Simpson faces nationally-ranked foes at IIAC Duals

INDIANOLA, Iowa – The Simpson wrestling team battled three of the top teams in the nation at the Iowa Conference Duals on Saturday, getting some quality individual wins but going winless in the team competition.

Simpson hosted No. 25 Loras, No. 18 Luther and No. 9 Coe on the day. Simpson fell to Loras 39-4, Luther 31-15 and Coe 36-13.

Brett Roberts (174) and Devan Berrian (141) each had a pair of wins to lead the Storm (6-9). Roberts' lone loss was a narrow decision to a top-five opponent  and Berrian posted back-to-back wins, recovering from getting pinned in his first match of the day.

LORAS 39, SIMPSON 4

It was tough sledding in the opener against Loras. Simpson's lone win came at 174, where Roberts scored a 14-5 major over Ben Kindle. Eric Quador had a near-miss at 184, falling to Awais Arain 4-3.

LUTHER 31, SIMPSON 15

Simpson picked up two pins against the Norse. Berrian took down Brian Burchett in just 1:08 and Colby Vlieger won by fall over Clayton Jennings in 1:14. Roberts earned his second win of the day in a hard-fought, 6-3 decision over Justin Kreiter.

COE 36, SIMPSON 13

The most exciting match of the Coe dual came at 133. After spending most of the second period on his back and having to fight to avoid getting pinned, Zach Johnston turned the tables on Mike Gussarson to earn a pin of his own 34 seconds into the third period. Berrian earned his second win with a 6-1 decision over Luke Kremer and Jonathan Melton got a 10-2 major over Josh Donkle at 149.

At 174, Roberts battled fourth-ranked Ryan Harrington to a 3-2 decision in a losing effort.

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Simpson goes to Dubuque on Friday, Jan. 30.