COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho – North Idaho College is always a difficult test. The school is a top junior college program that isn't included in the same polls and rankings as the University of Providence's other NAIA opponents but always has a roster of talented wrestlers. UP usually faces NIC early in the season and the dual can often be a good barometer for how the Argos might look for the rest of the season. 
 
If that is true then the third-ranked Argos are in good shape, beating the Cardinals 29-9 in UP's first event of the 2017-18 season. UP won seven of the three weight classes, including 2 pins, and 2 major decisions.
 
"NIC always gives us fits. I think if we look back at it they might be winning the all-time series against us. It always comes down to the last match or two and we just totally put an exclamation point on the dual tonight," Head Coach Caleb Schaeffer. "It was a great start but we cannot be satisfied with it."
 
Two new faces, both transfers, were the two the pulled the pins.
 
At 125, sophomore Dorian Sapien from Clackamas Community College started off the night with a bang. Sapien was on the verge of redshirting for the Argos, but instead of sitting out, he got the start at 125 in the place of injured redshirt-senior Isaac Wilson.
 
He wasted no time establishing his dominance, getting 2 takedowns and a 3-point near fall before keeping his opponent's shoulders on the mat for a win by Fall (1:09).
 
"We didn't know what to expect out of Sapien. We thought we had a pretty good kid and he really showed up tonight," Schaeffer said. "That's exactly what we saw when we recruited him."
 
UP's other pin came from (7) Adrian Lyons-Lopez, a junior transfer from Southwestern Oregon Community College. The JUCO All-American showed why he earned the start at over redshirt-sophomore (8) Randy Keesler at 174, winning by Fall 5:43. He led 8-4 before getting the pin.
 
While Sapien and Lyons-Lopez the biggest win of the night might have come at 165. Redshirt-sophomore Gage Bentley wrestled at 157 in 2016-17 but in 2017-18 he stepped up a class into the spot vacated by graduated leader Khaldoon Rashid, who was nationally ranked all of  last  year.
 
Bentley's opponent at 165 was Trey Meyer a JUCO All-American who beat Rashid the last time the two teams got together. Not only did Bentley win a 9-4 decision, he held a strong lead the whole way. He started the match with a takedown and a 2-point near fall. In the second period, Bentley added another takedown for a 6-0 lead. The third period brought another takedown and an escape while Meyer only earned 1 takedown 2 escapes.
 
"For him to start of that year was amazing. He dominated that match the whole way and the other guy never even came close to scoring besides escapes for most of the match," Schaeffer said. "That was the biggest match of the night for us."
 
UP also received major decision wins from two members of its vaunted redshirt-sophomore class. Jarren Komac was the first of those two, taking an 11-2 win at 141. All-American John Hensley was the other, starting his sophomore season right where he left off from his freshman year with 6 takedowns in a 14-6 major decision.
 
The final two winners for the Argos were All-American Shonn Roberts with a tight 6-5 minor decision that was decided with a final escape from Roberts in the third period, and junior Matt Hopkins wrestling as a true heavyweight for the first time with an 8-5 minor decision.
 
Last year, the Argos faced NIC twice in the regular season. Early in the year, the Argos won 25-16 and then in  January  the team won 29-16. That team proved to be one of the best dual teams in program history. 
 
Next for UP will be a dual against its first NAIA opponent of the year, a road match against (RV) Eastern Oregon University on Saturday, November 4 at 7 p.m.