Michelle Tjaden
The Tritons, sixth in the standings, participated in their first women’s duel in front of their home crowd. Iowa Central battled to a 24-24 tie with third-seeded Western, who broke the tie on the criteria. “This was their night to be in the spotlight,” said ICCC women’s head coach Zak Hensley. “We started kind of slow but were able to get some wins. “There were definitely some positives, and yet, plenty of things we need to work on.”
Having competed for the first time on their home turf, Hensley was pleased with what he got. “I’m very happy with the way they competed,” said Hensley, a former Triton wrestler. “We’ve been wrestling tough and fine-tuning a few things. “The Tritons picked up five wins on the night, while the Reivers picked up six.
The fans present had to adapt to a style change on the mat. The women of the NJCAA competed in a more folk-style freestyle. There are two periods of three minutes and an upper or lower position. “This is new for a lot of them,” Hensley said. “It’s the complete opposite style-wise than what they are used to. “Our athletes have been working hard, but we have a long way to go to develop.”
With Iowa Central trailing 24-21, ranked Addison Hershberger was forced to a draw with a win over Zeriah George. Since no penalty points were awarded to either team, the tiebreaker was the total of games won. Iowa Central’s number.9 Dianna Pineda fell in 2:20 Natalie Duran at 109 pounds. Bronwyn Brenneman also recorded a pin in 3:16.Second, Princess Altsisi won a 12-0 win over Callsita Waterby for the Tritons. Alexandra Byrne, eighth in Iowa Central standings, has a forfeit victory.
The Tritons will be back in action on Saturday on their trip to Crete, Nebraska for the Doane Open.
