NIACC's Minto falls in finals

COUNCIL BLUFFS - NIACC freshman Christian Minto dropped a 6-4 decision to Iowa Western's Isaiah Crosby in the 165-pound NJCAA national title match Saturday night.

Minto (22-1) trailed 6-3 heading into the final period and closed the deficit to 6-4 when Crosby was hit with a stalling call.

In the final seconds of the match, Minto shot for a takedown on the edge of the mat. NIACC coaches challenged the call for a takedown but the call stood and Minto suffered his first collegiate loss.

Minto had moved to the finals with a 12-10 semifinal victory over RCTC's Seth Brossard Saturday morning.

Minto was the Trojans' eighth national finalist in the last seven years and he was aiming to become the school's 14 national champion.

NIACC's 197-pound sophomore Holton Truax placed fourth to earn all-American honors.

Truax pinned Clackamas' Tarik Sutkoviv in 47 seconds to advance to the third-place match. He then dropped a 10-2 major decision at the hands of RCTC's Richard Hammonds.

Truax (19-6) collected four falls in the national tournament.

He pinned Lackawanna's Jayden Bortz in 1:23 in his opening match and also gained falls over Southwest Oregon's Ben Hughes (2:08) and Iowa Central's Ja'quez Bostic (6:12) in the consolation rounds.

NIACC placed 12th at the national tournament with 55.5 points.