Led by Windsor’s Dominick Serrano, four University of Northern Colorado wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Championships later this month and all earned top 10 seeds for the first time under coach Troy Nickerson.
Serrano, one of two UNC wrestlers to win a Big 12 Conference Championship last weekend, drew a fifth seed at 133 pounds for NCAAs March 20-22 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Serrano, 21-2, opens with No. 28 Colton Camacho of Edinboro (Pa.) in a morning bout March 20.
He’ll be joined at NCAAs by: Stevo Poulin, seeded 10th at 125; Andrew Alirez, seeded eighth at 141 and Vinny Zerban, seeded seventh at 157.
The NCAA released the seeds and brackets for the 330-wrestler tournament on Wednesday evening. The UNC team gathered at The G.O.A.T. Sports Bar in Greeley to watch the selection show on NCAA.com.
Zerban (18-4) also won a Big 12 title to earn his way to NCAAs. Alirez (third at Big 12s) and Poulin (fifth) qualified on allocation sports through the conference. The Big 12 Conference sent 71 wrestlers to NCAAs.
“My goal is to keep improving day by day, and I think I’ve done a good job of that this season,” Serrano said. “There have been a few hiccups, but I learned from them. It’s me versus me at the end of the day.”
Poulin (20-3) will open with No. 23 Tanner Jordan (23-8) of South Dakota State, also from the Big 12.
Alirez (16-1) will meet No. 25 AJ Rallo of Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky. Zerban’s first opponent will be No. 26 Blake Saito of Brown University.
Serrano, a junior in his second season with the Bears, said he’ll do “minimal scouting” of opponents for an event like NCAAs. He said coaches brief the athletes about opponent tendencies, and a few things to watch for during a bout.
For Serrano, at least, the bouts in Philadelphia come down to concentrating on what he does best.
“For the most part, move your hands, move your feet and shoot,” Serrano said, referring to a quick, aggressive motion to take charge. “I’m ready to go win it.”
University of Northern Colorado wrestler Dominick Serrano, right, greets a teammate Wednesday, March 12, 2025 at The GOAT Sports Bar in Greeley following the release of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship selection show and bracket reveal. Four UNC wrestlers qualified for NCAAs led by Serrano, who is the fifth seed at 133 pounds after winning the weight class title last weekend at the Big 12 Conference Championships. The NCAA Championships are March 20-22 in Philadelphia. (Anne Delaney/Sports Reporter).Nickerson said he likes the seeds for the UNC wrestlers at nationals.
The athletes’ seeds give them a potentially favorable path to win their weight class or finish in the top eight to qualify as All-Americans.
“It can make their path a little easier,” Nickerson said. “It’s the national tournament and there are upsets. We see it a little.”
The coach said all four have a chance to win titles.
“Four All-Americans and four champs would be great,” he added. “They’re primed and ready to go.”
The Bears took off days Monday and Tuesday after returning from the Big 12 championships. They returned to practice Wednesday and will leave Tuesday (March 18) for Philadelphia.
Of the UNC seeds, Alirez’s seed might be a little low for NCAAs. He was ranked in the top two or three at 141 all year, according to FloWrestling.org. Alirez lost for the first time this season in the conference semifinals to Oklahoma State’s Tagen Jamison, who was ranked sixth as of the conference tournament.
Jamison (20-4) is seeded seventh for NCAAs. Nickerson said Jamison wrestled well against Alirez. And while the UNC program was a bit surprised by Alirez’s loss, it might help Alirez for nationals.
University of Northern Colorado wrestling coach Troy Nickerson, center, addresses members of his team and fans Wednesday, March 12, 2025 during the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship selection show and bracket reveal at The GOAT Sports Bar in Greeley. Four UNC wrestlers qualified for NCAAs and all four earned top 10 seeds, which is a first for the program under Nickerson. The NCAA Championships are March 20-22 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. (Anne Delaney/Staff Reporter).“You can take the next step, take the pressure off and it’s a good thing,” Nickerson said.
Vance VomBaur, a Windsor High teammate of Serrano now at Minnesota, is the sixth seed at 141. VomBaur was the Big Ten Conference runner-up. He lost in the Big Ten final to Nebraska’s Brock Hardy, who is the top seed for NCAAs.
Isaiah Salazar, another former Windsor wrestler at Minnesota, is the 10th seed at 197 pounds. Salazar (18-6) finished sixth at 184 pounds at the NCAAs last year. VomBaur was also an All-American last year with an eighth-place finish at NCAAs.
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