MASON CITY, Iowa - Six Iowa Central wrestler's won District Championships en route to win the team title at the NJCAA North Central District Tournament on the NIACC campus.
Iowa Central won six of the first seven tournaments en route to scoring 166 points. Iowa Lakes placed second at 111.5, and NIACC was third at 100.5.
Jacob Colon of Iowa Central won the 125 championship by beating Andrew Clark of Ellsworth, 13-1. Colon recorded a pair of pins over Julian Valhuerdi of Itasca Community College and Andres Torres of NIACC before the championship. Lonnie Booshu of Ridgewater placed third by beating Torres, 9-3.
At 133, Brandon Wright dominated the field with two wins by technical fall and a pin. He dropped Stephen Spradlin of Iowa Western 26-8 in the finals. Wright would later be named Most Valuable Wrestler by coach's vote. Blaine Smith of Iowa Lakes placed third at that weight.
NIACC's Wismit Moinius won the 141 championship in unconventional fashion by wrestling only one match in his championship run. He won the title by injury forfeit over Ellsworth's Tyler Lashbrook. Moinius advanced past RCTC's Jered Kemp in the first round by medical forfeit, and won his only match 11-7 over Ridgewater's Mariano Portillo in the semis. Portillo finished third after winning by major decision 14-1 over Skyler Rice of Iowa Lakes.
Iowa Central won the next four championships, starting with Edwin Cooper winning the 149 crown. Cooper took the championship by 10-2 major decision over Klinton Van Heuelin of Ridgewater. Casey Williams of Itasca placed third with an 18-4 major decision over Demetrius Taylor of Ellsworth.
Michael Perez had Iowa Central's third major decision in the championship rounds with a 14-2 win over Connor Monk of Itasca at 157. Perez outscored his opponents 48-9 in his three matches. Shane Fessenmaier of Ridgewater placed third, topping Brock Storm of Iowa Lakes 10-6.
Colin Hewitt continued the Triton's run with a pin of Iowa Western's Dan Williams in 1:56. Hewitt did not give up a point in the first two rounds. Ridgewater's Tyrell Martin placed third.
Jahwon Akui finished the Tritons run at 174 with a 10-2 major decision against NIACC's Jameel Bryant. Akui outscored his opponents 39-10 during the tournament. Iowa Lakes' Thomas Moman was third in that weight with an 11-7 decision over Trevor Mahlum of Ridgewater.
The 184 championship came down to the wire, but Basil Minto gave NIACC its second individual championship with a late takedown of Iowa Central's Christian Mays. Minto won 3-1. Nick Lawrence gave Iowa Lakes another third place with a 4-2 win over Shelby Deno of RCTC.
The tournament finished with a pair of champions from Iowa Lakes. Jim Doyle won the 197 bracket with a 4-1 win over RCTC's Logan Barrett, and Matt Wyss won the 285 bracket 1-0 over Jake Minske of RCTC. Iowa Central's Kolten Kersten at 197 and Lonnie Brown at 285 both placed third.
Iowa Central's head coach Luke Moffitt was voted the Coach of the Year by the North Central District's coaches.
Most the tournament's top-five finishers will move on to the NJCAA National Championships in Rochester on February 24 and 25. Some wildcard berths will also be given out to those who did not place in the top-five.
Team Scores on 02/11/2012
1. Iowa Central Community College166
2. Iowa Lakes Community College111.5
3. North Iowa Area Community College100.5
4. Ridgewater College 82.5
5. Iowa Western Community College 81
6. RCTC 75
7. Ellsworth Community College 72
8. Itasca Community College 47
9. Minnesota West 6
