Fresno State gets first Big 12 win, beating Northern Colorado, 20-19 by criteria with last match victory
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
GREELEY, Colo. - In the first Big 12 Battle of the Troys, Coach Troy Steiner’s Fresno State Bulldogs needed criteria to defeat Coach Troy Nickerson’s Northern Colorado Bears, 20-19 on Friday night. In the first year of the reinstated Bulldog program, this was Steiner’s first Big 12 dual meet win as a head coach.
“We had some things that happened that were good. We had a couple of guys who were fighting to get a win, and had been finding ways to lose the matches. We had a couple who found a way to win. That’s progress. There is so much stuff to work on. Anyone can see that we have a lot to get better,” said Steiner.
For two teams on the rise, the dual meet was competitive up and down the lineup. So it was no surprise that the showdown was determined in the final match, and in the final seconds.
Northern Colorado was leading 19-16 after the 184-pound match, where nationally ranked Bear star Dylan Gabel scored a pin over Fresno State’s Angel Solis at 6:07. Gabel jumped to an 8-0 lead in the first period, and used a powerful reversal in the third period to get Solis on his back for the fall.
In the final bout of the night at 197 pounds, Steiner decided to bump up his normal 184-pounder Richie Brandt up a weight, where he faced a UNC backup, Tanner Davis, who has been pressed into duty after the injury of nationally ranked Jacob Sealey.
Davis did a great job early for the Bears, scoring the first takedown and leading 3-2 deep into the third period. However, Brandt scored a takedown with just 23 seconds to go to get a 4-3 win. The victory tied the dual at 19-19, sending officials to the rule book.
Fresno State won on the third criteria, total number of points in the bouts that were not pins. The Bulldogs had 60 points, and the Bears had 57.
“Our 197 pounder is banged up, with a little bit of an injury. We didn’t want to put him out here because we are going to need him down the road. We knew we had two guys at 184, and Richie did wrestle some 197 earlier in the year,” said Steiner.
The dual meet started at heavyweight, where the Bulldogs drew first blood, as No. 28 freshman heavyweight AJ Nevills scored a third-period pin over Robert Winters at 6:38. Nevills took control in the second period with an escape, takedown and a penalty against Winters for 4-0 lead. He stretched it to a 7-2 lead before turning and pinning Winters with 22 seconds left.
Fresno State kept up the pressure at 125 pounds, with an overtime sudden victory win by Sean Williams over Michael Johnson, 10-8. This back-and-forth match was pushed into overtime when Williams scored a late reversal to take an 8-7 lead, but Johnson’s 1:01 of riding time tied it up at 8-8.
The Bears won two straight to close the dual, starting with a major decision by Rico Montoya over Trevor Williams at 133 pounds, 13-3. Montoya jumped to an 8-1 lead in the first period, including a four-point turn, then kept up the pressure the rest of the bout.
At 149, Ben Polkowske of Northern Colorado led throughout the match, but Chris DeLoza kept coming back. Polkowske led 8-3 at one point, but a late reversal and a stall call against Polkowske was not enough, as the match ended 8-7 in favor of the Bear wrestler.
Fresno State had a nice win going into the break, as Khristian Olivas, who is in some of the national rankings, scored a 17-5 major decision over Jimmy Fate, 17-5. Olivas took and early lead with three first-period takedowns, but really opened up the match in the final period. Fresno State led 13-7 at the break.
Northern Colorado came out after the break by winning three of the next four matches. One of the big wins came at 157 pounds, where Tyler Kinn led early, scoring the first two takedowns, and stayed consistent to defeat Greg Gaxiola, 10-5.
The craziest match was at 165 pounds, where one of UNC’s most successful wrestlers, Keilan Torres, needed to score a takedown on the buzzer to edge Isiah Hokit, 5-4. Hokit jumped to a 3-0 lead on an escape and takedown, but Torres got two escapes and a point on passivity against Hokit to tie it at 3-3. The referees hit Torres with a stall call with seven seconds left in the match, which was upheld on protest, to give Hokit a 4-3 lead. So with just seven seconds to go, Torres scored a takedown for the victory. Fresno State challenged, and the takedown was confirmed.
