Brus, Stratton place for Simpson at Central

PELLA - Senior Caleb Brus finished second at 149 pounds and sophomore Cory Stratton took third at 157 for Simpson at the Central Invitational on Saturday.

Brus owned the tournament's second seed, taking two decisions and a major decision en-route to the championship. He opened with a 10-3 win over Victor Diaz of North Iowa Area CC before notching a 4-1 win against Grand View's Justian Dixon.

He cruised to a 15-2 major decision against Missouri Baptist's Jake Waterkotte before falling to top-seeded Eric Burgey of William Penn, 14-3. The loss ended a four-match winning streak for Brus.

Stratton became the first Simpson wrestler to reach the 20-win plateau when he pinned St. Olaf's Michael Roth in the first round. He picked up a 2-0 decision against North Iowa Area CC's Jacob Caryl before suffering a hard-fought, 1-0 loss to top-seeded Jeremy Padilla of Waldorf in the semifinals.

He cruised with an 11-4 win against Central's Zach Beekman in the wrestleback semifinals and came out on top in the consolation championship with a 9-8 decision against TJ Moen, wrestling unattached.

Stratton is 15-6 since Dec. 8 after starting the season 8-9.

At 174 pounds, senior Jordy Ammons picked up a pair of pins and a 3-2 decision in reaching the quarterfinals. There, he lost a 4-0 decision against second-seeded Dan Capp of Hannibal-LaGrange before bowing out due to a medical forfeit in the consolation semifinals.

Saturday marked Simpson's final road trip of the season, as the team won't leave campus the remainder of the year. The Storm host Loras on Wednesday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. before hosting the Iowa Conference Duals Jan. 29. Central comes to town for a dual Feb. 9. and Cowles Fieldhouse serves as the site for the 2011 Iowa Conference Championships on Feb. 25.