ELLI MICHAEL/North Idaho College athletics North Idaho College sophomore Elijah Cater battles with Indian Hills wrestler Riley Bettich during the consolation final at 125 pounds at the NJCAA Tournament at the Mid-American Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Posted: Mar 08, 2025

NJCAA WRESTLING TOURNAMENT: Cater, Silveria fight back for third as Cardinals finish eighth

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – At North Idaho College, eighth isn't quite what the standard is.

But, for this year at least, it's where the Cardinals fell this time around.

Sophomores Elijah Cater (125 pounds) and Sam Silveria (149) finished third and freshman Ray Griffin (285) fourth for the Cardinals in the NJCAA Tournament, which concluded on Saturday at the Mid-American Center.

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NIC led the tournament headed into the semifinals on Friday night, but lost two wrestlers in the All-American round later Friday.

"We wrestled tough the first day," NIC assistant coach Cooper Thomas said. "Nationals is crazy anyway where you go from nine guys on the first day to three on the second. We're happy with the guys that battled. We wanted them to wrestle with effort and attitude, and they did that today. Eighth isn't where our standards are, so we've got some work to do."

Cater was sixth at 125 as a freshman and lost 2-1 in the semifinals to Sefton Douglass of Western Wyoming.

"I think sometimes taking third after losing a tough match in the semifinals shows a lot of heart and toughness," Thomas said. "We're happy with both him and Sal."

Indian Hills of Ottumwa, Iowa, won the team title with 182 points, followed by Clackamas with 141.5 and two-time defending champion Western Wyoming of Rock Springs with 137.5.

NJCAA TOURNAMENT

At Mid-American Center

Council Bluffs, Iowa

TEAM SCORES (Top 20) – 1, Indian Hills 182. 2, Clackamas 141.5. 3, Western Wyoming 137.5. 4, Fort Hays Tech 125.5. 5, Iowa Central 116.5. 6, Southeast Nebraska 104. 7, Northwest (Wyo.) 103. 8, North Idaho 96. 9, Pratt 75.5. 10, Rochester 68. 11, Labette 67.5. 12, Triton 67. 13, Northeastern Oklahoma 62.5. 14, Carl Albert State 58. 15, Southwestern Michigan 54. 16, Snow 52. 17, Niagara 44. 18, Cowley 41. 19, Andrew 39.5. 20, Big Bend 35.

CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET

Third-place matches

125 – Elijah Cater, NIC, d. Riley Bettich, Indian HIlls, 4-3.

149 – Sam Silveria, NIC, d. Ashton Hayhurst, Triton, 12-5.

285 – Jeff Swain, Northwest, d. Ray Griffin, NIC, 5-2.

Semifinals

125 – Sefton Douglass, Western Wyoming, d. Elijah Cater, NIC, 2-1.

285 – Ray Griffin, NIC, p. Dmarian Lopez, Western Wyoming, 4:43.

CONSOLATION BRACKET

Finals

125 – Elijah Cater, NIC, p. Tyson Wilson, Rochester, 1:26.

149 – Sam Silveria, NIC, d. Shehabeldin Mohamed, Indian Hills, 4-1.

285 – Ray Griffin, NIC, p. Naasir Edmonds, Indian Hills, :45.

Semifinals

149 – Sam Silveria, NIC, md. Silas Thompson, Northeastern, 11-3.

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