THE FRONT ROW with JASON ELLIOTT: So much to see, so little time

‘Tis the season, so to speak.

That special time of year when the area fall sports teams are wrapping things up and getting ready for whatever’s next at the high school level.

Meanwhile at North Idaho College, fall and winter are starting to run together again.

IN CASE you’ve missed it, the NIC men’s soccer team can advance to the Region 18 Tournament with a win today against Colorado Northwestern in Rangely, Colo.

NIC (12-5-1, 8-4-1 SWAC) is tied with Southern Idaho (8-7-1, 8-4-1) and Utah State-Eastern (9-4-2, 8-4-1) for the final two spots with one match remaining.

CSI and Utah State-Eastern play what amounts to an elimination game in Price, Utah, today to conclude the regular season.

The Cardinals, who lost three of four matches to open conference play in mid-September, were ranked as high as 14th in the NJCAA polls.

“We’ve got the guys and it’s been a difficult time to find the consistency this year,” third-year NIC men’s soccer coach Brad Williams said. “But we’ve got the players for sure to compete for a regional title, and we’ve shown that. I don’t think there’s a team remaining that we haven’t beat. Right now, we’re where we want to be with our playing style.”

With a win today, NIC will play Salt Lake Community College in a semifinal match next Thursday in Taylorsville, Utah. 

“It’s hard on the road, but we’ve got to keep doing it,” Williams said after Thursday's 1-0 win at Salt Lake. “Hopefully we’re back here next week.”

Freshman Federico Bellisi scored in the 63rd minute for NIC against Salt Lake.

“He’s been Mr. Clutch in the last few games for us, and did it again today,” Williams said. “He’s just been in the right place at the right time lately.”

NIC'S VOLLEYBALL team can take a big step toward learning its postseason fate when the Cardinals (14-11, 3-5 SWAC) face Utah State-Eastern (15-7, 3-4) at 1 p.m.

Utah State-Eastern is fourth in the conference, with NIC fifth. Only the top four teams advance to the Region 18 Volleyball Tournament Nov. 5-6 at Salt Lake Community College.

“Our serve receive was our Achilles’ heel tonight,” second-year NIC coach Drew Pascua said after a four-set loss to Snow on Thursday in Coeur d’Alene. “We were better than them in almost every other facet of the game. But we just struggled to keep our passing together.”

NIC fell in four sets to Utah State-Eastern in Price on Oct. 11.

NIC’s wrestling team opened the season with a home dual against NAIA foe Montana State-Northern of Havre, Mont, on Friday. 

Coach Derrick Booth, in his fourth season, has dipped into the local talent pool to round out his roster.

Among the newcomers are freshmen Colm McLaimtaig (Priest River High), Colton Tucker (Coeur d’Alene), Trey Smith (Post Falls), Jorden Tyler (Sandpoint), Seth Martin (Post Falls) and Kendall Sage (Post Falls). Sophomore Hoyt Hvass (Lewiston), who qualified for the NJCAA Tournament last year, returns for NIC, which finished eighth at nationals last year.

Those that have attended the Saturday night finals during the annual Tri-State Invitational at NIC, one of the top high school wrestling tournaments in the northwest, know those guys can compete at this level and the lights at the college level won’t be too bright for them.

Throw in the men’s and women’s basketball teams opening the season in the coming weeks, and things are picking up quickly for the Cardinals.

Just guessing, nobody is complaining though.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at 208-664-8176, Ext. 1205 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on ‘X’, formerly Twitter @JECdAPress.