Thief River Falls, Minn. - 
The Northland Community & Technical College wrestling team will compete in its first dual meet action Thursday night when the team travels to Minnesota West for a non-conference triangular against the host Bluejays and the Ridgewater Warriors. 
Scott DCamp begins his eighth season overseeing the Northland Wrestling program. In seven seasons under DCamp's watch, the Northland wrestling program has produced  26 national qualifiers, 11 Region 13/MCAC champions and four All-Americans. 
Like many teams, the Pioneers got back on the mat  at the Cobber Open Saturday after missing the entire 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
"It was great for our guys to get back on the mat Saturday," DCamp said. "For many of the guys it was their first wrestling outside of the practice room in over 600 days. There was definitely some rust, but I like this group. They are buying into what we are trying to do as a team and utilizing the techniques we have gone over in practice, but we still have quite a bit of room for improvement."
The Pioneers are led by sophomore Isaiah Arredondo, Columbus, Ga., and freshman Jake Davis. 
Arredondo is the only returning starter from Northland's MCAC runner-up team in 2019-20. Arredondo began the 2020 season at 125 but he moved up to 133 after having a hard time making 125. He lost the 133 spot to 2020 NJCAA qualifier Payton Jackson and ended up moving to 141 for the postseason. This year, he is back at 133. 
"Isaiah is good sized 133 this year," DCamp said. "He should make his debut at 133 Thursday after weighing in light and wrestling 141 on Saturday. He has looked great in practice and he has shown great leadership by example. He has a chance to do some good things this year."
Davis' last folkstyle match  prior to Saturday's Cobber Open came in the 2020 state semifinals against Simley's Ryan Sokol, where an injury ended Davis' senior state tournament. Over 600 days later, Davis was back in action with a third place finish at 149 pounds in the Maroon Division at the Cobber. 
"Jake looked good but he would be the first to tell you that he is capable of wrestling even better," DCamp said. "Jake is also a great leader by example. He has lofty goals and we have big expectations for him this year."
Also bringing some collegiate wrestling experience to the Pioneers is redshirt freshman Jammell Sheppard of Orlando, Fla. Sheppard joined the Pioneers for half of the 2019-20 season and competed unattached in the inaugural Northland Open. He is projected to wrestle at 133 or 141 pounds during the 2021-22 season. 
Including Davis and Sheppard, the Northland roster includes five second-year wrestlers that are sophomores in the classroom but designated as freshmen in terms of eligibility. Also included in that group are Thomas Hardy, 125 pounds, Columbus, Ga.; Timothy Thurman, 141, Anniston, Ala.; and Justin Doby, 149, Sumter, SC. 
Newcomers on the 2021-22 team include a pair of Thief River Falls wrestlers in Brandon Zuniga and Mason Iverson. Zuniga,  competing at 157 pounds, placed sixth in the season-opening Cobber Open on Saturday. Iverson, a Class AA fourth place finisher at 195 pounds in 2020-21, went 0-2 in his collegiate debut while wrestling in the Gold Division at the Cobber Open. 
"Brandon showed that he can compete at the collegiate level based on his performance Saturday," DCamp said. "He led at some point in every match but had some trouble putting guys away. He should get better at that with more mat time. Mason Iverson went toe-to-toe with a pair of solid four-year guys this past weekend. He lost both matches, but won the third period in both matches."  
Also joining the Pioneers this year are Gabe Ryappy, 165, Crosby; Anthony Widmer, 165, Renton, Wash.; and heavyweights Dylan Valencia of Yucaipa, Calif.; and KC Ortiz of West Fargo, N.D.
"We have a talented group of upper weight wrestlers," DCamp said. "Dylan was a state qualifier in California's one-class system with over 900 high schools and KC was a state runner-up at West Fargo – so I feel that we should be strong at heavyweight.
"Gabe wrestled well at 165 Saturday, despite having not competed since 2018."