SPOKANE - When North Idaho College won the bid to host the NJCAA tournament, coach Pat Whitcomb's goal was simple - put on a show.

And with the top four teams separated by nine points, expect anything on the final day of action at the Spokane Convention Center.

"We've got four guys in the championship bracket and one in the wrestlebacks," Whitcomb said. "That's a national tournament. We went on a bit of a run in the quarterfinals and rattled off four wins and then got on a backslide. I'm proud of all the guys right now. I think those fans that came here got their money's worth tonight. You really live and die with these guys and the fans at this tournament."

Wins in the quarterfinals assured wrestlers in each weight class an All-American status.

"We kept ourselves in position to win a national title," Whitcomb said. "(Kyle) McCrite will have to get us going, then (Jeremy) Bommarito's got to keep it going, get it to (Jesse) Nielsen and have Jamelle (Jones) do what he does for us to get that national title."

McCrite, a sophomore, defeated Sharkey Slyter of Ellsworth 6-1 to move onto the 125-pound semifinals.

“It’s great, but also not a big surprise to me,” McCrite said of advancing. “I’m going for a national title. Anything less than that is a huge disappointment.”

NIC also sent Bommarito (157), Nielsen (174) and Jones (197) to the semis today at 9:30 a.m.

Clackamas is leading the team scoring with 68 points, followed by NIC with 66.5 and Iowa Central with 63.

“It’s gonna be a dogfight on Saturday,” Clackamas coach Josh Rhoden said. “It’s what we expected between us, NIC, Harper and Iowa Central. Both Harper and Iowa Central are tough and we’ve gone back and forth with NIC all year. It’s lots of fun right now.”

Nielsen edged James Haywood of Lincoln 5-4 in the quarterfinals.

“I didn’t wrestle my best match in the quarterfinals,” said Nielsen, a former Coeur d’Alene High standout. “But I got the win and that’s all that matters. I got sixth last year and want to do better this year.”

Bommarito held on for a 3-2 decision over Quinten Hayes of North Iowa Area Community College.

“It was a huge mental game,” Bommarito said. “I knew it would be a tough opponent. I started watching my teammates and how well they were doing and I wanted to do better for them. I felt better going into this match than I had all day.”

Jones, who won a national title in 2008 while at Meramec Community College in St. Louis, advanced with a 14-7 decision over Fred Moses of Lincoln Community College.

“I’ve got a tough opponent tomorrow, but I’m looking forward to beating him,” Jones said. “There’s always room to improve and tomorrow, I’m looking forward to winning this for my teammates and getting that national title.”

NIC freshman heavyweight Matthew Foxworthy fell in his quarterfinal 2-0 to Seth McGregor of Iowa Central. Foxworthy then lost his last match of the evening and was eliminated.

NIC’s Jake Mason (165) is in the consolation round, the fifth Cardinal out of 10 still alive in the tournament.

Championship matches are scheduled to begin at 6:45 p.m.

Team scores — 1, Clackamas 68. 2, North Idaho 66.5. 3, Iowa Central 63. 4, Labette 62.5. 5, Harper 61. 6, Rend Lake 56.5. 7, Nassau 52.5 8, Lincoln 49. 9, Muskegon 48. 10, Iowa Lakes 46.5. 11, Northwest (Wyo.) 44.5 12, Highline 39.5 13, Northern Iowa Area 35.5 14, Mercyhurst 35. 15, (tie), Ellsworth, Middlesex 27.5. 17, Niagara 24. 18, Colby 23. 19, Western Wyoming 22. 20, Yakima 21. 21, Itasca 19.5 22, Glouscaster 17.5 23, Ridgewater 17. 24, Rochester 16.5 25, Neosho 16. 26, Southwest Oregon 15.5. 27, Thaddeus Stevens 13.5. 28, Alfred State 10. 29, Darton 9.5. 30, Bergen 8.5. 31, Pratt 4.5 32, (tie), Spartanburg, Springfield Tech 2.5. 34, (tie), Jamestown, Northwest Kansas Tech, Waubonsee 0.

QUARTERFINALS

125 — Josh Heizner, Iowa Central, d. Marco Tamayo, Colby, 3-1. Steven Romero, Highline, d. Rocco Rosso, Niagra, 7-2. Mike Garafalo, Nassau, d. Prentice Thomas, Lincoln, 5-2. Kyle McCrite, NIC, d. Sharky Slyter, Ellsworth, 6-1.

133 — Brandon Wright, Iowa Central, d. John Miller, Nassau, 16-7. Jesse Hillhouse, Northwest, d. Wismit Moinius, NIACC, 7-3. Martin Gonzalez, Clackamas, d. D’Marcus Spencer, Lincoln, 2-0. Tyler Holloway, Rend Lake, d. Tim Hubbard, Mercyhurst, 4-2.

141 — Kodie Silverstri, Nassau, d. Jace Campbell, Colby, 9-5. Wilson Metelius, Ellsworth, p. Kirk Sallis, NIACC, 5:20. Vinnie DiGravio, Mercyhurst, p. Sean Turner, Muskegon, 3:13. Cody Randall, Clackamas, d. Casey Williams, Itasca, 9-2.

149 — Victor DeJesus, Iowa Lakes, md. Frankie BueneFuente, Bergen, 18-8. Tyler Peet, Alfred State, d. Kyle Windquist, Muskegon, 12-5. Jason Gray, Highline, md. Mark Marianovich, Lincoln, 15-6. Michael Perez, Labette, 9-5. 

