Orange City, Iowa — Luke Jenness and Trey Schuck both went unbeaten in leading the Northwestern College wrestling team to a 2-1 record at the GPAC Duals held Saturday at the Bultman Center.
The Raiders improved its dual record to 3-4 in the GPAC, 7-4 overall.
Jenness won all three of his matches at 184, improving his season record to an impressive 17-1. The sophomore picked up two wins by fall (vs Morningside and Midland) and earned a 6-1 decision win against Dakota Wesleyan.
Schuck won both of his matches, rallying to beat 14th-ranked Taylor Vasquez (Morningside) 15-9, and then pinning Mario Martinez (Midland) at the four-minute mark. Schuck improved to 14-4 on the year and earned his sixth win by fall.
Head Coach Rik Dahl’s squad lost to 18th-ranked Morningside 38-9 in their first dual of the day. Open at 125 and down 6-0, Schuck’s win at 133 put Northwestern down 6-3 but the Raiders then dropped the next five matches, two by very close decisions. Chase Peterson took 12th-ranked John Diener to overtime but lost 2-1 in a thriller at 149; Blake Pomajzl lost his match at 157 1-0 to Kory Van Oort.
Jenness picked up the other win against the Mustangs, pinning Kaimana McCreadie at 6:05.
Northwestern won four matches in defeating Dakota Wesleyan 32-6 in the second dual. Both Blake Pomajzl (10-2) and Bennett Sikkink (15-6) earned major decision wins at 157 and 197, respectively, while Jenness and Chris Van Der Brink (3-2) won by decision at 184 and 285.
Schuck, Jenness and Sam Copley all won their respective matches by fall in leading the Raiders to a 33-15 win against Midland in the final dual of the afternoon. Copley pinned Chase Engelhardt (5:31) at 165, overcoming a loss to Engelhardt earlier in the season. Austin Hendrickson picked up the final win for Head Coach Dahl’s squad, defeating Jeshua Castillo 8-6 at 174.
Said Dahl, “Our guys responded well after losing the first dual to Morningside. They were a more physical team team today and that won some big matches. Overall, though, I was pleased with how many guys were able to integrate what we worked on this week. Schuck handled another ranked wrestler and finished 2-0 on the day. Jenness also made some little gains in some of the areas we have been working on. However, I was most proud of Copley’s win against Midland…that guy won by tech fall last time they faced each other but Sam was able to make some adjustments and pinned him this time out…that showed a great amount of courage.”
