that they’re more experienced.”

After opening up both duals with losses in the 125-pound division, NIC proceeded to win its next nine matches in each dual. In those next nine matches against Doane, the Cardinals won eight of them by pins.

“The last couple weeks we’ve really been picking it up in the practice room, working really hard, really coming together as a team,” said NIC’s V.J. Giulio. Giulio beat Highline’s Tyler Cormier 10-1 before pinning Doane’s Kyle Hoffman.

McKinney pinned Josh Smith of Highline in 1:36 and Ray Feigenbutz of Doane in 43 seconds.

“At first (at the beginning of the season) I was nervous,” McKinney said. “But then once I got into it, I feel a lot better and I’ve just started pinning people lately.”

McKinney also said Jeremy Golding, Nico Moreno and Tyler Mclean have helped him improve.

This season marks the first wrestling season for Doane College since the 1970s. Its head coach, Tyson Springer, wrestled at NIC.

Besides NIC, Highline and Doane, Simon Fraser University, University of Great Falls and Montana State University-Northern also competed at the Cardinal Duals.

After competing in the H.U.B. Open Sunday, second-ranked NIC will travel to Las Vegas to take on No. 15 Western Wyoming Community College Dec. 5. The Cardinals will then compete in the Las Vegas Invitational Dec. 6 and 7.