157 — PJ Starnes, Harper, md. Scott Verner, Western Wyoming, 8-0. Matt Meledrez, Clackamas, p. Kayton Marshall, Labette, 5:00. Jeremy Bommarito, NIC, d. Quinten Haynes, NIACC, 4-2. Justin Pencook, Glouscester, md. Nick Rimpley, Colby, 18-6.

165 — Isiah Williams, Rend Lake, d. Theo Jensen-Innis, Rochester, 3-1. Troy Ireland, Niagra, p. Kris Kucab, Bergen, 1:47. Derek Mestrovich, Clackamas, p. Isaiah Tatum, NIACC, 3:03. Dan McGillivary, Iowa Lakes, md. Rafael Rodriguez, Muskegon, 13-1.

174 — Jesse Nielsen, NIC, d. James Haywood, Lincoln, 5-4. Jules Dulliscar, Nassau, md. Gage Martin, Labette, 12-0. Khari Washington, Harper, md. Tarrance Williams, Clackamas, 11-1. Keithen Cast, Northwest, d. Travis Peralta, Rend Lake, 8-6.

184 — Austin Moorehead, Rend Lake, d. Michael Johnson, Lincoln, 14-12. Ray Hall, Labette, d. Jameel Bryant, NIACC, 8-4. Nick Peterson, Northwest, p. Teegan Franco, Yakima, 2:05. Arber Bebo, Harper, d. Evan Parberry, Highline, 9-2.

197 — Walker Clark, Labette, d. Trent Flegel, Muskegon, 3-2. Vinny Campanille, Ellsworth, d. Blake Steiret, Colby, 1-0. Jamelle Jones, NIC, md. Fred Moses, Lincoln, 15-7. Nick Pica, Iowa Central, p. Simas Norkus, Western Wyoming, :53.

285 — Seth McGregor, Iowa Central, d. Matt Foxworthy, NIC, 2-0. Adam Chalfant, Harper, p. Justin Williams Southwest Oregon, 4:10. Tyrell Fortune, Clackamas, md. Reno Redleaf, Labette, 13-4. Matt Wyss, Iowa Lakes, p. Karl Green, Rend Lake, 1:58.

NIC RESULTS

Championship

Round 1

125 — Kyle McCrite, NIC, bye.

133 — Brock Banta, NIC, p. Luke Campbell, Spartanburg, 5:32.

141 — Braden Mowry, NIC, d. DaMonte Riley, Lincoln, 9-6.

149 — Michael Perez, Labette, d. McKray Jones, NIC, 6-0.

157 — Jeremy Bommarito, NIC, p. Nick Voss, Spartanburg, 2:19.

165 — Jake Mason, NIC, p. Rick Goerke, Lincoln, 5:32.

174 — Jesse Nielsen, NIC, p. Alex Tozzolino, Spartanburg, 3:58.

184 — Ray Hall, Labette, d. Justin Korthuis, NIC, 10-5.

197 — Jamelle Jones, bye.

285 — Matthew Foxworthy, NIC, d. Dan Carey, Waubonsee, 7-1.

Round 2

125 — Kyle McCrite, NIC, md. Garrett Jones, Labette, 13-1.

133 — Jesse Hillhouse, Northwest, d. Brock Banta, NIC, 7-2.

141 — Jace Campbell, Colby, d. Braden Mowry, NIC, 7-4.

157 — Jeremy Bommarito, NIC, p. Paul Saraiva, Middlesex, 1:03.

165 — Troy Ireland, Niagara, p. Jake Mason, NIC, :31.

174 — Jesse Nielsen, NIC, d. Carl Foreside, Iowa Central, 3-1.

197 — Jamelle Jones, NIC, p. Weston Hawkins, Northern Iowa, :34.

285 — Matthew Foxworthy, NIC, d. David Agu, Nassau, 3-2.

Quarterfinals

125 — Kyle McCrite, NIC, d. Sharky Slyter, Ellsworth, 6-1.

157 — Jeremy Bommarito, NIC, d. Quinten Haynes, NIACC, 4-2.

174 — Jesse Nielsen, NIC, d. James Haywood, Lincoln, 5-4.

184 — Jamelle Jones, NIC, md. Fred Moses, Lincoln, 15-7.

285 — Seth McGregor, Iowa Central, d. Matthew Foxworthy, NIC, 2-0.

Consolation

Round 1

149 — Jack Calvert, Yakima, p. McKray Jones, NIC, 2:22.

184 — Justin Korthuis, NIC, bye.

Round 2

133 — Brock Banta, NIC, d. Cody Singletary, Iowa Lakes, 10-4.

141 — Braden Mowry, NIC, p. Donald Smith, Middlesex, 2:09.

165 — Jake Mason, NIC, p. James Bennett, Mercyhurst, 2:38.

184 — Nate Bazan, Muskegon, d. Justin Korthuis, NIC, 8-4.

Round 3

133 — Brock Banta, NIC, d. Louie Shearer, Glouscester, 12-4.

141 — Braden Mowry, NIC, d. Javier Portillo, Ridgewater, 8-1.

165 — Jake Mason, NIC, d. Josh Ronne, Harper, 5-3.

Round 4

133 — Tim Hubbard, Mercyhurst, p. Brock Banta, NIC, 1:31.

141 — Sean Turner, Muskegon, p. Braden Mowry, NIC, 2:42.

165 — Jake Mason, NIC, d. Rafael Rodriguez, Muskegon, 4-2.

285 — Ryan Stevenson, Muskegon, d. Matthew Foxworthy, NIC, 10-7.