Storm go 3-1 at Desert Duals, equal best win total in four years

LAS VEGAS - Spencer Courier (Lee's Summit, Mo.), Justin Bruce (Lee's Summit, Mo.) and Jared Bevins (Creston, Iowa) all went undefeated and the Simpson wrestling team went 3-1 at the Desert Duals on Sunday.

Simpson scored wins over Manchester (32-13), Washington & Lee (44-6) and Pacific (23-16). The lone loss of the day came against Rhode Island (25-18).

With their fourth dual win of the season, the Storm (4-4) have already surpassed last season's win total and equaled the most dual wins by the program in since 2007-08.

"We had a nice day out here in Vegas," head coach Clint Manny said. "It was great to see the team really come together and wrestle well. When we had some losses through the lineup we had other members of the team pick up the slack and get us bonus points when we needed them."

Courier went a perfect 4-0 at 133 pounds, recording three pins on the day to improve to 14-7 on the season. Bruce went 4-0 at 174 with a pin and a major decision and Bevins went 4-0 at 197, getting a pin and a technical fall.

Devin Rausch (Fredericksburg, Iowa) went 3-1 at 125 pounds and Brian Haynes (Gladstone, Mo.) had a good day with three wins and a pin at 157. Stephen Blayer (Iowa City, Iowa) and Taylor Witzel (Aurelia, Iowa) went 2-2 at 149 and 184, respectively.

"We are looking forward to a nice holiday break and getting everyone back to full health for the second half of the season," Manny said.

The Storm are off until Jan. 6, when the team makes its bi-annual trip to Massachusetts. Simpson faces Williams in a dual on Jan. 6 at 6 p.m. EST and will take part in the Williams Invitational beginning at 9 a.m. EST on Saturday, Jan. 7.