by Sadie Shields

The Cal Poly Humboldt Wrestling team finished their season strong with one win and one loss against Simon Fraser University and Vanguard University. Their senior night performance earned them second place overall in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship (MPSF) this Sunday.

On Friday, Jan. 30, the Lumberjacks defeated Simon Fraser with wins in the 125, 133, 141, 149 and 157 pound weight class with wrestlers Joe Anthony Perez and Garen Keshishian dominating their opponent by six points. 

However, the Jacks’ momentum faded during their matchup against Vanguard, losing 18-21. Despite an early win at 125 pounds, where Dakota Sanders scored four points and Darrel Nguyen earned five points, it wasn’t enough to beat Vanguard. Even Sage Adie’s six point victory at 197 pounds couldn’t close the gap.

On Sunday, wrestling travelled to Atherton, Calif., to compete in the MPSF Championship, finishing second overall in conference with 126 points, behind Menlo College. The Jacks claimed victory over San Francisco State University and Vanguard University and lost to Menlo College who earned 155 points, the strongest showing from Humboldt since the championship began last year. Sophomore Josh Neiwert won the MPSF title in the 133 pound bracket, becoming a conference champion. Wrestling earned eight additional podium finishes, including three second place finishes from Darrell Nanpuya, Eric Ruiz-Cornelio and Isaiah Miller, and five third place finishes from Carson Hatch, Joe Anthony Perez, Micaiah Montalbin, Nathan Vasquez and Sam Weinberg.

The men’s wrestling team will be heading down to Golden Colorado for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Super Region IV Championship on Feb. 28.