The Simpson Men’s Wrestling team showed out at their first tournament of the season, having nine wrestlers place at the Luther Hill Invitational held at Simpson. Women’s Wrestling also made its first debut for the Storm, with freshman Jenna Joseph placing third.

Joseph went 4-1 to claim third place in the 170-pound weight class with three pins and a technical fall. She recorded the first win in Simpson Women’s Wrestling history with a pin on William Penn’s Kaylah Johnson.

“I was a little worried, especially because I missed weight by a little bit. Going up is a little scary, but after the first match or two, I felt more confident going into it,” Joseph said.

Joseph says the team dynamic for the women has been good so far. While the team does not have a set group of captains, she explains that some of the members have stepped up and become leaders.

“We have a pretty solid foundation, we all connected pretty quickly,” Joseph said.

Joseph says one of her individual goals for the season is to go to nationals and place but is mostly just trying to get her footing in being a collegiate athlete and comparing where she is at to those who have been wrestling at the college level for years.

“I’m just trying to have fun with it and see where it goes,” Joseph said.

The men’s team had nine wrestlers’ place at the tournament, which fifth-year senior Shyler Langley believes is a step in the right direction.

Langley was one of the nine men who placed at the invitational. He had a bye in the first round of the tournament, lost his second round, then proceeded to win four on the backside to take third overall.

Langley said the team is filled with a lot of young guys who have a lot of talent to show and that he is excited to work and compete with them because of their commitment. 

“The team dynamic this year is the best we’ve had in the five years that I’ve been here, the guys that are here are willing to put the work in and work hard,” Langley said. “They are committed to our championship lifestyle.”

Langley has high hopes for this season, both individually and as a team. He explains how one of his biggest goals for the season is to be an All-American, something the other fifth-year senior, Dylan McChesney, accomplished last year.

The men’s team was ranked seventh in the preseason poll for the American Rivers Conference and Langley believes this is the year they can prove they are better than that.

“I think that this is the year we can show we are better than the seventh-best team in the conference,” Langley said.

The men’s next competition is Nov. 19 at the Coe Open in Cedar Rapids, while the women travel to St. Charles, Mo. to compete in the Lindenwood Duals on Nov. 20.