Home Opener Loss
The Plainsmen wrestling team hosted their first dual this season against the Western State Colorado Mountaineers. Western would be a tough opponent being that they are a NCAA DII team who competes in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC). Although wrestling against older and more experienced competitors, the Plainsmen were ready.
The first match would be a forfeit by the Mountaineers and Colin Metzgar would get the win, which would give Northeastern the 6-0 lead. The first face off would be Paul Cooksey who would wrestle in the 133's. The first period would end with Cooksey trailing 5-4, and would be extended 6-4 at the end of the second. In the third, Cooksey would bring it back to a tie, but the WSC wrestler would get a takedown which would give him the final points to defeat Cooksey 10-8. Northeastern would still have the lead however in team points 6-3.
In the 141 weight class, Sammy Eckhart would compete and have a chance at extending the Plainsmen's lead. At the end of the first, Eckhart would trail 6-3, and then 9-5 in the second. Despite trying to make a few fancy moves to get some takedowns, Eckhart would lose in a 12-8 decision, and would allow the Mountaineers to tie the team score 6-6.
In the 149's, Justin Camacho would represent the Plainsmen looking to break the tie. At the end of the first, Camacho would be behind 4-0 after two takedowns. Before the end of the second, Camacho would be taken down again and would now trail 6-0 heading into the third. At the end of the match, Camacho would end up losing by a 6-1 decision. That decision would give the Mountaineers the team lead 9-6.
Deron Solomon would be next up in the 157's. In the first, Solomon was able to score from a takedown and escape, but his opponent would have the 5-3 advantage. In the second, Solomon struggled to keep the Mountaineer at bay and now trailed by a larger margin of 10-5. In the final period, Solomon was visible gassed and could not make up the difference and lost in a 15-7 major decision. The major decision would give Western four points and extend their lead to 13-6.
In the 165's, Justin Anderson took the mat energetic and ready to chip away at the Mountaineer lead. Right away Anderson was put in a tough position and could not get himself in a better position. The first ended with Anderson being down by 6-0. In the second, the WSC wrestler was only able to get three more points, which Anderson had to make up in the third. In the third, Justin tried to make a few attempts at making a run but was stymied and could only get three points and lost by a 10-3 decision; Mountaineers lead with a team score of 16-6.
Juan Gomez was up for the Plainsmen in the 174's and needed to get a pin to help them get back in the duel. With that in mind, Gomez tried to get himself into position, by was unable to do so and at the end of the first, trailed 2-1. In the second, both individuals wrestled very well, and Gomez allowed his opponent to escape which now made him trail 3-1 at the end of that period. In the final period, Gomez tried to get back some of the points with another escape, but ultimately couldn't get enough and lost the match in a 5-2 decision loss.
In the 184 weight class, Jose Rodriquez would need to wrestle well to get them back in the saddle. With the period starting, Rodriquez tried to get a takedown, but found himself in a predicament, and almost was pinned. At the end of the first, Rodriquez would trail 4-0. In the second, he would try to make some moves, but once again was almost pinned, but was able to worm out of it. As the second would end and the third would start, he knew he couldn't get himself in another situation, but instead get his opponent pinned. Despite his best efforts, Rodriquez could not have his way and lost in a technical fall decision.
In the final matchup of the dual, Dylan Buschow would represent in the 197's. The match would start off with each wrestler feeling each other out, but Buschow would be taken town. While down, both individuals would struggle, and when trying to escape Buschow got twisted in an unexpected way and found himself being pinned and losing his match.
The Plainsmen would lose to the Mountaineers with a team score of 30-6 because of a forfeit in the heavyweight division for the Plainsmen. Northeastern will be back in action at home on Saturday January 20 as they host the conference duals.