NC Kansas News

Three nationally ranked opponents and two dual victories would highlight the first day of action for the number-17 ranked Cloud County Community College wrestling team at the 2023 NJCAA Coaches Duals inside the Student Activity Center on the campus of Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in Miami, Oklahoma on Friday, January 13th.

Overall, the T-Birds would earn two dual victories in four total duals to go 2-2 on the day, picking up wins over Otero Junior College and top-ranked Clackamas Community College while dropping duals to 16th-ranked Carl Albert State College and sixth-ranked Triton Community College.

Against Otero Junior College:
Taking on Otero for the first time in nearly two years, CCCC would run their record against the Rattlers to 3-0 all-time by earning four victories in seven contested matches in addition to three open weight forfeits by Otero to win 38-9. Of the four contested match victories for Cloud County, two would come by fall with both Bray Skinner (133 pounds) and Wyatt Powell (184 pounds) earning wins at the 6:06 mark and 3:24 mark of their respective matches. The T-Birds would also get a 2-1 overtime victory from Emanuel Munoz-Alcala in the 285-pound weight match in addition to a dominant 19-2 technical fall win by second-ranked Ibrahim Ameer in the 197-pound weight match. CCCC's remaining 18 points would come from Caden Crider (141 pounds), Salvador Barintas (149 pounds), and Dylan Ancheta (157 pounds) in Otero's three open weight classes.

Against Clackamas College:
A strong start for CCCC would allow the T-Birds to earn points in each of the first three matches as Brady Foster (125 pounds) would take a 17-0 technical fall in the opening match before seeing both Skinner and Collin Smith (141 pounds) each get open weight forfeits to put Cloud County up 17-0 and in control over the top-ranked Cougars. Clackamas would respond by getting falls at both 149 pounds and 157 pounds to pull within five at 17-12 heading into the 165-pound match where Cloud County's Maurice Hilbert would be tasked with taking on top-ranked wrestler Steele Warren and end up dropping an 18-2 technical fall to see the dual tied up at 17-17. Another fall for the Cougars at 174 pounds would then put CCCC in their first deficit of the dual at 23-17 before getting a 6-2 decision victory from Tommy Rogers in the 184-pound match. In arguably one of the top matches of the day across the tournament, second-ranked Ameer would take on top-ranked Michael Gasper in the 197-pound match with Ameer pulling out a 3-2 decision to tie the dual at 23-23 with one final match remaining at 285 pounds. For CCCC, it would be Munoz-Alcala sent out to take on Braden Pease with the Greeley, Colorado native earning a second-period fall to give the T-Birds a 29-23 dual win.

Against Carl Albert:
Taking on the Vikings for the second time this season in dual action, it would once again be Carl Albert who would manage to take quick control and go on to earn a 34-12 victory with Cloud County managing to win just three matches. CCCC's wins would come from Foster at 125 pounds with a first-period fall before going all the way until the 184-pound match to find their next victory with Wyatt Powell earning an 11-5 decision over Cayden Felts. Ameer would then remain unbeaten on the day with a second-straight 3-2 victory over his opponent with Carl Albert's Hunter Hall facing the same fate that Gasper of Clackamas did earlier in the day.

Against Triton College:
Looking to finish the day on a high note, a third dual win would not be in the cards for the T-Birds against the sixth-ranked Trojans as Triton would feature ranked wrestlers at 125 pounds, 133 pounds, 157 pounds, 174 pounds, and 285 pounds and go on to earn victories in nine of the 10 weight classes. The lone win for Cloud County would come in the 197-pound weight bracket with Ameer picking up his second technical fall of the day by taking down Diego Sanchez 19-4 to account for CCCC's five total team points. Cloud County would also appear to have potential chances in the 157-pound match with Ancheta taking on fifth-ranked Connor Svantner and dropping a 5-1 decision while Munoz-Alcala would push ninth-ranked Ronald Krewer to overtime before ultimately falling by a score of 3-1.

What's Next?
Day two of the NJCAA Coaches Duals will feature a traditional bracket-style competition among teams with Cloud County being placed into the consolation bracket of Saturday's competition. The T-Birds received an opening-round bye and will take on Colby Community College beginning at 10:30 AM. CCCC's portion of the bracket also features 19th-ranked Snow College, Otero Junior College, and Cowley Community College. 

Original source can be found here.