March 5, 2008

Weekly Release: at NCAA West Regional

NCAA West Regional

Saturday, March 8 • Fargo, N.D. • Bison Sports Arena • 10:00 a.m.

Semifinals: 11:30 a.m. • Finals & Consolation Finals: 4:00 p.m.

 

Regional Bound

Northern Colorado heads to North Dakota to compete in the NCAA West Regional, hosted by North Dakota State on Saturday beginning at 10:00 a.m. Air Force, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State and Wyoming will all be competing for 20 individual qualifying spots to the NCAA Championship.

 

Regional Format

Round one action is scheduled to begin on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. The semifinals will begin at 11:30, followed by the consolation semifinals at 2:00 and the finals and consolation finals at 4:00. The "true second" matches will take place following the finals, if necessary. Immediately following the final action, the coaches will take part in the wild card meeting to determine all 20 qualifiers.

 

Ticket prices for the NCAA West Regional are $12 for adults and $6 for 17-under. Children 2-under are free with paid adult admission. To order tickets call the North Dakota State ticket office at 888.231.NDSU or order online at GoBison.com/tickets.

 

Second Place

Northern Colorado finished the 2008 regular season in second place in the Western Wrestling Conference standings, behind two-time champions Northern Iowa. Last season the Bears posted a 2-4 record in the first year of the league.

 

Undefeated

The Bears had a pair of wrestlers finish with perfect 6-0 records in Western Wrestling Conference action in sophomore 125-pounder Tony Mustari and senior heavyweight Reece Hopkin. Since the formation of the conference, Hopkin is undefeated with a 12-0 record, while Mustari is 10-2.

 

2007 Regional Recap

At last season's NCAA West Regional, Northern Colorado finished in second place with 73.5 points behind Northern Iowa's 96. The Bears had three first-place finishes, three third-place finishes and one fourth place. Senior Reece Hopkin is the lone returning champion, while sophomore Tony Mustari (125) and junior Devan Lewis (165) both finished third and junior Blayze Bahe (133) finished fourth.

 

Going Streaking

Sophomore 125-pounder Tony Mustari has won 12 of his last 13 bouts, including nine straight in dual matches, while senior heavyweight Reece Hopkin has also won his last nine matches and 11 of his last 12. Against teams in the West Regional, Hopkin has won his last 15 bouts, dating back to the formation of the Western Wrestling Conference.

 

Working His Way

With his ninth straight victory, senior heavyweight Reece Hopkin brought his career record to 95-30, with a 25-5 mark this season. He moved into fifth on the career charts with his 94th win and is three wins shy of tying for fourth (Scott Gates, 1988-92) with 98. The school record for victories is 126 by Mike Leberknight (1989-93) and there are three wrestlers with more than 100 career wins.

 

Bookends

Northern Colorado has two wrestlers with more than 20 wins as 125-pounder Tony Mustari is 29-5 on the year and senior heavyweight Reece Hopkin is 25-5. Last year there were also two Bears with 20+ victories on the year as Kenny Hashimoto was 23-4 and Mustari was 23-10.

 

Honored Squared

Junior 149-pounder Daniel Prater was named the Western Wrestling Conference Wrestler of the Week after posting a perfect 6-0 record in Oregon. Senior heavyweight Reece Hopkin was named the Western Wrestling Conference wrestler of the week after posting a perfect 3-0 record at the Northern Quadrangular. 

 

That's Outstanding!

Sophomore Tony Mustari was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the Old Chicago's Northern Colorado Open. Mustari won the 125-pound division, posting a perfect 4-0 record on the day, with two wins coming on pins. 

 

A New Bear

Head Coach Jack Maughan announced the signing of Ray Hall to a National Letter of Intent. Hall will enroll at Northern Colorado in Fall, 2008.

 

Ray Hall, 160-pounds, Kansas City, Mo. (Oak Park HS)

Hall has earned 10 letters for Oak Park High School, with three to date in wrestling and track & field and four in football. He currently has a record of 116-22 for the Northman and won the 2007 Missouri state championship after placing third as a sophomore and second as a freshman. At the 2007 Junior Nationals in Virginia Beach, Hall took fourth place and he is a four-time All-American. He is projected to wrestle at either 157 or 165 for the Bears.