Jordan Henningsen | Staff Writer
The Buena Vista University (BVU) Wrestling Team (3-8) traveled to Dubuque this past weekend to take on the University of Dubuque (10-8) in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) Placing Dual for 5th/6th place.
The night started off when freshman Slade Stiles won a hard fought, come-from-behind victory, 10-8. He currently has 17 pins this season and is only one away from tying the single-season record at BVU.
Freshman Drake Swedlund from Sioux City won a nail-biter in the second period of sudden victory (3rd Overtime), 7-6. Swedlund battled the entire match and kept his focus even after his opponent was given a very questionable reversal on the edge of the mat late in the 2nd period. After Swedlund picked up the decision, the score of the dual after five matches, was 15-6 in favor of the Spartans.
Junior Austin Hayes then took the mat for the Beavers at 174 pounds. Hayes was one of the few Beavers on the team who wrestled opponents just recently faced at the IIAC Duals less than a month ago. Fortunately for Hayes, he was able to retaliate against his 10-6 loss against Manuel Mendoza and gain the upper hand this time around, beating Mendoza 4-2, bringing the team score to 19-9 in favor of the Spartans.
“It felt great to avenge my loss and to see all of the pain and hard work start to pay off,” Hayes said.
Senior Casey Paprocki, who recently decided to take advantage of the Medical Redshirt he was granted after undergoing shoulder surgery last season, took to the mat at 184 pounds. After a desperate move late in the match, Paprocki ended up losing a 5-0 decision after the riding time point was applied. Dubuque had secured a victory in the dual, as the team score reached 22-9.
“We both won five matches, but it proves what Coach Mizer always says, ‘Bonus points win matches. End of story.’ That proved to be what got us against the Spartans,” Paprocki said.
Senior Demetrius Heard and sophomore Gable Bonner were both able to pick up decisions for the Beavers at 197 pounds and Heavyweight divisions, respectively. The final team score for the dual ended at 22-15 in favor of the Spartans. The Beavers earned a 6th place finish in the IIAC conference for the first time in the past four years.
The Beavers fell to 3-9 on the season to bring the regular season to the end. They will resume action in two weeks on February 29th in Dubuque as they travel to compete in the Regional Tournament where they will attempt to get as many of the ten varsity wrestlers through to the National Tournament in La Crosse, Wisconsin on March 15 and 16.
Graphic by Aaron Burns
