NJCAA wrestling regional to be hosted by Harper

On Sunday, the tartan floor of Harper College Sports and Wellness Center will be trumped by wrestling mats.

The Hawks' wrestling program is hosting the NJCAA's Central Region qualifying tournament with four schools - Harper, Triton College, Lincoln College and Muskegon Community College (Mich.) represented.

The event begins with weigh-ins at 9 a.m., with semifinals scheduled for 11 a.m. and finals for 12:30 p.m.

MCC enters the meet as the highest-ranked of the teams in the NJCAA wrestling rankings at No. 4. Lincoln is ranked 17th in this week's poll, while Harper and Triton sit just outside the rankings.

Muskegon is led by six wrestlers ranked in their weight class nationally. Best among them are LaVonte Perdue (197 pounds) and TJ Barnes (157 pounds); they are the top-ranked competitors at their weights.

Harper's Cory Pych (Harper, 20-9) is ranked eighth nationally and is the top seed at 149 pounds at the regional.

Triton is led by Mike Malles, one of the top athletes at 141 pounds. That weight class also includes ranked nationally ranked competitors from MCC (Zane Corey) and Harper (Jimmy Knapp, 19-11).

Others in action for Harper include freshmen Ian Mullen (24-11 at 125), Howie Olson (11-19 at 157), John Makey (14-8 at 165), Tamchybai Turusbekov (7-18 at 174), Logan Nesselrodt (at 184) and Cody Barnes (4-2 at 197), along with sophomores Zach McCullough (15-12 at 133), Kameran Hardwick (8-4 at 285).