The Simpson men’s wrestling team returned to the mats at Hopper Gymnasium for the second time this season on Friday, Nov. 15 where they took on the Cornell Rams in a non-conference dual. The Storm fell to the Rams 49-0 to cap the evening.
To kick off the season, the Storm hosted the Luther Hill Invitational at Blake Fieldhouse at the Indianola Middle School. Leading the way for the Storm was junior Troy Galloway with a second place finish in the 285 pound weight class.
The Storm then opened up American Rivers Conference competition with the Dubuque Spartans in Hopper Gymnasium on Thursday, Nov. 7. The Storm fell to the Spartans 41-6. Senior Andrew Wolff of the 197 pound weight class pinned his opponent in 42 seconds to carry the Storm that evening.
On Wednesday, Nov. 13, the Storm were held scoreless against the No. 2 Wartburg Knights in Waverly.
The Storm ultimately have their eyes set on landing some podium finishes at the regional meet, but capitalizing on the opportunities between now and then is what will get them there.
Sophomore Ethan Riesselman elaborated on their intentions for the season. “Obviously, we want to peak at regionals, but every match in between counts and I think it’s important to go out and fix the things that we see that we’re doing wrong in matches,” he said. “I think practices are going pretty well, our coaches are getting us through all of the right things.”
Junior Trey Kellow spoke on the preparation taken by the team thus far in the season. “I feel like practice is going pretty well, there are just some areas we need to improve upon, conditioning wise and just more mat wrestling,” he said.
On July 31, head coach Dylan Peters announced the hiring of former Storm wrestler, Jakob Slavin, as the program’s new top assistant. The 2022 graduate returns to Simpson after spending two years as the assistant coach at Cactus Shadows High School in Arizona. Slavin was a three-year letter winner for the Storm.
Excitement awaits the Storm as they venture through the remainder of the season, given the positive addition to their coaching staff and talented roster.
“We have some guys who are pretty talented and we just have to capitalize on some of the opportunities we have,” Riesselman said.
The Storm will compete next at the Coe Tournament in Cedar Rapids on Saturday, Nov. 23. As the season is just beginning, the Storm have a large portion of their schedule remaining to take advantage of the opportunity to compete and improve.
With their eyes set on the regional meet in the beginning of March, the Storm have a difficult schedule ahead of them, but using that to their advantage in preparation for March is what will allow them to earn the podium finishes they dream of today.
Storm Balance Challenges and Opportunities
by Clare Hackman, Staff Writer
November 20, 2024
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Clare Hackman, Staff Reporter