Simpson College wrestlers competed at the Luther Hill Invitational at the Indianola Middle School on Nov. 4.
Three Simpson men’s wrestlers finished in the top five of their weight class and women’s wrestlers had eight individuals earn top five placings.
For the men, in the 125 pound class, Kanin Hable came in 5th place, in the 197 pound weight class, Shane Mathias came in 4th place and in the 157 pound class, Riley Kovaleski came in 2nd place.
For the women, Devyn Moore (101), Kassidee Savaria (170) and Josephine Wearmouth (130) all claimed runner-up honors for the Storm, with Moore and Savaria competing in the varsity division and Wearmouth in the freshman/sophomore bracket.
The Storm had three others place in the varsity division, including Emaline Hicks, who placed fourth at 101 pounds. Sarah Zimmerman (109) and Keeley Kehrli (155) both secured fifth place.
In the freshman/sophomore division, Brooklyn Garza compiled six wins at 130 pounds to take third place overall. Ashley Cannon finished one place behind her, giving Simpson three of the top four placewinners in that bracket.
Men’s wrestler Kovaleski went 3-1 in the tournament and says that wrestling in the practice room is helping build strategies.
“In the moment, I remember wrestling those matches and the stuff I was doing in practices, I was doing here,” he said. “It’s not like I’m going out there and just losing all focus of what I have been doing in the practice room. I’m still able to bring everything we do in the practice room to competition, and I’m able to do the things we have been working on.”
But there is one thing that Kovaleski wishes he could have done differently.
“I wish I didn’t go in feeling so scared. When you go into a finals match, you tend to put someone on a pedestal even though you guys are in the same position,” he said. “I knew in my head I was better than that guy, but you have to take the final match as any other match and you can’t think that it is just the big one.”
And Dylan is looking forward to the future of this program.
“Seeing our team grow throughout the season. We had seven new starters in our lineup for the dual against Cornell,” he said in an email. “This young group of athletes is talented and works hard. It is exciting to see the levels they have jumped since arriving on campus. By the end of the year, I have no doubt they will be battling for podium spots at the regional tournament.”
Women’s wrestler, Kylie Rae Torres, also has high hopes moving forward. “I think this program is going to be very strong this year. We have so many amazing girls a part of this program, I can’t wait to see what nationals looks like.”
Men’s Head Wrestling Coach, Dylan Peters, said in an email that he was happy with how the wrestlers did. “Overall, I was happy with the team and how they competed. We are a young team learning to battle in one of the toughest regions in the country.”
The men will next compete at the Coe Open in Cedar Rapids on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 9:00 a.m., and the women will compete at Lindenwood Duals in St. Charles, Mo., on Sunday, Nov. 19.
