Iowa Wesleyan’s Boucher, Ward get 2nd at Luther Hill Invitational

INDIANOLA — The Iowa Wesleyan men’s wrestling team kicked off the 2022-23 season with a road trip to Indianola for the Luther Hill Invitational on Saturday, and the Tigers brought back a couple of second-place finishes in the process.

Brent Ward, a 157-pounder, and Isaac Boucher, a 285-pounder both took silver on the day to lead the Tiger charge.

Ward won two matches after receiving an opening round bye, defeating Iowa Western’s Fabian Padilla in an 11-9 thriller, and then nipping Grand View’s Jovon Mitchell 8-6 via sudden victory. Ward fell in the championship match against Easton Larson, 8-4.

Boucher had three wins on the day, all by pinfall. He pinned former Mt. Pleasant prep Jaden Davis in 6 minutes, 24 seconds to win in the first round. He followed that with a pinfall against Gavin Girty of Iowa Western in 1:24, and made the finals with a pin in 2:02 against Indian Hills’ Treyshawn white.

Boucher was pinned in the finals by David Toese of Graceland University, falling in 1:06.

Former Columbus standout Lane Scorpil had a strong start to his collegiate career, placing fourth in the 125-pound bracket. Scorpil went 3-2 on the day.

After falling in the quarterfinals, Scorpil rattled off three-straight wins in the consolation bracket. He won his first match via a 12-6 decision, made it two in a row with a pin (5:48) in the next round, and advanced to the third place match with a 6-3 decision in the consolation semifinals.

Scorpil was done in by Grand View’s Cevion Severado in the third-place match. He fell 10-9.

Other place-winners included Travis Hodges and Austin Abitua, each of which placed sixth. Hodges was sixth in the 133-pound bracket, and Abitua was sixth at 149.

Non-placewinners for the Tigers were Brendan Ferenchik (133), Adin Garay (165), Jesus Diaz (165) and Elias Cordero (197).

In the freshman/sophomore bracket, former Mt. Pleasant prep Carson Coleman was 1-2 at 141 pounds. Will Weidman went 0-2 in the same bracket.