COEUR d'ALENE - When the top-ranked North Idaho College wrestling team needed a win, they got one in a Major way.

Trailing Simon Fraser University 6-3, NIC freshman Kit Major tossed Dillon Hume to the mat and fought to a pin in 3:59 at 141 pounds to kickstart the Cardinals to a 29-15 win against the NCAA Division II Clan from Burnaby, British Columbia, on Thursday night at Christianson Gym.

"I knew we needed something big," said Major, from Riverside High in Chattaroy, Wash., just north of Spokane. "We started off a little slow as a team and needed some momentum to build off of."

NIC didn't lose again until the 184-pound match.

"We've been waiting for some guys to make some moves on the team," Major said. "It definitely helps getting off to a good start like that."

Major stepped into the lineup last weekend on NIC's trip through Oregon.

"I've been feeling good the last couple of weeks," Major said. "It's nice being at home here and having my parents be able to come out and see me wrestle."

NIC sophomore Derrick Booth of Post Falls used a takedown of Reid Watkins with 16 seconds remaining in their 174-pound match to win 2-1.

"I just had to get something done," Booth said. "I didn't score any points the entire match and in the last 30 seconds, we kept fighting and knew I had to get a takedown. It felt nice to get the win, but we need to build on this as a team and wrestle with some more intensity the next time. The matches keep getting bigger from here and we can't let down at all."

"Kit really stepped up and got things going," NIC coach Pat Whitcomb said. "It was nice for him to get that pin and get things rolling along. It was good to see those sophomores like Nico (Moreno), (Jeremy) Golding and Booth get wins. Derrick just kept grinding and grinding away. We thought he'd missed an opportunity with 30 seconds left and he just caught him. He's not real flashy, but he'll keep wrestling the full seven minutes and get the job done."

NIC (9-4) returns to action next Friday and Saturday where the Cardinals face No. 2 Northwest College and No. 3 Northeast Oklahoma at the Northwest Duals in Powell, Wyo.

"We've got to keep this thing rolling from here," Whitcomb said. "Next week is a big one with Northwest and Oklahoma. We're looking to finish the regular season strong, and move it into regionals."

Simon Fraser is in its second year in Division II after moving up from the NAIA level.

"We love coming here," Simon Fraser coach Justin Abdou said. "There's not much going on in the state of Washington as far as wrestling goes, so it's one of our closer matches. They've always got a decent crowd and always a traditionally strong team in the junior college ranks. I love wrestling them here, but would have liked to have given them a better match tonight."

125 - Skylar Davis, SF, d. Jared Miller, 6-0. 133 - Marcus Crone, NIC, d. Sukhan Chahal, 6-4. 141 - Kit Major, NIC, p. Dillon Hume, 3:59. 149 - Jeremy Golding, NIC, by forfeit. 157 - Nico Moreno, NIC, d. Josh Punzo, 9-0. 165 - Tyler McLean, NIC, d. Brock Lamb, 6-0. 174 - Derrick Booth, NIC, d. Reid Watkins, 2-1. 184 - Josh Kim, SF, d. Johnathon Dennis, 11-7. 197 - Ryan Yewchin, SF, by forfeit. 285 - Taylor Kornoely, NIC, d. Sean Molle, 21-10.