Statesmen Tripped Up in Home Opener

Oskaloosa--The William Penn men's wrestling team won four matches with bonus points, but it was not enough to get past #20 Baker in a 24-22 Heart of America Athletic Conference dual meet loss Tuesday.

WPU (1-2, 1-2 Heart) came up just short on an evening that witnessed only one bout not end in a major decision, technical fall, or fall.

The navy and gold fell behind 4-0 to the Wildcats (1-0, 1-0 Heart) after 125 pounds, but 133-pounder Lane Scorpil (So., Columbus Junction, Iowa, Industrial Technology) answered back by pinning Jake Barnes with only six seconds left in the second period.

BU recaptured the advantage with back-to-back wins at 141 and 149 pounds before a pair of hammers walked onto the mat in the form of Kael Bunce (Sr., Stockbridge, Mich., Mechanical Engineering) and Cameron Hargrove (Jr., Bolingbrook, Ill., Sports Management) for two technical falls.

Bunce rolled over Dallas Koelzer 17-2 at 157 pounds, while Hargrove scored the most points of any individual Tuesday by defeating Jackob Stovall 21-5.

The victories lifted the hosts to a 16-11 edge, but unfortunately it would not last as Baker collected wins at the next three weight classes to lock down the team victory.

Isaac Boucher (Jr., Kalona, Iowa, Nursing) did, however, give the home crew, something to smile about on the way out as he pinned Elijah Eslinger in 32 seconds at heavyweight.

"We came up short tonight to a tough Baker team that was prepared," Head Coach Aron Scott said.  "We are not satisfied with our performance or fight in some of our matches, and our guys are tough and will make the necessary adjustments for our next dual.  With that said, I am very proud of Lane, Kael, Cam, and Isaac.  They wrestled really well and got as many bonus points as they could for the team.  Bonus points are crucial in every dual and those guys did their part tonight."

Next Up: William Penn travels to Fayette, Mo. Friday to face Central Methodist in a Heart dual meet at 7 p.m.

125--Saoul Prado (B) won by major decision over Brendan Nantz, 10-1 (0-4)
133--Lane Scorpil (W) won by fall over Jake Barnes, 4:54 (6-4)
141--Joseph Triscornia (B) won by major decision over Sabri Sino, 11-1 (6-8)
149--Nikolas Slatoff (B) won by decision over Quinten Aney, 8-1 (6-11)
157--Kael Bunce (W) won by technical fall over Dallas Koelzer, 17-2 (11-11)
165--Cameron Hargrove (W) won by technical fall over Jakob Stovall, 21-5 (16-11)
174--Joey Hancock (B) won by major decision over Ryan Van Donselaar, 9-1 (16-15)
184--Brett Bober (B) won by major decision over Branson Bottorff, 12-4 (16-19)
197--Kevin Lund (B) won by technical fall over Jesse Schwery, 17-1 (16-24)
285--Isaac Boucher (W) won by fall over Elijah Eslinger, 0:32 (22-24)