Washington ?out-duals? Trojans

WASHINGTON, Iowa ? Last year, the Washington wrestling team went winless in Southeast Conference dual meets, going 0-4 on the season.

The Demons made sure that wouldn?t happen again this year, winning Thursday?s conference-opener against rival Fairfield 49-21.

?The conference win is big,? Washington senior 152-pounder Austin Knupp said. ?Last year we went 0-4 in conference, so it?s a good way to start the year.?

Thursday?s dual meet started out at 160 pounds, and Washington freshman Brad Skubal got the Demons off to a good start with a 10-1 major decision of Fairfield?s Bryce Lunsford.

?We?ve had two home duals and both times we?ve drawn 160 out of the hat and he?s started it off for us really well,? Washington head coach Brent Van Weelden said of Skubal. ?I think he got a pin last week. It?s kind of tough for a freshman to go out there first, but he?s done a nice job.?

Washington junior Matt Grote followed with a pin of Fairfield sophomore Austin Francisco at 170 pounds, and the Demons quickly jumped ahead 10-0.

But the next four matches belonged to the Trojans (0-3, 0-1 SEC). Seventh-ranked 182-pounder Seth Davisson pinned Washington sophomore Logan Howard, and then Fairfield senior Justin Goodwin won a 1-0 decision over Washington junior Aaron Kempf at 195 pounds. Fairfield senior 220-pounder Tanner Metcalf received a forfeit, and then junior Jacob Mineart edged Washington junior Kyle Fehlberg 2-1 in triple overtime at heavyweight.

Mineart, ranked 10th at 220 pounds, bumped up to heavyweight because Alex Stoner was out with an illness. Fehlberg and Mineart both scored escapes in regulation, and after a scoreless one-minute overtime, Mineart quickly escaped to start the second overtime. Mineart then rode Fehlberg for 30 seconds to secure the 2-1 victory.

?This was actually Jacob?s first varsity match of the season, and you can tell he?s pretty rusty,? Fairfield head coach Steve Miller said. ?But he did a good job for us. He beat a tough kid there.?

Mineart?s win gave Fairfield an 18-10 lead, but Washington won seven of the final eight matches. Sophomore Fletcher Green won by forfeit at 106 pounds, and sophomore Tristan Pohren pinned Fairfield sophomore Wyatt Bruce at 113. Washington sophomore 120-pounder Jacob Green and freshman 126-pounder Tony Landstrum both received forfeits.

?We kind of had some momentum because we won some tough head-to-head matches, especially at heavyweight going into triple overtime,? Miller said. ?We had things rolling, but unfortunately we don?t have a 106-pounder, a 120-pounder or a 126-pounder. You can?t give up 18 points in forfeits and expect to be in a tight dual. We just came up here shorthanded against a very good Washington team, and they put it on us tonight.?

Washington junior 132-pounder Mitchell Hora pinned Fairfield senior Niko Carlson, but Fairfield junior Ammon Shaner came back with a 6-0 win over Demon sophomore Tanner Knupp at 138 pounds. The Demons won their final two matches when senior 145-pounder Parker Turner defeated Fairfield junior Aaron Gevock 7-0 and Austin Knupp pinned senior Aaron McConehey at 152 pounds.

Miller, who is in his first year as Fairfield?s head coach, said he knew the Demons would be tough this year.

?Washington?s got a good group of kids coming up,? he said. ?I coached the middle school team for four years down at Fairfield, and I ran into all of these kids at the middle school meets. I knew they had a tough bunch.?

Saturday, Fairfield?s varsity squad will head to Mediapolis for a tournament, while the JV team will travel to Keokuk.

Washington 49, Fairfield 21

160 ? Brad Skubal (W) major dec. Bryce Lunsford (F), 10-1. 170 ? Matt Grote (W) pinned Austin Francisco (F), 1:00. 182 ? Seth Davisson (F) pinned Logan Howard (W), 2:34. 195 ? Justin Goodwin (F) dec. Aaron Kempf (W), 1-0. 220 ? Tanner Metcalf (F) won by forfeit. 285 ? Jacob Mineart (F) dec. Kyle Fehlberg (W), 2-1 in 3OT. 106 ? Fletcher Green (W) won by forfeit. 113 ? Tristan Pohren (W) pinned Wyatt Bruce (F), 2:36. 120 ? Jacob Green (W) won by forfeit. 126 ? Tony Landstrum (W) won by forfeit. 132 ? Mitchell Hora (W) pinned Niko Carlson (F), 3:03. 138 ? Ammon Shaner (F) dec. Tanner Knupp (W), 6-0. 145 ? Parker Turner (W) dec. Aaron Gevock (F), 7-0. 152 ? Austin Knupp (W) pinned Aaron McConehey (F), 1:28.

JV matches

126 ? Dakota Nye (F) pinned Jack Guengerich (W), 3:38. 170 ? Randy Pugh (F) dec. Luke Brown (W), 5-3. 145 ? Diego Ramirez (W) pinned Jesse McCabe (F),

3:48. 152 ? Austin Latcham (W) pinned Justin Leonard (F), 0:58. 152 ? Colton Stacy (F) dec. Colton Twinam (W), 8-4. 195 ? Kyle Collier (W) pinned Mason Tvrs (F), 3:04. 138 ? Alex Gonzalez (W) pinned Dakota Nye (F), 0:40. 170 ? Randy Pugh (F) pinned Brett Brinning (W), 5:10. 195 ? Brett Scott (F) dec. Kyle Collier (W), 6-2.