Eureka Competes in Augustana Fred Johnson Duals
ROCK ISLAND, IL. – On Sunday, the Eureka wrestling team travelled to Rock Island to participate in the Fred Johnson Duals. The men's team faced Triton, Quincy, and Westminster (MO.).
Top 5 NJCAA Triton defeated the Red Devils 42-4. Mikie Hartnett(Morton, Ill./Morton) was the only Red Devil to score, winning by decision and adding 4 to Eureka's tally.
The Red Devil men then put up a strong performance against Westminster, winning by a decisive score of 44-12. Trevor Hedges won by fall over Westminster's Isaac Gawronski. Gaige Owens defeated Nate Noda by technical fall. Mikie Hartnett won by decision and added 3 points to the Red Devils' total, making it 20-6. Anthony Sartori won by fall, and Tyren Moore(Chicago, Ill./Quincy) also picked up 6 points for Eureka. Culp and Creasy again finished strong, both winning by fall and tacking on the final 12 points for EC.
Eureka toppled D2 Quincy to take 3rd place overall, winning 28-20. Trevor Hedges (Canton, Ill./Canton) won by fall, and Gaige Owens (Marion, Ill./Marion) won by decision to give Eureka a 10-6 advantage. Anthony Sartori (Channahon, Ill./Minooka) won by fall to go up 16-9. Thomas Culp (Quincy, Ill. / Quincy) and Jackson Creasy (Lake of the Ozarks, Mo./Osage) would finish the dual out strong for Eureka, both winning by fall and tacking an additional 12 points on for the maroon and gold.
The men move to 2-1 (1-0) on the year. Coach Biehl commented: "We started off slow but then woke up and wrestled lights out the rest of the day. It's tough to win when you give up forfeits, but the men found a way and competed great! This gives us the boost we need as we start the second half of our season."
The Eureka women's team took on Quincy, the University of Jamestown (N.D.), and Westminster (MO.).
The Eureka women took down the University of Jamestown, winning 20-19. Natallie Tobuk won by technical fall over Jamestown's Samantha Weeks. Kiza Williams (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) won by fall to add 5 more points for the Red Devils. Jaylah Dalton (Pekin, Ill./Pekin) won by forfeit. And, in the final matchup, Madison Farris won by fall to add 5 points to Eureka's score and give the Red Devils the victory.
Eureka then had a large win over Westminster (Mo.), defeating them by a score of 26-6. Gada Bryant, Kyley Bair (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods), Mckenzie Cook, and Madison Farris all won by forfeit. Tobuk won her third match of the day, defeating Westminster's Lila Eckert by technical fall.
Quincy defeated the Red Devils in the finals, winning 32-16. Gada Bryant (Westville, Ill. / Westville) won by forfeit. Natallie Tobuk (Nome, Alaska/Nome-Beltz) won by technical fall over Quincy's Trinity Pendergrass. Mckenzie Cook (Homer, Alaska) also won by technical fall to add to the Red Devil's score. In the final matchup, Eureka freshman Madison Farris(Chatsworth,Ill./Rifle) won by decision over Jayla Jones.
"I am very proud of the way the women wrestled. The team went out and wrestled hard and it paid off," Coach Biehl said about the women placing 2nd overall. "They are off to a great start this year and I'm excited to see how we continue." With this weekend's results, the women move to 5-5 (3-0) on the year.
The Eureka wrestling teams will next travel to Mount Vernon, Iowa on Saturday for the Mike Duroe Invitational.