Demons throw out Bloodhounds

Much like their season so far, not much went wrong for the Washington wrestling team on Thursday night.

The Demons didn?t leave much doubt why they were competing for their third-straight Southeast Iowa Conference title in their match against Fort Madison which saw Washington cruise to a 50-9 victory.

The dual win improves Washington to 3-0 in conference duals (18-0 overall), and guarantees at least a share of the conference crown.

Washington will go for 4-0 and the outright conference title with a dual at Mt. Pleasant next Thursday night.

?Our main thing was to come out of break picking up where we left off,? Washington head coach Brent Van Weelden said. ?I think we did that for the most part. There are some glaring things we need to work on, but I?m really proud of the way we came out.?

The tone for the dual was set quickly, as Washington freshman Tristan Westphal-Edwards (160 pounds) picked up a pin fall over Jace Prado at 2:36 to start Washington off with six points.

Bryce Rickey (170 pounds) followed that up with a 3-2 decision victory, which saw him pick up an escape point with less than a second remaining for the win, while Karlton Skubal (182 pounds), Tanner Murphy (195 pounds) and Collin Murphy (220 pounds) also picked up decision victories.

?(Collin and Tanner Murphy) are probably the two I?m the most proud of,? Van Weelden said. ?Tanner wrestled a tough kid in a toss-up match, and honestly, Collin on paper was probably the underdog in that match. Those guys are getting better and I?m proud of the way they wrestled.?

Fort Madison picked up its first match victory of the night at 285 pounds, as Trenton Wellendorf edged out a 1-0 decision over Mitchell Huisenga.

Garrett Ikerd (106 pounds) notched a win by forfeit, while Walker Ikerd (113 pounds) picked up an 8-3 decision to right the ship for the Demons.

Fort Madison?s Harlan Steffensmeier picked up a win by fall over David Hora at 120 pounds, but Washington quickly regained control of the matches.

Andrew Waite (126 pounds) picked up a win by fall in 1:45, before Kyle Anderson (132 pounds) earned an 8-1 decision.

Austin Hazelett picked up a technical fall (16-0) in 3:15 at 138 pounds before Michael Ellingson claimed a win by forfeit and Trey Van Weelden capped off the night with a 4-1 decision at 152 pounds.

?We need to get the takedowns,? Brent Van Weelden said. ?We did that tonight, and that?s one thing we focus on a lot. We are working on riding, because we are too loose on top. We need to get a good solid ride before we turn them, so we?ll work on that. They haven?t competed for three weeks, and we won all the close matches but one. Our shape is where it needs to be.?

As the Demons finished their first match of a busy opening stretch to the 2016 season (which will see them wrestle five of 10 days), they turn their attention to a Saturday tournament at Highland, which will feature Columbus and South Tama.

?Saturday will be (a measuring stick) for where guys are individually,? Van Weelden said. ?As a team, we should be right at the top. I don?t know if we?ll win it, but we?ll be right there. We?ll see how many guys can get to the finals, and we want people to win their final match of the day.?

The tournament at Highland is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m.