GREELEY, Colo. - The University of Northern Colorado wrestling team is preparing for the 2007 NCAA Championships on March 15-17 in Auburn Hills, Michigan, which five wrestlers qualified for with their efforts at the NCAA West Regional, recently held in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Equally impressive as the number of Northern Colorado wrestlers that qualified is that the Bears finished second out of seven teams at the regional, ahead of teams like North Dakota State, where Northern Colorado head coach Jack Maughan was a two-time All-American under his father Arthur "Bucky" Maughan, who still coaches the Bison.
This was the first year that the wrestling program was eligible for the postseason.
"This is a lofty achievement for any season, especially for team coming off a four year transition from NCAA Division II to Division I," said Jack Maughan.
During the transition, the wrestlers were not eligible for postseason tournaments, and this affected recruiting and retention of athletes, noted Maughan, who said that students did not want to stay or join a program that did not have postseason opportunities.
"It has been a difficult time for our program and all the programs in the department. It is tough enough to jump to Division I without having to sit out and we are happy to be through it."
This season, the program has enjoyed solid support from the Colorado wrestling community, perhaps because of Maughan's ability at keeping top recruits in state. Four of the five qualifiers for the Championships are Colorado residents, including three-time state champion Tony Mustari, and two-time champions Reece Hopkin and Kenny Hashimoto.
"Providing opportunities for Colorado residents in the sport of wrestling was a factor in the decision to make the move to Division I. Northern Colorado is the only public institution in the state to sponsor a Division I wrestling program. Now wrestlers have the option to stay in-state and compete at the highest level, and if they do, the only public university they can attend is UNC.
"None of the wrestlers that have qualified would have attended UNC had we not been Division I. These student-athletes would have left the state, paid out-of-state costs and been further away from their families," Maughan explained.
For the wrestlers competing in the Championships, this has been the culmination of a grueling season. This season, the Bears hosted Big Ten Champion Minnesota and Pac-10 Champion Oregon State, and competed against another Big Ten power, Wisconsin. In addition, every wrestler has faced highly-ranked individuals in their respective weight classes throughout the season.
Maughan said that he hopes the team's tough schedule this season will help his wrestlers in the Championships. "It should help when they face off with the best wrestlers and programs in the nation at the NCAA Championships. We felt that by challenging our wrestlers during the season, it would better ready us for the postseason, and with five wrestlers qualifying at the West Regional, we think we made a good decision.
"We are very proud of our guys to make the tournament, but I believe that they are hungrier to do more than just qualify."
Regional Wrap UpDespite a spell of bad weather that delayed the start of the 2007 NCAA West Regional, the University of Northern Colorado wrestlers entered the McLeod Center on the Northern Iowa campus prepared to show that although they were the new kids on the block, they wouldn't be bullied.
Five wrestlers earned a berth in the NCAA Championships with their performance at Cedar Falls, leading the Bears to a second-place finish in the seven-team event.
Three won their divisions outright, including 141-pounder Kenny Hashimoto, who earned a pair of pins en route to being named Co-Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament. Hashimoto closed out the regular season with a No. 9 national ranking, his first-ever entry into the top-10.
Heavyweight Reece Hopkin, like Hashimoto, was a No. 1 seed, and did not disappoint, sweeping his matches to stamp his ticket to Michigan.
Shawn Vincent was one of only two wrestlers at the West Regional not seeded No. 1 to win his division, upsetting top-seeded Greg Prez of Eastern Illinois to win at 184.
The Bears earned two more national qualifiers when Tony Mustari (125) and Luke Salazar (157) battled back to earn true second-place finishes. Mustari, a Greeley Central product, earned his berth with his victory over No. 1 Nick Ramirez of Wyoming, 7-5.
Salazar became one of just three No. 4 seeds to advance to the Championships, winning his true-second match, 9-4, over second-seeded Andy Everson of South Dakota State.
