Wrestling at home for the first time in nearly a month, Northern Colorado dropped a Big 12 Conference dual meet Friday night to North Dakota State.
Bears coach Troy Nickerson was unhappy with his team’s performance following the 28-12 loss, saying it’s a dual he expected UNC to win and his athletes collectively need to be mentally stronger.
“I think we have a lot of guys that are wrestling how they feel right now versus just going out there and competing,” Nickerson said. “I think our performance tonight is completely emotional, and if we want to be competitive in March (for postseason tournaments) we need to figure that out.”
University of Northern Colorado head wrestling coach Troy Nickerson directs his team against North Dakota State on Friday at the Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley.(Jim Rydbom/Staff Photographer)Nationally ranked No. 2 Andrew Alirez (141 pounds), No. 8 Stevo Poulin (125) and 197-pounder Franklin Cruz scored wins for UNC (0-2 Big 12 and 7-4 overall). The Bears wrestled at Bank of Colorado for the first time since Dec. 21 when they hosted their quad duals against Northeastern Junior College, Colby Community College and Fort Hays Tech Northwest.
Alirez pinned Gideon Abel-Cole at the 2 minute, 30 second mark of the first period after recording three takedowns. Alirez is 6-0 this season.
University of Northern Colorado’s Andrew Alirez pins North Dakota State’s Gideon Abel-Cole in the 141-pound match at the Bank of Colorado Arena on Friday. (Jim Rydbom/Staff Photographer)Alirez said there was no way to sugar coat the Bears’ match against North Dakota State. The team didn’t do its job on the mat. Alirez echoed Nickerson’s evaluation of UNC’s night.
“We let our emotions dictate how we wrestled,” he said. “It’s college wrestling. You gotta saddle up and get tough.”
Poulin, an NCAA qualifier last year, beat Tristan Daugherty in a 6-3 decision at 125 for his 11th straight win. Poulin led 5-0 until the final five seconds of the bout.
University of Northern Colorado junior Steve Poulin wrestles against North Dakota State’s Tristan Daugherty in the 125-pound match at Bank of Colorado Arena on Friday. Poulin won 6-3 for his 11th consecutive win. (Jim Rydbom/Staff Photographer)Cruz, a redshirt junior from Arvada and Pomona High School, picked up UNC’s first win of the night at 197. The dual started at 157 pounds, and the Bison won the first four bouts for a 17-0 lead. Cruz snapped the winning streak with a 12-5 decision over Tayshaun Glover before intermission.
North Dakota State won three of the last five bouts including Kyle Burwick’s technical fall win over Mikai Alirez (15-0) at 133. Mikai Alirez, a freshman, is the younger brother of Andrew Alirez. Mikai won a state title as a high school senior at Greeley Central in 2024.
Andrew said Mikai’s first year as a college wrestler has been “typical freshman stuff.” Andrew said Mikai started the season well — “he came out firing.” Mikai picked up some experience traveling with the team and he competed in open events.
Andrew Alirez said his brother hasn’t yet figured out how to turn on his own abilities and skills when he needs them. Through the long season, wrestlers get hurt or affected by illness. There comes a time when the athletes have to learn to fight through those challenges and wrestle and compete at match time, rather than “feeling sorry” and “not reacting the way that you need to react at this level,” he said.
“He knows that now, so it was a good learning experience,” Alirez said. “He needs time to grow. It’s honestly good for him, just to be able to go through these kinds of lessons.”
As a team leader, Alirez took a share ofthe responsibility and accountability for the Bears’ performance against the Bison. Attitudes and emotions in the locker room have a way of spreading, Alirez said.
University of Northern Colorado junior Franklin Cruz, left, works to takedown North Dakota State’s Tayshaun Glover in the 197-pound match at the Bank of Colorado Arena on Friday. Cruz won with a 12-5 decision. (Jim Rydbom/Staff Photographer)“I need to do a better job as a leader, being able to mask how I feel, and bring the energy up regardless of how I’m personally feeling,” he said.
Windsor High graduate Dom Serrano, UNC’s starter at 133, and Vincent Zerban (157) did not wrestle against the Bison. They also qualified for NCAAs last year along with Poulin. Serrano is ranked 17th at 133, according to flowrestling.org. Zerban is 16th at 157.
University of Northern Colorado senior Clayton Ulrey, top, slams North Dakota State’s Boeden Greenley during the 165-pound match at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley on Friday. (Jim Rydbom/Staff Photographer)Of Serrano’s absence, Nickerson only said that he will soon return to the lineup. Nickerson said the absence of Serrano and Zerban had an impact on the Bears, but the team’s attitude wasn’t in a place to overcome not having those wrestlers.
“We’re feeling sorry for ourselves right now,” Nickerson said. “We need to lock in. This is a tough sport. We need to get better.”
Nickerson didn’t spare critique for Poulin and Alirez despite their wins. He said both wrestlers need to be better, as the whole team needs to improve throughout the lineup.
University of Northern Colorado sophomore Roman Cruz, top, works for position against North Dakota State’s Maxwell Petersen during the 157-pound match at Bank of Colorado Arena on Friday. (Jim Rydbom/Staff Photographer)Fixing the team’s troubles is another matter. As a coach, Nickerson knows what a team has to do to be successful, he said. The coaches “preach things on a daily basis,” Nickerson added, but they’re failing to connect.
“They need to trust the process and trust themselves when they’re out there competing,” Nickerson said. “And maybe I need to get better too. I don’t know. Just gotta go back to the drawing board.”
North Dakota State 28, Northern Colorado 12
157 — North Dakota State’s Maxwell Petersen major decision Roman Cruz, 11-2. NDSU 4-0. 165 — North Dakota State’s Boeden Greenley dec. Clayton Ulrey, 12-5. NDSU 7-0. 174 — North Dakota State’s Devin Wasley p. Aydin Rix-McElhinney, 4:14. NDSU 13-0. 184 — North Dakota State’s Aiden Brenot major decision AJ Heeg, 12-2. NDSU 17-0. 197 — Northern Colorado’s Franklin Cruz dec. Tayshaun Glover, 12-5. NDSU 17-3. 285 — North Dakota State’s Drew Blackburn-Forst dec. Jose Valdez 7-3. NDSU 20-3. 125 — Northern Colorado’s Stevo Poulin dec. Tristan Daugherty 6-3. NDSU 20-6. 133 — North Dakota State’s Kyle Burwick tech. fall Mikai Alirez 15-0, 2:35. NDSU 25-6. 141 — Northern Colorado’s Andrew Alirez p .Gideon Abel-Cole, 2:30. NDSU 25-12. 149 — North Dakota State’s Gavin Drexler dec. Benji Alanis 7-0. NDSU 28-12.
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