Thunderbirds edge Northeastern in dual

Recording wins by pin in the final two matches, the 11th-ranked Cloud County Community College wrestling team pulled out a 23-22 dual win over 23rd-ranked Northeastern (Colo.) Junior College Wednesday night in Bryant Gymnasium.
Cloud County, competing for the first time since January 15, trailed a Northeastern team it had lost to earlier in the season 22-12 heading into the final two matches.
Zach Ferris, the top-ranked wrestler in the 197-pound class, pinned Northeastern's Kordell Culhane in 3:33 to make it 22-18.
Ibrahim Ameer, wrestling at 285-pounds for Cloud County, pinned Nolan Bullethead in 4:16 to give the Thunderbirds a 24-22 advantage.
Cloud County had a team point deducted following the match for unsportsmanlike conduct, but still had the one point victory.
Northeastern picked up wins in the first two matches of the dual.
Braydon Mogie won a 15-0 major decision over Bray Skinner in the 125-pound class.
Layne Shepherd, 133 pounds, pinned Sajen Kemling.
Cloud County won the next three matches to take a 12-11 lead.
Michael Barfuss defeated Deegan Palmer 15-10 in the 141-pound class.
Kase Givens, 149 pounds, pinned Kross Pollaccia in 2:54.
Jonny Crome won a narrow 6-4 decision over Connor Davis in the 157-pound class.
The T-Birds then suffered three consecutive losses.
Joel Ostrom, 165 pounds, was beaten 13-5 by Cael Smith.
Brandon Rohr suffered a 5-4 loss to Tucker Naccarato in the 174-pound class.
Micah Sterling, 184 pounds, lost a 16-5 major decision to Zach Smith, and the T-Birds trailed 22-12.
Cloud County then won the final two matches.
The T-Birds will compete in the NJCAA South-Central District Championships hosted by Colby Community College on February 12.
The NJCAA Championships are scheduled for March 4-5 in Council Bluffs, Iowa.