Brus goes 3-1 to lead Simpson in the desert

LAS VEGAS - Junior 141-pounder Caleb Brus led Simpson with three wins Sunday as the Storm went 1-4 at the 2009 Wartburg Desert Duals at the Ballrooms of Flamingo Las Vegas.

The Storm (1-4) scored a 29-10 win over Pacific in the first session, then fell to Embry Riddle (30-16), Grand Canyon (30-9) and No. 8 UW-Stevens Point (49-0). Brus went 3-1 on the day, improving his record to 13-3 on the season.

Wade Dowling (157), Curtis Barber (184) and Trent Van Dorin (197) all earned two victories, as Dowling and Barber each went 2-2 while Van Dorin went 2-1, sitting his last scheduled match of the day.

In Simpson's first dual of the day, the Storm got out to a 10-0 lead against Pacific after Matt Haley (125), Jeff Sand (133) and Brus (141) all earned victories. Haley notched a 6-2 decision against Zach Binkerd, Sand contributed an 11-2 major decision over Josh Cushman and Brus won 7-4 against Seth Honl.

At 157, Dowling picked up a 10-5 decision over Ken Hyland before Pacific earned decisions at 165 and 174, closing the gap to 13-10. But Barber and Sam Collora won by fall at 184 and 285, respectively, and Van Dorin recorded a major decision at 197 to push Simpson to the 29-10 final.

Simpson's next action will be at Williamstown, Mass. as the Storm travels to New England to face No. 15 Williams in a dual on Jan. 4 before taking part in the Williams Invitational on Jan. 5.