ORANGE CITY, Iowa – The (RV) Northwestern College wrestling team (4-4, 2-2 GPAC) did not disappoint Raider fans inside the Bultman Center Wednesday night, as the Raiders downed the Briar Cliff Chargers (4-2, 3-2 GPAC) in their lone home dual of the season.
“Proud of the way we wrestled tonight. The guys were opportunistic and they were disciplined in their position, and we scored on a number of second and third attacks,” noted head coach Rik Dahl. “We had some gritty wins by some young Raiders.”
The Raiders pulled off five straight victories from 133 to 165 to take total control of the dual, starting with a Manny Jaramillo (Jr., Selma, Calif./Selma) pin (4:45) at 133 – his sixth fall of the season – against the Charger’s Jackson Shea and the Raiders would never look back after taking the 6-3 advantage.
Trey Schuck (Fr., Sibley, Iowa/Sibley-Ocheyedan) would add to the Raider lead with a 5-3 decision over Briar Cliff’s Maximus Barajas. Then two straight sudden victory wins in favor of the Raiders would put the dual decidedly into the hands of the Raiders. At 149, Erik Rodriguez (Fr., Weston, Fla./Cypress Bay) picked up a takedown in sudden victory, followed by another takedown by Eddy Punzalan (Fr., Weston, Fla./Cypress Bay) over No. 11-ranked Ben Peters of Briar Cliff at 157 to extend the Raider lead to 15-3.
Senior Blake Pomajzl (Sedalia, Mo./Smith-Cotton) would dominate BCU’s Nathan Atwood at 165, picking up the second Raider fall victory (2:12), putting the Raiders up 21-6.
The dual would wrap up with Raider victories at 184 with a 9-2 decision by No. 16-ranked Luke Jenness (So., Primghar, Iowa/Sheldon) and a 7-4 decision by senior Tyler Zeimen (Cherokee, Iowa/Washington) at 197, as the Raiders would take their largest lead of the night at 27-6.
Northwestern celebrated five seniors and their accomplishments as Raiders this evening inside the Bultman Center. Celebrating Skyler Bonestroo, Matthew Dahl (Orange City, Iowa/MOC-Floyd Valley), Noah Kryfka (Crestview, Fla./Crestview), Pomajzl, and Zeimen. “It’s always good thing to send the seniors off with a win,” noted Dahl. “Proud of those dudes and their legacy as Raiders!”
Up Next: The Raiders will return to the mats next weekend Friday, January 21 and Saturday, January 22 when they travel to Marshall, Mo. for the Missouri Valley Invite.