After Dominic Kincaid of Fresno State controlled Seth Bogulski 10-5 at 174, Gabel came up with his big fall over Solis at 184 to put the home team in the lead going into that final match.
“We left points off the scoreboard, up and down the lineup,” said Coach Nickerson. “This one is going to sting for awhile.”
For Fresno State, it was a positive result after a season of ups and downs, trying to establish the team and build something for the “Valley,” which is a true wrestling hotbed.
“As a new program, we have to celebrate the small victories. We started this program from scratch. This is Coach Steiner’s first Big 12 victory so I am happy for him. We have to get through these little stepping stones. It is good for us. Now, we have to move on to tomorrow,” said Assistant Coach Israel Silva.
Fresno State 20, Northern Colorado 19
At Greeley, Colo., January 26
HWT - AJ Nevills (Fresno State) pin Robert Winters (Northern Colorado), 6:38
125 Sean Williams (Fresno State) dec. Michael Johnson (Northern Colorado), 10-8 SV
133 Rico Montoya (Northern Colorado), maj. dec. Trevor Williams (Fresno State), 13-3
141 Ben Polkowske (Northern Colorado) dec. Chris De Loza (Fresno State), 8-7
149 Khristian Olivas (Fresno State) maj. dec. Jimmy Fate (Northern Colorado), 17-5
157 Tyler Kinn (Northern Colorado) dec. Greg Gaxiola (Fresno State), 10-5
165 Keilan Torres (Northern Colorado) dec. Isaiah Hokit (Fresno State), 5-4
174 Dominic Kincaid (Fresno State) dec. Seth Bogulski (Northern Colorado), 10-5
184 Dylan Gabel (Northern Colorado) pin Angel Solis (Fresno State), 6:07
197 Richie Brandt (Fresno State) dec. Tanner Davis (Northern Colorado), 4-3
Records: Fresno State (4-11, 1-2 Big 12), Northern Colorado (2-6, 1-3 Big 12),
“We had some things that happened that were good. We had a couple of guys who were fighting to get a win, and had been finding ways to lose the matches. We had a couple who found a way to win. That’s progress. There is so much stuff to work on. Anyone can see that we have a lot to get better,” said Steiner.
For two teams on the rise, the dual meet was competitive up and down the lineup. So it was no surprise that the showdown was determined in the final match, and in the final seconds.
Northern Colorado was leading 19-16 after the 184-pound match, where nationally ranked Bear star Dylan Gabel scored a pin over Fresno State’s Angel Solis at 6:07. Gabel jumped to an 8-0 lead in the first period, and used a powerful reversal in the third period to get Solis on his back for the fall.
In the final bout of the night at 197 pounds, Steiner decided to bump up his normal 184-pounder Richie Brandt up a weight, where he faced a UNC backup, Tanner Davis, who has been pressed into duty after the injury of nationally ranked Jacob Sealey.
Davis did a great job early for the Bears, scoring the first takedown and leading 3-2 deep into the third period. However, Brandt scored a takedown with just 23 seconds to go to get a 4-3 win. The victory tied the dual at 19-19, sending officials to the rule book.
Fresno State won on the third criteria, total number of points in the bouts that were not pins. The Bulldogs had 60 points, and the Bears had 57.
“Our 197 pounder is banged up, with a little bit of an injury. We didn’t want to put him out here because we are going to need him down the road. We knew we had two guys at 184, and Richie did wrestle some 197 earlier in the year,” said Steiner.
The dual meet started at heavyweight, where the Bulldogs drew first blood, as No. 28 freshman heavyweight AJ Nevills scored a third-period pin over Robert Winters at 6:38. Nevills took control in the second period with an escape, takedown and a penalty against Winters for 4-0 lead. He stretched it to a 7-2 lead before turning and pinning Winters with 22 seconds left.
