Heading into the 2022-23 wrestling season, Northwest wrestling is hoping to continue rebuilding as a program after a couple of years decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It has been a rough few years for our program, last year was really difficult with low numbers coming out of a pandemic,” coach Jim Zeigler said. “Last year our goal was to manage the kids we had, do the best job we could with them, get them to return and continue to build our team.”

Northwest retained all of the athletes from last year’s team, and built on top of it to bring a full team with 18 wrestlers into the new season.

LINEUP

Starting out the year the Trappers will have a full lineup barring any injuries or setbacks.

Battling it out for the 125 pound spot are freshman Roberto Garcia and sophomore Avery McSpadden.

Jose Treyes will be the starter for the 133-pound spot for the Trappers after transferring to Northwest from Western Wyoming in the offseason.

At 141 pounds will be Bobur Birdiyorov who returns to Northwest after taking a couple of years to stay in Uzbekistan during the pandemic.

“Last time when he was here he was 17 and went 2-2 at a national tournament,” Zeigler said. “Now he is back and is different, he has been training with elite wrestlers in Uzbekistan and competing there.”

Jacob Olsen from Utah will start out at 149 pounds, but Zeigler is hopeful Brady Lowry will return to that spot later in the season.

Gus Harrison returns for the Trappers and will start out in the 157 pound spot after advancing to nationals at the 149 pound spot last year.

Orrin Jackson joins Northwest at the 165-pound weight class.

Aziz Fayzullaev will start at 174 pounds for the Trappers, bringing more international experience for Northwest.

“He is 21, Bobur’s best friend and is expected to be in the Olympic spot for Uzbekistan in 2024,” Zeigler said. “We are all blown away by him and he is an incredible talent.”

Cody Todd will get the nod early on for Northwest at 184 pounds, but Zeigler is hopeful that Gavin Carter will return from injury to compete with Todd for the spot later in the season.

Ryker Blackburn returns to compete for Northwest at 197 pounds after advancing to the national tournament last year. Blackburn is recovering from an offseason surgery and will be a late decision if he will compete this weekend.

Cody Pinkerton will start for the Trappers at 285 pounds.

“We have several kids that are 20 and 21 which gives us some maturity and experience,” Zeigler said. “I like having kids that are a little older, they get past the freshman mistakes quicker and they are competitive right away.”

Northwest opens up its season this weekend at home, hosting the NWC Open on Saturday starting at 9 a.m.

The Trappers will welcome the University of Montana-Northern from Havre, Montana, the University of Providence from Great Falls, Montana, and Western Wyoming to Powell this weekend — providing strong competition early in the season.

BEAR UPDATE

“There was a big shakeup, a horrific event that I can’t begin to describe what those young men went through up on the mountain with that bear,” Zeigler said. “It put shockwaves through the team and athletic department throughout campus. In the same fashion I have seen for 30 years here at Northwest they responded top to bottom to help and accommodate these young men.”

Zeigler said Kendell Cummings (141 pounds) is currently recovering from his injuries, and will likely be medically redshirted for the season.

He said that Lowry has returned to campus, and will likely be out for another 6-8 weeks before a full recovery, and will likely wrestle in the second semester barring any setbacks.

Harrison and Jackson have returned to the team and are battling with minor injuries still, but are expected to wrestle early in the season.

“I am really proud of the young men for how they have responded,” Zeigler said. “One thing we have talked about as a group is that we have a great tradition at Northwest with our wrestling program of being tough, courageous young men. We have graduated great folks that are out there working in the world and have set a high standard for our program. I feel what happened up there was a reflection of our program.”

He said he wants his program to continue to live up to those standards, and feels they are doing that each day.