Tritons win season opener
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The Iowa Central men's wrestling team gave an early-season look at its progress here Tuesday night.
The Tritons reeled off wins in the first seven matches, scoring a 36-12 decision over Iowa Lakes inside Hodges Fieldhouse.
In those seven victories, Iowa Central (1-0 overall, 1-0 in ICCAC) picked up bonus points at 125 pounds, 141, 149, 157, 165 and 174, as they recorded 19 takedowns on the night.
JJ Jackson opened things with a flurry, as the freshman from Baltimore earned a first period technical fall. Caleb Gauthier, another newcomer, scored a decision win, 5-0, at 133 pounds.
Zavian Geronimo, DJ Bramman, Chancery Deane and Jacob Marshall all added falls to the scoreboard around a major decision by Will Brooks.
"Plenty to work on," ICCC head coach Luke Moffitt said. "But it's only November, and early, early November at that. These kids have been training hard and putting in the time, so it was nice to give them a chance to compete in front of a home crowd here.
"But we'll get right back to work and continue looking to not only improve, but build depth at each weight."
Geronimo, Bramman, Deane and Marshall are all sophomores for Moffitt, providing key leadership to a young squad. Deane was an All-American a year ago, placing eighth at nationals.
Fellow returning All-Americans Muhammad Bilal and Zaman Anwar were not in the lineup.
Iowa Lakes (0-1, 0-1) picked up wins in the final three matches, as Yesiel Gonzalez topped Joe Pestopneck, Damion Spears bested Owen Barton and Jerry Chuol topped former South Central Calhoun state medalist Jace Pedersen. Both Pestopneck and Barton lost by decision.
"These are all valuable learning moments for them," Moffitt said. "From what they did earlier in the day to get ready, to how they prepared for the match, to how they executed."
The Tritons head to events this Saturday in Rochester, Minn. and West Des Moines. They are not back home again until December 4 when they host Northwest Wyoming.