GUNNISON, Colo.  Mountaineer wrestling recorded a nearly perfect night Thursday at Paul Wright Gym, registering a 43-6 triumph over visiting Northeastern Junior College (NJC) in a match that included three falls and three technical falls by Western Colorado wrestlers.

As NJC is a two-year institution, the satisfying result for the Mountaineers does not get included in the season's won-loss record, however, special guests in attendance for Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night certainly … appreciated the outcome.

JUST THE FACTS (Mad) JACK
Final score: Western def. NJC, 43-6
Location: Paul Wright Gym, Gunnison, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• It was agreed upon by the coaches to begin the match with the 141-pound weight class, a decision that sent Western's Dean Noble out on the mat first. His 4-1 lead after the first period grew to 7-2 in the second when one more takedown proved to be the undoing of the Plainsmen's Deegan Palmer as Noble finished off the match with a fall at 4:54.
• Jason Hanenberg, ranked ninth nationally at 149, followed with a dominating 19-2 technical fall, with then Walker Heckendorf at 157 and Cole Mortenson at 165 recording pins for a 23-0 advantage on the team scoreboard.
• One of the tightest matches of the night came next at 174 between Western's Cole Hernandez and NJC's Tucker Naccarrato, a national qualifier at last season's NJCAA National Championship. Naccarrato broke out to an 8-1 lead after the opening three minutes, and late in the second period had a 9-5 advantage before Hernandez finished the segment with a takedown. Naccarrato started on bottom in the third and quickly registered an escape (10-7) but Hernandez came back with a takedown to pull within a point (10-9). A Naccarrato escape provided the Plainsmen with a two-point cushion but his third stall warning of the match resulted in a point for Hernandez who then added a takedown to finally inch ahead before finishing with one more riding time point for the come-from-behind 13-11 bout win.
• Cole Gray (184) and Porter Fox (197) added the second and third technical falls for Western before NJC finally got on the scoreboard with a fall at 285.
• Dropping down to the 125s next, ninth-ranked Patrick Allis rolled to an 11-3 major decision, setting up one final match at 133.
• The combatants were Western's Alex Alvarez and NJC's Braydon Mogle, who place seventh at the 2022 NJCAA championship.
• Alvarez led 3-2 after the first and 4-2 after the second, but an early escape and a takedown in the third put Mogle ahead, 5-4. Alvarez managed an escape to square the match, then pushed ahead with his own takedown for a 7-5 lead. A late escape by Mogle wasn't enough, as Alvarez earned the 7-6 win to close out the match win for Western.

LOOKING AHEAD
Western jumps up a division with its next match Saturday evening, traveling to the U.S. Air Force Academy to take on the Division I Falcons.