Kenny's bout-by-bout results at the West Regional:
First Round
#1 Kenny Hashimoto (Northern Colo.) pins Garrett Desmond (Wyoming), 5:30
Semi-Finals
#1 Kenny Hashimoto (Northern Colo.) dec. #4 Jacob Kriegbaum (Air Force), 5-2
Finals
#1 Kenny Hashimoto (Northern Colo.) pins #2 C.J. Ettelson (Northern Iowa), 6:40
Reece's bout-by-bout results at the West Regional:First Round#1 Reece Hopkin (Northern Colo.) major dec. Jason Still (Wyoming), 16-3
Semi-Finals#1 Reece Hopkin (Northern Colo.) dec. #4 Tyler Rhodes (Northern Iowa), 6-2
Finals#1 Reece Hopkin (Northern Colo.) dec. #3 Jason Stripling (South Dakota State), 9-6
Shawn's bout-by-bout results at the West Regional:First Round#2 Shawn Vincent (Northern Colo.) pins Levi Krehmeyer (South Dakota State), 3:44
Semi-Finals#2 Shawn Vincent (Northern Colo.) dec. Jacob Devlin (Air Force), 3-2
Finals#2 Shawn Vincent (Northern Colo.) major dec. #1 Greg Perz (Eastern Illinois), 11-3
Tony's bout-by-bout results at the West Regional:First Round#3 Tony Mustari (Northern Colo.) tech. fall A.J. Ciccarelli (Eastern Illinois), 16-0; 7:00
Semi-Finals#2 Eric Hoffman (North Dakota State) dec. #3 Tony Mustari (Northern Colo.), 3-2
Wrestleback Semi-Finals#3 Tony Mustari (Northern Colo.) pins Marcus Waters (South Dakota State), 2:52
Finals - Third Place#3 Tony Mustari (Northern Colo.) dec. #4 Zach Valdez (Air Force), 1-0
True Second#3 Tony Mustari (Northern Colo.) dec. #1 Nick Ramirez (Wyoming), 7-5
Luke's bout-by-bout results at the West Regional:First Round#4 Luke Salazar (Northern Colo.) dec. Zach Lord (Air Force), 10-6
Semi-Finals#1 Moza Fay (Northern Iowa) tech. fall #4 Luke Salazar (Northern Colo.), 21-6; 6:34
Wrestleback Semi-Finals#4 Luke Salazar (Northern Colo.) major dec. Kile O'Toole (Eastern Illinois), 12-3
Finals - Third Place#4 Luke Salazar (Northern Colo.) dec. Zach Lord (Air Force), 13-8
True Second#4 Luke Salazar (Northern Colo.) dec. #2 Andy Everson (Air Force), 13-8
The WrestlersKenny Hashimoto (So.-RS * 141 * Thornton, Colo. * Thornton)CAREER RECORD
Year Record
2004-05 19-3
2005-06 17-2 (unattched)
2006-07 23-2
Totals 59-7
2005-06: Redshirted ... finished the season with an overall record of 17-2 in open tournaments as an unattached wrestler ... finished third at 141 pounds at the Wyoming Cowboy Open (11/14/05) ... took first at the Old Chicago/Northern Colorado Open (11/19/05) ... placed second at the Bob Smith/Fort Hays State Open (12/3/05) ... claimed first at the UNK Loper Open (12/10/05) ... tied for second on team in pins with six ... fastest pin was 3:03 ... recorded three major decisions ... tallied one technical fall.
2004-05: Named Northern Colorado Outstanding Male Freshman Athlete of the Year. Earned fifth-team All-Rookie honors from the Amateur Wrestling News after tallying a 19-3 record as a true freshman ... recorded a team-best 11-1 record in 12 duals ... won the first eight matches of his collegiate career ... ended the season with nine straight wins (all dual matches) ... tallied four pin falls ... named UNC Student-Athlete of the Month in January 2005 after posting a perfect mark of 5-0 in the month. High School: Graduated from Thornton High School in Thornton, Colo. ... high school coach was Mike Pantoya, a two-time national champion at Northern Colorado ... two-time state champion and a two-time state runner up in Class 5A ... over the final two seasons as a prep, he compiled a record 82-0 in winning the 130-pound championship in 2003 and the 135-pound title in 2004 ... also an elite Judo competitor ... the No. 1 ranked junior competitor in the nation at 60kg and is ranked No. 3 on the national ladder at his weight class.
Personal: Born July 7, 1986, in Westminster, Colo. ... son of Kenneth and Barbara Hashimoto ... major is undecided ... placed ninth at the 2004 Judo Junior World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
Reece Hopkin (Jr. * Hwt. * Kersey, Colo. * Platte Valley)
CAREER RECORD
Year Record
2003-04 14-7
2004-05 7-3 (unattached)
2005-06 27-6
2005-06 19-6
Totals 67-22
Making the move from 197 lbs. up to heavyweight this season ... ranked 10th nationally at heavyweight in a preseason InterMat/NWCA/NWMA Division I poll.