Fresno State kept up the pressure at 125 pounds, with an overtime sudden victory win by Sean Williams over Michael Johnson, 10-8. This back-and-forth match was pushed into overtime when Williams scored a late reversal to take an 8-7 lead, but Johnson’s 1:01 of riding time tied it up at 8-8.
The Bears won two straight to close the dual, starting with a major decision by Rico Montoya over Trevor Williams at 133 pounds, 13-3. Montoya jumped to an 8-1 lead in the first period, including a four-point turn, then kept up the pressure the rest of the bout.
At 149, Ben Polkowske of Northern Colorado led throughout the match, but Chris DeLoza kept coming back. Polkowske led 8-3 at one point, but a late reversal and a stall call against Polkowske was not enough, as the match ended 8-7 in favor of the Bear wrestler.
Fresno State had a nice win going into the break, as Khristian Olivas, who is in some of the national rankings, scored a 17-5 major decision over Jimmy Fate, 17-5. Olivas took and early lead with three first-period takedowns, but really opened up the match in the final period. Fresno State led 13-7 at the break.
Northern Colorado came out after the break by winning three of the next four matches. One of the big wins came at 157 pounds, where Tyler Kinn led early, scoring the first two takedowns, and stayed consistent to defeat Greg Gaxiola, 10-5.
The craziest match was at 165 pounds, where one of UNC’s most successful wrestlers, Keilan Torres, needed to score a takedown on the buzzer to edge Isiah Hokit, 5-4. Hokit jumped to a 3-0 lead on an escape and takedown, but Torres got two escapes and a point on passivity against Hokit to tie it at 3-3. The referees hit Torres with a stall call with seven seconds left in the match, which was upheld on protest, to give Hokit a 4-3 lead. So with just seven seconds to go, Torres scored a takedown for the victory. Fresno State challenged, and the takedown was confirmed.
After Dominic Kincaid of Fresno State controlled Seth Bogulski 10-5 at 174, Gabel came up with his big fall over Solis at 184 to put the home team in the lead going into that final match.
“We left points off the scoreboard, up and down the lineup,” said Coach Nickerson. “This one is going to sting for awhile.”
For Fresno State, it was a positive result after a season of ups and downs, trying to establish the team and build something for the “Valley,” which is a true wrestling hotbed.
“As a new program, we have to celebrate the small victories. We started this program from scratch. This is Coach Steiner’s first Big 12 victory so I am happy for him. We have to get through these little stepping stones. It is good for us. Now, we have to move on to tomorrow,” said Assistant Coach Israel Silva.
Fresno State 20, Northern Colorado 19
At Greeley, Colo., January 26
HWT - AJ Nevills (Fresno State) pin Robert Winters (Northern Colorado), 6:38
125 Sean Williams (Fresno State) dec. Michael Johnson (Northern Colorado), 10-8 SV
133 Rico Montoya (Northern Colorado), maj. dec. Trevor Williams (Fresno State), 13-3
141 Ben Polkowske (Northern Colorado) dec. Chris De Loza (Fresno State), 8-7
149 Khristian Olivas (Fresno State) maj. dec. Jimmy Fate (Northern Colorado), 17-5
157 Tyler Kinn (Northern Colorado) dec. Greg Gaxiola (Fresno State), 10-5
165 Keilan Torres (Northern Colorado) dec. Isaiah Hokit (Fresno State), 5-4
174 Dominic Kincaid (Fresno State) dec. Seth Bogulski (Northern Colorado), 10-5
184 Dylan Gabel (Northern Colorado) pin Angel Solis (Fresno State), 6:07
197 Richie Brandt (Fresno State) dec. Tanner Davis (Northern Colorado), 4-3
Records: Fresno State (4-11, 1-2 Big 12), Northern Colorado (2-6, 1-3 Big 12),
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