Brus, Dowling place for the Storm; Coe wins tournament

INDIANOLA, Iowa - The Simpson wrestling team went up against some of the top teams in the nation at the 2009 Simpson Invitational and came away in a tie for 9th Saturday at Cowles Fieldhouse.

Ranked No. 3 in Division III, Coe earned first-place honors at the tournament, sneaking by No. 6 Wartburg, 187-184. Ranked 11th in NAIA, Dana placed third with 107, followed by the 8th-ranked team in NAIA, Grand View (91). Buena Vista placed fifth (66.5), NAIA-Northwestern (Iowa) finished sixth (63.5), NCAA Division II Truman State placed seventh (59) and NAIA Missouri Baptist placed eighth (48). Simpson (30) tied with NAIA William Penn, ranked 20th coming into the tournament. North Iowa Area Community College and Waldorf tied for 11th (17.5) and Briar Cliff didn't record a point.

"I would say that we made some gains over the weekend," head coach Clint Manny said. "Wrestling in a tournament of this caliber we really need to step it up and be ready to wrestle our best match each time we take the mat. I think we got caught in a few matches where we weren't fully ready to wrestle at a high level and that cost us some points and, ultimately, some matches."

Junior Caleb Brus - receiving votes nationally at 141 pounds - advanced to the championship semifinals before losing an 11-4 decision to Coe's Chris LeClere. Brus sustained an injury during the match with LeClere and took a medical forfeit in his final two matches, finishing sixth overall.

Senior Wade Dowling represented Simpson's other placewinner, taking seventh at 149 pounds. Dowling won a 7-2 decision against Northwestern's Nate Haplin before losing a tough, 7-6 decision to Coe's James Locke in the championship quarterfinals. In wrestlebacks, Dowling went 1-1 in advancing to the seventh-place match, where he won a 9-5 decision over Jason Taylor-Ohmes of Coe.

At 174 pounds, junior Jordy Ammons advanced to the quarterfinals before losing a 4-2 decision to Rashad Moss of Waldorf. Ammons then came within two points of earning a top-eight finish, falling 2-0 to William Penn's Chris Diaz in wrestlebacks.

"We gained some valuable experience throughout the day and we learned what it's like to compete against some of the best guys in the country," Manny said. "As a whole, we've got to continue to learn from our mistakes and experiences during these tough matches. We really need to keep a positive attitude and continue to work on improving every day."

The Storm returns to action Wednesday when it travels to Decorah to face No. 20 Luther in Iowa Conference action. The dual is scheduled to get underway at 7 p.m.

Final Team Standings

Most Valuable Wrestler

Byron Tate, Wartburg (197-pound Champion)