NIC ATHLETICS North Idaho College wrestler Colton Theobald celebrates after winning a third-place match against Mohamed Tarek Abdelhady of Indian Hills in the NJCAA Championships at the Mid-American Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Saturday.

Posted: Mar 07, 2026

NIC fight for sixth in NJCAA tourney

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — Colton Theobald, a redshirt freshman from Payson, Utah, finished third at 165 pounds for North Idaho College in the NJCAA Championships at the Mid-American Center on Saturday.

"Colton was big today," said NIC coach Derrick Booth, in his third year as coach. "It takes a lot of grit, and that's the toughest place to come back to win it."

Dylan Block, a redshirt freshman from Great Falls, Mont., was fourth at 174 for the Cardinals, who finished sixth with 112.5 points.

Freshman Colton Tucker from Coeur d'Alene High (sixth at 157), freshman Parker Ballantyne of Saratoga Springs, Utah, (fifth at 141), freshman Seth Martin, a Post Falls High product was fifth at 184 and sophomore Ray Griffin of Pleasant Grove, Utah, was sixth at 285 for NIC.

"I'm really proud of the fight from all the guys," Booth said. "On Saturday, everyone is good at wrestling and you've really got to go into it with a clear mind. Our young guys learned a lot, and some of the them continued to get better throughout the tournament. We've got a great foundation coming back with eight starters returning, and they're hungry to get back after it."

Indian Hills of Ottumwa, Iowa, won its second straight title, finishing with 201.5 points.

TEAM SCORES (Top 30) — 1, Indian Hills 201.5. 2, Western Wyoming 188. 3, Iowa Central 145.5. 4, Southeast Nebraska 131.5. 5, Clackamas 128.5. 6, North Idaho 112.5. 7, Cowley 108.5. 8, Northwest 84. 9, Pratt 80.5. 10, Iowa Western 80. 11, Muskegon 61. 12, Northeastern Oklahoma 59.5. 13, Niagara 58.5. 14, Harper 58. 15, Andrew 47.5. 16, Rochester 46. 17, Southwestern Michigan 44.5. 18 (tie), Northeastern, Triton 37.5. 20, Carl Albert State 35.5. 21, Onondaga 32.5. 22, Nassau 30. 23, Big Bend 27. 24, Cloud County 25.5. 25 (tie), Garrett, Labette 25. 27 (tie), Camden County, NIACC 18.5. 29 (tie), Colby, Iowa Lakes 17.5.

NIC RESULTS

PLACING MATCHES

Third-place

165 — Colton Theobald, NIC, d. Mohamed Tarek Abelhady, Indian Hills, 14-11.

174 — Damarcus Powe, Iowa County, tf. Dylan Block, 26-9.

Fifth-place

141 — Parker Ballantyne, NIC, p. Dmitri Alarcon, Western Wyoming, 4:26.

157 — Aaron Concepcion, Clackamas, tf. Colton Tucker, NIC, 21-5.

184 — Seth Martin, NIC, p. Johnathan Clohecy, Indian Hills, 1:54.

285 — Cito Tuttle, Rochester, p. Ray Griffin, NIC, :38.

CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET

Semifinals

157 — Shehab Emam Mohammed, Indian Hills, p. Colton Tucker, NIC, 2:39.

174 — Charlie Foster, Onondaga, md. Dylan Block, NIC, 11-1.

184 — Jarrel Miller, Iowa Central, md. Seth Martin, NIC, 12-3.

CONSOLATION BRACKET

Semifinals

141 — Zachary Covolo, Northwest, p. Parker Ballantyne, NIC, 3:59.

157 — Damari Reed, Triton, p. Colton Tucker, NIC, 2:27.

165 — Colton Theobald, NIC, md. Tom Stoll, Northeastern, 17-4.

174 — Dylan Block, NIC, d. Francisco Ayala, Western Wyoming, 4-2.

184 — David Sample, Cowley, tf. Seth Martin, NIC, 19-4.

285 — Zaman Anwar, Iowa Central, p. Ray Griffin, NIC, 1:46.

Round of 4

141 — Parker Ballantyne, NIC, d. Tyler Misenheimer, Northeastern Oklahoma, 18-13.

165 — Colton Theobald, NIC, tf. Cah'mari Johnson, Colby, 17-1.

285 — Ray Griffin, NIC, d. Hunter Tibodeau, Big Bend, 5-0.

To view the full article, please visit the CDA Press at this link.