Storm come up short at Gator Duals

NEW ORLEANS – The Simpson wrestling team traveled to the Big Easy for the Gator Duals hosted by Luther on Sunday, dropping three duals on their annual Winter Break trip.

The Storm faced a pair of foes ranked nationally in Division III, falling to No. 12 Concordia-Moorhead 48- -1 and No. 3 Elmhurst 45-5. Simpson closed the day with a narrow 25-21 defeat against Central Florida.

The Storm (1-7 overall) won five of eight contested matches against the Knights, forfeiting both the 125- and 174-pound weight classes.

Jason Clark (149) and Tony Saucedo (285) earned late pins for the Storm, as Clark took down Maximilian Becks at the 8:40 mark and Saucedo needed 4:45 to pin Shane Haller. Jeff Sand (141), Taylor Witzel (184) and Jared Bevins (197) all won by decision, as Sand beat Michael Fleming 4-2, Witzel beat Scott Watson 3-1 and Bevins outlasted Tyrell Walker 9-4.

Cory Stratton (157) chalked up Simpson's lone win against Elmhurst with a technical fall over Nick DiNardo, winning 17-2. Stratton dropped a narrow 7-4 decision to Christian Grillo in the Central Florida dual.

The Storm are off until Jan. 8 when they travel to Dubuque for a conference dual against the University of Dubuque. Start time is set for 7 p.m.