NIC opens wrestling season with questions

The wrestling season officially begins for North Idaho College tonight. Much to the relief of head coach Pat Whitcomb, it doesn’t end until late February.

The young Cardinals will need time to sort out their best lineup and position themselves for a run at their 14th national championship.

“Right now I wouldn’t put us in the top five,” Whitcomb said. “Luckily, the national tournament isn’t tomorrow. It’ll be interesting because we are young. We have to be patient. We haven’t had to be real patient the last two years.”

NIC, which finished second at nationals behind Iowa Central last season, is at Montana State-Northern tonight and Great Falls on Friday. The Cards’ first home match is against Yakima on Nov. 3. Highline visits the following day.

Three NJCAA All-Americans return: Heinrich Barnes (fifth at 141 pounds), Coby Jones (eighth at 149) and Kyle Sand (fourth at 197). Gone are national champs Josh Edmondson and Jake Kallestad, third-place finisher Cody Nicholson, fifth-place Tyson Hurst and sixth-place Josh Erickson.

“We’ll have a different team probably every week,” Whitcomb said. “We have five or six mainstays and the others we’ll kind of mix and match.”

The current lineup: Steven Sanchez (125), Josh Manes (133), Barnes (141), Jones (149), Dustin Fowler (157), Taylor DeWater (165), Kevin Owen (174), Spencer Butterfield (184), Sand (197) and Robby Shaw (285).

Sanchez faces competition from Travis Temple.

Fowler will be challenged by Lee Morrison and Zeth St. Clair.

Bret Owen and Dino May are candidates at 165.

Sand might drop to 184 to open a spot for Evan Mattingly at 197.

Wrestlers from last season who moved on include Jeff Hedges at UNC-Greensboro, Hurst, Kallestad and Jack Carney at MSU-Northern, Edmondson at Tennessee-Chattanooga, and Charles Boyko and Joe Vanaman at Portland State. Nicholson will continue his career after completing his associate degree, Whitcomb said.