Scorpil, Brisker Punch Ticket for Nationals
Oskaloosa–Lane Scorpil (Sr., Columbus Junction, Iowa, Business Management) and Brody Brisker (Fr., Wilton, Iowa, Sports Management) have extended their seasons into March as they qualified for nationals after the William Penn men’s wrestling team competed at the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship Friday and Saturday.
As a team, the Statesmen placed ninth out of 12 teams with 57 points, while Grand View claimed the crown with 264.5 points.
Scorpil finished second at 133 pounds with a 2-1 record to advance to his second national tournament at WPU. The senior was trailing in his semifinal bout and in a difficult spot on the bottom, but moved on as his opponent pinned himself. Unfortunately, Scorpil came up short in claiming the silver.
Brisker also earned a spot in the Kansas field next month by placing fifth at 149 pounds. The freshman notched a pair of falls before dropping two decisions to drop into the fifth-place match. He then locked up his nationals spot with a 3-0 decision over Brayden Eikermann of Missouri Baptist.
Scorpil and Brisker will now travel to Park City, Kan. from March 5-7 to compete in the 69th Annual NAIA National Championship at Heartland Credit Union Arena.
125-pounder Gentry Walston (So., New Sharon, Iowa, Human Resource Management) pushed for an extension on his season as well, but came up just short (for now). He earned two falls to get to the second day of competition, and despite trailing in his consolation semifinal matchup, he was able to get his opponent to his back and pinned him for an appearance in the third-place match.
Unfortunately, Walston dropped that bout and was forced into a ‘true’ fourth place match in which he also lost. However, he is in contention to earn an at-large bid to nationals.
184-pounder Francisco Espinoza (Jr., Oakley, Calif., Sociology) was next for the navy and gold with two victories (one by fall) to finish eighth.
133-pounder Jeffery Myers (Sr., Yelm, Wash., Secondary Education) was victorious by technical fall, while 165-pounder Trent Evans (Jr., Houston, Texas, Mechanical Engineering) had his hand raised once as well.
“As a team, we did not see the overall results we wanted to, but were able to see some individuals succeed,” Head Coach Drew Sams said. “We had some ups and downs throughout the weekend, but ultimately it was capped off Lane and Broy earning themselves opportunities to wrestle at the national tournament. Our focus now turns towards getting our national qualifiers prepared for our trip to Wichita in two weeks.”
