NIC ROUNDUP: NIC fight for sixth in NJCAA tourney

• WRESTLING

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — Colton Theobald, a redshirt freshman from Payson, Utah, finished third at 165 pounds for North Idaho College in the NJCAA Championships at the Mid-American Center on Saturday. 

“Colton was big today,” said NIC coach Derrick Booth, in his third year as coach. “It takes a lot of grit, and that’s the toughest place to come back to win it.” 

Dylan Block, a redshirt freshman from Great Falls, Mont., was fourth at 174 for the Cardinals, who finished sixth with 112.5 points. 

Freshman Colton Tucker from Coeur d’Alene High (sixth at 157), freshman Parker Ballantyne of Saratoga Springs, Utah, (fifth at 141), freshman Seth Martin, a Post Falls High product was fifth at 184 and sophomore Ray Griffin of Pleasant Grove, Utah, was sixth at 285 for NIC. 

“I’m really proud of the fight from all the guys,” Booth said. “On Saturday, everyone is good at wrestling and you’ve really got to go into it with a clear mind. Our young guys learned a lot, and some of the them continued to get better throughout the tournament. We’ve got a great foundation coming back with eight starters returning, and they’re hungry to get back after it.”

Indian Hills of Ottumwa, Iowa, won its second straight title, finishing with 201.5 points. 

TEAM SCORES (Top 30) — 1, Indian Hills 201.5. 2, Western Wyoming 188. 3, Iowa Central 145.5. 4, Southeast Nebraska 131.5. 5, Clackamas 128.5. 6, North Idaho 112.5. 7, Cowley 108.5. 8, Northwest 84. 9, Pratt 80.5. 10, Iowa Western 80. 11, Muskegon 61. 12, Northeastern Oklahoma 59.5. 13, Niagara 58.5. 14, Harper 58. 15, Andrew 47.5. 16, Rochester 46. 17, Southwestern Michigan 44.5. 18 (tie), Northeastern, Triton 37.5. 20, Carl Albert State 35.5. 21, Onondaga 32.5. 22, Nassau 30. 23, Big Bend 27. 24, Cloud County 25.5. 25 (tie), Garrett, Labette 25. 27 (tie), Camden County, NIACC 18.5. 29 (tie), Colby, Iowa Lakes 17.5.  

NIC RESULTS 

PLACING MATCHES 

Third-place 

165 — Colton Theobald, NIC, d. Mohamed Tarek Abelhady, Indian Hills, 14-11. 

174 — Damarcus Powe, Iowa County, tf. Dylan Block, 26-9. 

Fifth-place 

141 — Parker Ballantyne, NIC, p. Dmitri Alarcon, Western Wyoming, 4:26. 

157 — Aaron Concepcion, Clackamas, tf. Colton Tucker, NIC, 21-5. 

184 — Seth Martin, NIC, p. Johnathan Clohecy, Indian Hills, 1:54. 

285 — Cito Tuttle, Rochester, p. Ray Griffin, NIC, :38. 

CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET 

Semifinals 

157 — Shehab Emam Mohammed, Indian Hills, p. Colton Tucker, NIC, 2:39. 

174 — Charlie Foster, Onondaga, md. Dylan Block, NIC, 11-1. 

184 — Jarrel Miller, Iowa Central, md. Seth Martin, NIC, 12-3. 

CONSOLATION BRACKET 

Semifinals 

141 — Zachary Covolo, Northwest, p. Parker Ballantyne, NIC, 3:59. 

157 — Damari Reed, Triton, p. Colton Tucker, NIC, 2:27. 

165 — Colton Theobald, NIC, md. Tom Stoll, Northeastern, 17-4. 

174 — Dylan Block, NIC, d. Francisco Ayala, Western Wyoming, 4-2. 

184 — David Sample, Cowley, tf. Seth Martin, NIC, 19-4. 

285 — Zaman Anwar, Iowa Central, p. Ray Griffin, NIC, 1:46. 

Round of 4 

141 — Parker Ballantyne, NIC, d. Tyler Misenheimer, Northeastern Oklahoma, 18-13. 

165 — Colton Theobald, NIC, tf. Cah’mari Johnson, Colby, 17-1. 

285 — Ray Griffin, NIC, d. Hunter Tibodeau, Big Bend, 5-0. 

• SOFTBALL

North Idaho 11-4 

Snow 9-9

WORLEY — Ali Drake homered twice and drove in four runs in the first game for the Cardinals, who split a Scenic West Athletic Conference doubleheader with the Badgers of Ephraim, Utah, at the Marimn Health Coeur Center Softball Field. 

Charlle Stern had two hits and three RBIs in the first game for NIC (9-12, 2-2 SWAC). 

Snow (8-11, 2-2) limited NIC to five hits in the second game. 

NIC visits Odessa (Texas) College for nonconference doubleheaders on Wednesday and Thursday. 

FIRST GAME 

Snow        212    020    2    —    9    10    0 

North Idaho    501    410    x    —    11    12    1 

Avery Thorkleson, Mallory Kelsey (1) and Bree Garcia (4) and Rian Howland; Lilly McNett, Makenna Webber (3) and Chloe Hearrell. 

HITS: Snow — Tycksen, Hall, Fisher 2, Laolagi-Aloy 3, Thomas 2, Carrasquel. NIC — Hearrell, Parry, Roberts 2, Drake 4, Stern 2, McClaran, Magallon. 2B — Fisher, Thomas, Roberts, Drake 2, Magallon. HR — Fisher, Laolgai-Aloy, Drake (2), Stern, McClaran. 

SECOND GAME 

Snow        010    020    6    —    9    8    0 

North Idaho    020    020    0    —    4    5    1 

Taimane Laolgai-Aloy and Rian Howland; Maelynn Durham, Elizabeth Hatch (7) and Chloe Hearrell. 

HITS: Snow — Fisher, Thomas 2, Yates 2, Salisbury 3. NIC — Stern, Hatch 2, Madsen 2. 2B — Yates, Salisbury, Hatch. HR — Thomas 2, Hall 2, Hatch. 

    NIC ATHLETICS The North Idaho College wrestling team finished sixth in the NJCAA Championships on Saturday in Council Bluffs, Iowa. In the front row are assistant coach Bryce Parson, Joe Sullivan, Parker Ballantyne, Colton Tucker, Owen Pritchard and Hoyt Hvass. In the back are assistant coach Cooper Thomas, Ray Griffin, Dylan Block, Jackson Lougen, Colton Theobald, Seth Martin and head coach Derrick Booth.