Brus and Barber place fifth at Augsburg

MINNEAPOLIS - Caleb Brus and Calvin Barber led four placewinners for the Simpson wrestling team at the 2009 Auggie Brute Adidas Open hosted by Augsburg College.

Brus went 3-1 at 141 pounds, defeating Drew Smith of Morningside in the fifth-place match with a 5-3 decision. Barber also took fifth, going 3-1 at 157 pounds.

"I was really impressed with our upperclassmen today," head coach Clint Manny said. "Caleb and Calvin wrestled well and showed solid leadership today."

Wade Dowling placed seventh at 149 pounds and Curtis Barber took eighth at 184, rounding out the Simpson placewinners. Dowling lost his first match of the day, but went undefeated the rest of the way. After a loss to Mitch Artist of UW-Lacrosse, Barber advanced to the seventh-place match, where he lost a 6-3 decision to Bruce Babcock of Itasca Community College.

"We continue to see improvement every time we step on the mat," Manny said. "I thought we battled in every match."

Simpson won't hit the mat again until Dec. 5, when it hosts the Simpson Invitational at Cowles Fieldhouse.

"I'm looking forward to a nice three-day break over Thanksgiving to get everyone back to 100 percent before we make another run to finish out the semester," Manny said.