Got a great four way dual between three NJCAA programs & Northern Colorado coming up on Sunday. The #5 North Idaho Cardinals will get to test themselves against the #11 Northwest Kansas Tech Mavericks, also having the Otero Rattlers in action. NJCAA competing against NCAA DI as the teams face Northern Colorado gives all three programs an opportunity to really advertise their talent. One of the goals after all is to hopefully garner scholarship to compete for two more seasons once the NJCAA eligibility is up. They'll more than have the opportunity to showcase their skills in Greely.
*NOTE* - Red = NCAA DI Ranking Blue = NJCAA Ranking
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| #6 Stevo Poulin Vs #2 Kobi Johnson 125 lbs |
Thus far freshman Kobi Johnson has been having himself a fantastic NJCAA season. He's ranked #2 in the NJCAA nation & he is looking to win the NJCAA title. However, this upcoming Sunday he'll have the biggest challenge of his collegiate career to date. Stevo Poulin, the BIG 12 champion from last year. How will Johnson handle himself against this level of competition? To pull off an upset would be unreal, but to even go out & give the DI All American prospect a match would be saying something. If nothing else, you know the crowd could very well be split for this match. Poulin of course wrestling for host Northern Colorado, but Johnson himself is from Greely. Chances are, he'll have a section of the crowd cheering loud & hard for him.
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| Dominick Serrano Vs #10 Zach Lopez 133 lbs |
Northern Colorado's Dominick Serrano may not be ranked in the top 33 as of today, but he is still a very tough wrestler. One I'd call somewhere in the top 40, between 34 and 39 of the 80 varsity wrestlers at the Division I level. I wouldn't be all that surprised to see him steal a spot for qualification at the BIG 12's. I say this because if Zach Lopez, an NJCAA All American hopeful for the Cardinals would pull off a win here, it'd still be a big deal & a great victory.
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| #10 Vinny Zerban Vs #8 Dayton Bell 157 lbs |
NCAA DI R12 finish last season for Vinny Zerban who is thus far 11-0 in competition. He can be all over the place, ups & downs, but so far, so good this season. I can see him coming in here and really making things rough for Dayton Bell. At the same time, Zerban doesn't always perform at his best & if this be the case this Sunday, that could pose very well for Bell. Can I see Bell upsetting Zerban? That'd take a very, very off day for Zerban in my opinion & while I don't rule it out, I have to say I can't see it happening. Zerban has been wrestling very good as of late & I see him keeping it up. However, Bell is NJCAA All American material & I can see him being one to eventually go the DI route once his NJCAA eligibility is up. Proving that he can hang with the likes of Zerban will only help his case.
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| #11 Dallas Porter Vs #4 Travis Waldner 165 lbs |
As North Idaho & Northwest Kansas Tech go to war with one another, while trying to also prove themselves against Northern Colorado, it seems that Otero is being overlooked and overshadowed. From where I sit, the Rattlers greatest opportunity to shine on Sunday comes at 165 lbs. Dallas Porter as of right now rides the line between top 8 & R12, and his season could really use a top quality win like Travis Waldner. With that said, Waldner himself an AA prospect wants to define himself as a plausible threat to the NJCAA title. He not only wants to beat Porter, he wants to dominate him.
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| #1 Otgonbayar Batsuuri Vs #11 Conan Northwind 174 lbs |
Last season Jett Strickenberger was a Maverick that dominated within the NJCAA, winning a NJCAA title. This year he's found himself ranked within the top 25 as he continues to climb the ladder of NCAA Division I wrestling competing for the West Virginia Mountaineers. The proof is in the pudding and the Mavericks currently have another wrestler competing at 174 who will soon enough be a sought after recruit by four year institutions. His name is Otgonbayar Batsuuri and he is from Mongolia. A future World & Olympic medalist from the looks of it. Conan Northwind is no pushover however. He's ranked within the top 12 & I'm sure that he'd love nothing more than to knock off one of the hottest names currently in NJCAA wrestling.
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| #4 Noah Poe Hatten Vs #5 Lazaro Crespo 184 lbs |
This could easily end up the best match of the night as far as the NJCAA bouts are concerned. We have a Montana high school state champ taking on yet another NJCAA representative who may very well be winning international medals for another country one day. This time it's Cuba & the wrestler is Larzaro Crespo. Looking forward to this match between to very talented wrestlers.
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| #7 Brad Whitwright Vs #2 Gavin Dodge 197 lbs |
Both of these two talented grapplers ended last season one match shy of NJCAA All American honors & neither wants to leave the national tournament this year within anything less than a top 8 finish. Moving down from HWT has thus far been a very wise move for Dodge as he's wrestled well enough to earn himself a #2 ranking. Nevertheless, Brad Whitwright will be a great challenge for him this Sunday.
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