Northwestern College wrestlers faced off against Waldorf College and York College on Wednesday at home. Northwestern dominated both matches by 25 points or more.
In the first contest against York, junior JL Mayo led the team with 17 points in his match. Senior John Lynch, juniors Richard Ortiz and Zach Fishman and sophomores Randy Null and Josh Treybal each won their matches. Fishman won his match on a winner by fall, based on the time of fall of the opponent. Freshman Andras Lukacs-Farkas and junior Forrest Marks won by forfeit. The contest ended with NW on top, 34-6.
“We have some really explosive guys on our team this year,” junior Isaac Ruiz said. “As we get closer to conference tournament and build toward a national tournament berth, we are really seeing this team come together. Guys are competing harder, and we are all improving in our skills.”
In their second and final match of the day the wrestlers faced Waldorf. Leading the way for the Raiders this time was freshman Jake Clifton who totaled 18 points in his win. Mayo and Lynch both won their matches on a winner by fall, Fishman and Null each won by point advantage, and Marx and sophomore Luis Rivera-Santiago both won by forfeit.
The wrestlers will compete again at the North Qualifying Tournament on Feb. 22 in Mitchell, S.D. This will be an opportunity for individuals to make the national tournament.