NIC WRESTLING: Trio win district titles, Cardinals qualify nine to nationals

OREGON CITY, Ore. – Second is something.

But it’s not something North Idaho College is satisfied with right now.

Freshman Kobi Johnson (125 pounds), sophomore Brant Porter (141), freshman Kana’i Tapia (149) and freshman Benjamen Mitchell (157) won regional titles for NIC, which finished runner-up by three points at the West District Championships at Clackamas Community College on Sunday.

NIC qualified nine of 10 wrestlers to nationals.

“For the most part, we wrestled really well and had a couple of setbacks,” NIC interim coach Derrick Booth said. “But we’re really proud of what they put out. We’re really looking forward to what could happen in a few weeks.”

Sophomore Ledger Petracek (second at 165), freshman Travis Waldner (184), freshman Bradley Whitwright (second at 197) and freshman Shai Murray (third at 285) also advanced.

Ethan Miller, a sophomore from Post Falls High, who finished fourth at 174, received a wild-card bid to nationals.

“Everyone wrestled really well,” said Booth, who competed on NIC’s last national championship team in 2013. “We’re never going to settle for second. We want that first-place trophy. It’s not what we wanted, but we’re motivated for the future.”

Clackamas won its ninth straight regional title with 108.5 points. NIC, seeking its first regional title since 2013, finished second with 105.5. Clackamas is the four-time national champion.

NIC beat Clackamas twice in duals during the season.

The NJCAA Tournament is March 3-4 at the Mid-American Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

TEAM SCORES – 1, Clackamas 108.5. 2, North Idaho College 105.5. 3, Southwestern Oregon 59. 4, Snow 58.5. 5, Umpqua 15.

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES

125 – Kobi Johnson, NIC, p. Branson Magsayo, Southwestern Oregon, 4:36. 133 – Mauro Michel, Southwestern Oregon, p. Jacob Waddoups, Snow, :57. 141 – Brant Porter, NIC, d. Justin Rodriguez, 4-2. 149 – Kana’i Tapia, NIC, p. Peyton Hughes, Clackamas, 5:44. 157 – Benjamen Mitchell, NIC, d. Jett Nelson, Southwestern Oregon, 5-1. 165 – Steele Starren, Clackamas, d. Ledger Petracek, NIC, 12-6. 174 – Austin Raby, Clackamas, p. Josiah Green, Umpqua, 2:01. 184 – Hayes Dalton, Snow, d. Andrew Balukas, Clackamas, 7-1. 197 – Michael Gasper, Clackamas, md. Bradley Whitwright, NIC, 14-4. 285 – Myles Norris, Clackamas, md. David Herring, Snow, 9-1.

THIRD PLACE

125 – Kai Matsunaga, Clackamas, d. Emmanuel Hasty, Umpqua, by forfeit. 133 – Vincenzo Gaeta, Umpqua, received a bye. 141 – Jaxon Johnson, Snow, d. Gideon Cole, Southwestern Oregon, 7-1. 149 – Ryder Fassett, Southwestern Oregon, p. Rhett Miner, Snow, 2:05. 157 – Paul Ortiz, Clackamas, p. Xavier Perez, Snow, 1:56. 165 – Isaiah Toomey, Southwestern Oregon, p. Jace Brower, Snow, 2:30. 174 – Zack Johnson, Snow, p. Ethan Miller, NIC, 1:39. 184 – Travis Waldner, NIC, md. JR Scott, Southwestern Oregon, 9-1. 197 – Christian Slack, Snow, md. Jaycen Crisotomo, Southwestern Oregon, 12-1. 285 – Shai Murray, NIC, p. Eduardo Penaloza, Southwestern Oregon, 5:38.