2005-06: Became the first Northern Colorado wrestler to earn a Division I ranking ... finished the season with a team-best overall record of 27-6 ... also led the team with a 14-2 dual record ... finished No. 20 in the nation...captured 197 pound title at Colorado Collegiates (1/21/06), becoming just the fifth Northern Colorado wrestler to win an individual crown twice ... finished second in 197 pounds at Wyoming Cowboy Open (11/14/05) ... took third at Bob Smith/Fort Hays State Open (12/3/05) ... was named one of the top Division I wrestlers not eligible for the NCAA Championships because of reclassification ... beat six national tournament qualifiers ... named 2005-06 Northern Colorado Co-Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year.
2004-05: Redshirted ... tallied a 7-3 record for the Bear Wrestling Club.
2003-04: Tallied an overall record of 14-7, including a 7-6 mark in dual action ... notched a first-place effort at the Wyoming Cowboy Open (11/15) ... also earned first-place honors at the Colorado Collegiates (1/24) in Golden, Colo. ... placed 3rd at the USA Collegiate Wrestling Championships.
High School: Two-time state champion at Platte Valley High School ... three-time state placer and a four-time state qualifier ... placed 4th in the state as a sophomore ... lettered in wrestling (4) and football (3) ... four-time all-conference pick in wrestling.
Personal: Born Aug. 15, 1984, in Wray, Colo. ... son of Rusty and Lisa Hopkin ... major is undecided.
Tony Mustari (Fr.-RS * 125 * Greeley, Colo. * Greeley Central)
CAREER RECORD
Year Record
2005-06 16-4 (unattached)
2006-07 23-8
Totals 39-12
High School: Became the first-ever wrestler in the state of Colorado to win two national championships ... won the 112-pound freestyle crown by outscoring the opposition, 83-0, at the 2005 Cadet & Junior Nationals in Fargo, N.D., in 2005 ... finished his career as an eight-time All-American in both Greco-Roman and Freestyle competitions ... five-time finalist as he won titles in 2003 and 2005 in freestyle ... earned runner-up finishes three times in his career in Greco-Roman (including 2005) ... a three-time Colorado state champion, while posting a 161-11 career prep record ... was a perfect 43-0 as a senior, including a 40-match streak of not being scored upon ... did not lose a match in his junior or senior seasons at Greeley Central while winning his final 105 high school matches ... also was a double-champion at the 2005 Western Junior Regional ... was named Outstanding Wrestler in the freestyle competition at the 2005 Western Junior Regional.
Personal: Born Oct. 27,1986, in Greeley, Colo. ...son of Samuel G. Mustari and Cindy and Rob Ververs...majoring in criminal justice.
Luke Salazar (Sr.-RS * 157 * Thornton, Colo. * Thornton)
CAREER RECORD
Year Record
2005-06 17-5 (unattached)
2006-07 17-7
Totals 34-12
2005-06: Redshirted after transferring from Boise State ... finished season with a 17-5 record in open tournaments as an unattached wrestler ... finished third at 157 pounds at Wyoming Cowboy Open (11/14/05) ... took second at Old Chicago/Northern Colorado Open (11/19/05) ... placed third at UNK Loper Open (12/10/05) ... recorded a pin ... fastest pin was 2:16 ... tallied three major decisions.
Prior to UNC: Compiled an overall mark of 6-12 last season at Boise State University during the 2004-05 season ... posted a record of 2-6 in duals and 4-12 in tournament action with one pin fall ... attended Northwest Community College in Powell, Wyo., as a freshman and sophomore ... placed fourth in the nation at the National Junior College Athletic Association Championships in 2004.
High School: A 2002 graduate of Thornton High School ... two time state placer ... placed third in the state as a senior in 2002.
Personal: Born March 19, 1984, in Denver ... son of Mary Salazar ... majoring in physical education.
Shawn Vincent (Jr. * 184 * Evanston, Wyo. * Evanston)
CAREER RECORD
Year Record
2006-07 17-10
Totals 17-10
Prior to UNC: Wrestled for Northwest College in Powell, Wyo... fourth place All-American in NJCAA.
High School: Two-time all-conference wrestler and all-conference football 2004 ... all-state wrestling 2004... three times on honor roll
Personal: Born May 5, 1986, in Riverton, Wyo ... son of Jarold and Candi Vincent ... majoring in history.