Domination in Upper Weights Helps Statesmen Power Past Warriors
The Statesmen men’s wrestling team took a tie and turned it into a lopsided affair as it defeated Waldorf 32-14 in its Heart of America Athletic Conference dual meet opener Thursday.
WPU (1-0, 1-0 Heart) won seven of the night’s 10 matches, including three by fall and one by technical fall, to win on the road over WU (0-2, 0-2 Heart).
The Statesmen dropped the first bout of the evening, but Lane Scorpil (So., Columbus Junction, Iowa, Industrial Technology) got the navy and gold on the board with a 10-7 decision over Malachi Wallway at 133 pounds.
With his team trailing 9-3 after the meet’s third match, 149-pounder Quinten Aney (So., Mediapolis, Iowa, Business Management) started a Statesmen run by slipping by Tyler Okada 7-5. It was a matchup of two ranked grapplers with Aney at #13 and Okada at #23.
Kael Bunce (Sr., Stockbridge, Mich., Mechanical Engineering) then added a 7-0 shutout over Jalon Strong at 157 pounds. Waldorf was penalized a point for unsportsmanlike conduct as well, putting WPU on top for good at 9-8.
165-pounder Cameron Hargrove (Jr., Bolingbrook, Ill., Sports Management) then rolled over Jack Grell by the tune of a 17-2 technical fall.
Makail Stanley (Sr., Oreana, Ill., Biology) was also cruising to a win, but suffered an injury and had to medically forfeit at 174 pounds, drawing the teams even at 14-14.
Fortunately, the Statesmen owned the remaining matches, beginning with a 23-second pin by Branson Bottorff (Sr., Mackinaw, Ill., Industrial Technology) over Keith Connaker at 184 pounds.
Jesse Schwery (So., Panama, Iowa, Secondary Education) then pinned Nehemiah Pemberton in 2:29 at 197 pounds, while 285-pounder Isaac Boucher (Jr., Kalona, Iowa, Nursing) also won by fall over Ellis Hughes in a time of 2:37 to cap the victory.
“I am proud of our dominant performance tonight,” Head Coach Aron Scott said. “Our guys wrestled tough and went for bonus points. Quinten and Kael wrestled well against their best guys, who are some of the best in the nation. We finished on a high note with a technical fall and three falls. Tonight is how we want to compete.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Des Moines Saturday to compete in the Grand View Open at 9 a.m.
125–Baylen Smith (WU) won by fall over Dylan McConville, 0:24 (0-6)
133–Lane Scorpil (WP) won by decision over Malachi Wallway, 10-7 (3-6)
141–Shiwoko Shiwoko (WU) won by decision over Hector Diaz, 10-9 (3-9)
149–Quinten Aney (WP) won by decision over Tyler Okada, 7-5 (6-9)
157–Kael Bunce (WP) won by decision over Jalon Strong, 7-0 (9-8) (WU lost a team point due to unsportsmanlike conduct)
165–Cameron Hargrove (WP) won by technical fall over Jack Grell, 17-2 (14-8)
174–Randry Mugisha (WU) won by medical forfeit over Makail Stanley (14-14)
184–Branson Bottorff (WP) won by fall over Keith Connaker, 0:23 (20-14)
197–Jesse Schwery (WP) won by fall over Nehemiah Pemberton, 2:29 (26-14)
285–Isaac Boucher (WP) won by fall over Ellis Hughes, 2:37 (32-14)
