Simpson beats Knox, falls to Augustana

PELLA, Iowa – The Simpson wrestling team split a pair of duals with Knox and Augustana (Ill.) Tuesday, Feb. 2 in Pella. The Storm lost to Augustana 27-12 and defeated Knox 43-12.

Caleb Brus (Creston, Iowa/Creston), Kasey Green (Elmer City, Wash./Lake Roosevelt), Wade Dowling (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) and Curtis Barber (Winterset, Iowa/Winterset) all went 2-0 on the night as the Storm (2-12) won their first dual since Dec. 20.

Against Knox, Simpson posted four pins en-route to a 43-12 win.

After the two teams traded forfeits at 125 and 133, Brus recorded the first pin for the Storm, trapping Tim Yee 1:47 into the 144-pound match. Green picked up his second win of the day when he pinned Zach Paluch at the 2:26 mark of the 149-pound match.

Dowling won Simpson's third-straight match when he earned a 10-6 decision against Casey Spencer at 157. Cory Stratton (Grimes, Iowa/Dallas Center-Grimes) pinned Kin Vong 1:41 into the 165-pound match and Jordy Ammons (Knoxville, Iowa/Knoxville) took a 9-0 decision over Dan Page at 174.

Barber notched the team's fourth win by fall of the evening, trapping Alex Faulkner at the 1:26 mark of the 184-pound match.

The first dual of the evening pitted Simpson with Augustana. At 141 pounds, Brus earned a 9-5 decision over Alberto Quiros for the Storm's first win. Green followed suit with a 7-3 win over Alec Rizzo at 149 and Dowling notched a 5-3 win against Zac Holland at 157. Barber rounded out Simpson's winners with a 7-0 defeat of Matt Nykaza at 184.

Simpson returns to Iowa Conference dual action when it hits the road to face Luther Thursday, Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. Originally scheduled to take place Dec. 9, the match was postponed due to inclement weather and was postponed a second time on Jan. 19.