Simpson men’s wrestling entered the final month of their season with a 39-9 win over Buena Vista. The Storm then hosted Dubuque on Wednesday Feb. 15 in their final duel before regionals.

Dylan Peters is the head coach of men’s wrestling and has entered his fourth year in charge of the Storm. The team has seen steady improvement under his leadership, having finished .500 with a record of 7-7 last season. Peters explained what the team has been building towards the end of this season.

“We had some tough conference duels at the end of January but then we’re looking forward to the end of the season,” Peters said. “Finding those little adjustments to make sure guys are ready to go.”

Facing Buena Vista showed the team’s perseverance as many wrestlers bounced back. Dylan McChesney and Shane Mathias both registered pins in a resounding ARC conference win. But Peters was frustrated after the tournament with wrestlers not showing their true potential.

“I think there were a lot of nerves and those teams are good,” Peters said. “When we wrestled Buena Vista there was a different swagger and confidence. Guys showed up expecting to win and wrestled really well.”

The nerves were justified as the Storm wrestled three nationally ranked teams at conference. The team has struggled against conference opponents in recent years with only four wins in the last three seasons.

“Guys are doing a lot of good things training-wise, but getting it to show up when you compete is the hard part,” Peters said.

Senior Shane Mathias is majoring in management information systems and wrestles for the Storm. Mathias found success against Buena Vista as he pinned in 3:47 at 197 pounds. He also noticed the team’s confidence during the week of the duel.

“I think we had a lot of trust in ourselves this past week going into that duel,” Mathias said. “I think we all felt that it was a winnable duel and a duel we should win if we went out and trusted our techniques.”

Wrestlers have multiple aspects of preparation in the week leading up to a duel like lifting and making weight for the duel.

The wrestling season is long and grueling with the Storm traveling for most duels. Mathias, having three years of experience, understands the commitment.

“Sometimes all you need is a guy in your ear telling you to keep going,” Mathias said. “Just try to keep them focused and not let their own mentalities ruin matches for them.”

Mathias gives credit to the freshmen class and their readiness to wrestle this season, but also wants to recognize fifth-year seniors Shyler Langley and Dylan McChesney for their impact as well.