Three wrestlers place as Simpson takes 7th at NCC

GALESBURG, Ill. - Caleb Brus and Cory Stratton placed fifth, Spencer Lueders took sixth and Simpson finished seventh of 10 teams at the 2010 North Central Invitational on Saturday.

Brus took fifth at 149 pounds, Stratton at 157 and Lueders placed sixth at 184.

Concordia-Moorhead won the tournament with 145.5 points, followed by Olivet (144), Wabash (119), Augustana (106.5) and host North Central (105).

Brus won one match in the winners bracket before rattling off two decisions in the wrestleback bracket. The fifth-seeded Brus earned a 6-1 decision against seventh-seeded Seth Milks of UW-Platteville and beat Concordia-Moorhead's Jacob Long 5-1.  He lost to eventual third-place winner Steven Mena of Olivet before winning by medical forfeit in the fifth-place match.

Stratton went 1-1 in the winner's bracket before meeting teammate Michell Hackett in wrestlebacks. He advanced by medical forfeit and evetually took fifth due to medical forfeit.

At 184, Lueders picked up a pair of pins in the wrestleback bracket. He won by fall over Knox's Issac Juarez in 1:32 and needed 3:34 to pin Josh Crawford of Olivet. Lueders lost to North Central's Billy Malone in the fifth-place match, losing a 9-2 decision.

Simpson's next action will come in sunny Florida when they take place in the Gator Duals in Orlando in Dec. 19.