Bevins leads Storm at Jim Fox Open

DUBUQUE, Iowa – Jared Bevins won the 197 pound bracket to lead the Simpson wrestling team at the 2013 Jim Fox Open on Saturday.

Four other wrestlers placed for the Storm in the team's final meet before going to the Central Region Championships on March 2. Jeff Sand (141), Taylor Witzel (184) and Tony Saucedo (285) all placed third and Cory Stratton (165) took fourth.

A junior from Creston, Iowa, Bevins recorded the first tournament championship of his career by going 2-0 in the five-man bracket. He received a bye in the first round before pinning Kyle Patton (Wheaton) and earning a 10-5 decision over Cody Ortman (Dubuque) in the championship.

Wrestling for the first time since Dec. 16, Sand won his first match of the day before losing to eventual champion Adrian Collier (Dubuque) in the quarterfinals. He advanced with a bye in the consolation semifinals before beating Anthony Hable (Upper Iowa) 9-2 in the consolation finals.

Witzel took the same path as Sand, beating Aburough Abeqesah (Cornell) 6-4 in the first round before losing to Elton Turnage-Manuel (Dubuque) in the quarterfinals. He cruised to a 10-0 major decision over Abeqesah in the consolation finals.

Saucedo got pinned in his first match of the day but returned the favor by pinning both opponents in the consolation bracket to capture third. He won by fall over Montrele Stokes (Kennedy King) and Josh Holler (Wheaton).

Stratton had the busiest day of the Simpson placewinners, going 2-2. He lost his first round match but pinned Matt Ellis (Wheaton) in 30 seconds and earned a 4-2 decision over Taylor Reicks (Upper Iowa) to make the consolation championship. Stratton suffered an 18-9 loss to Peter Huang (Wheaton) in the third-place match.

The Central Region Championships will be held in Dubuque at 10 a.m. on March 2 and will be hosted by Loras.