COUNCIL BLUFFS — The outcome lacked drama. But the event wasn't short on excitement.
Iowa Western Community College topped No. 16 Iowa Lakes 24-19 Sunday at Kanesville Arena in the first home competition for the Reiver wrestling program. The difference in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference dual was the Lakers' inability to fill two weight classes.
Lakes wrestled open at 125 and 149 pounds, giving Iowa Western 12 team points in the final four classes of the competition. The Reivers wrapped up their dual season at 2-1, with their only loss coming at top-ranked Iowa Central, despite winning only three of their eight matches.
"We saw when they wrestled Iowa Central on Friday that there was a possibility of them being open at one weight but not two," Iowa Western coach Josh Watts said. "It is what it is."
The Reivers got decisions from their top two wrestlers so far this season, Stephen Spradlin (133 pounds) and Dan Williams (165), and also received a boost from a newcomer to their lineup. Although it turned out that Iowa Western didn't need them, it got bonus points when freshman transfer Beau Muehling scored a third-period fall in his match at 197.
The former state medalist from Lincoln Southwest just became eligible for competition last week at the Hastings Open. Muehling began his collegiate athletic career as a football player at Peru State. He redshirted in 2010 before joining Iowa Western last summer.
"I hadn't wrestled for a whole year," he said. "I had to relearn a bunch because I had forgotten a bunch of stuff. But it helped out too because I forgot a bunch of my bad stuff."
Muehling led his match with Riley Edwards 10-6 with time winding down. He got the fall with 19 seconds remaining to pull the Reivers to within four, 13-9.
Tenth-ranked Matt Wyss pushed the Iowa Lakes lead to 16-9 with a 7-3 win over Iowa Western football player Jordan Heiderman at 285 pounds before the scoring for the open weights kicked in.
Spadlin's 7-2 victory over Blaine Smith put the Reivers over the top.
"That's what we wanted," Watt said. "We wanted him to be up when the dual meet was at its crucial point. It worked out for us. He's having a great season."
Spradlin, from Camden County, Ga., has been Iowa Western's most decorated wrestler to date. He's ranked 11th at 133 and has finished first and second in a pair of open tournaments.
The best match of the dual came at 184, where Aaron Satterwhite nearly upset seventh-ranked Nick Lawrence. The Reiver freshman took a 10-9 lead on a reversal with 15 seconds remaining, but he couldn't hold on. Lawrence tied the score with an escape five seconds later then won the match 11-10 with a bonus point for riding time.
Individual results: 157 pounds: Travis Johnson, IL, pinned Chase Dunalp, 5:38. 165: Dan Williams, IW, dec. Kolby Baier, 8-3. 174: Thomas Moman, IL, major dec. Isaac Olson, 13-2. 184: Nick Lawrence, IL, dec. Aaron Satterwhite, 11-10. 197: Beau Muehling, IW, pinned Riley Edwards, 6:41. 285: Matt Wyss, IL, dec. Jordan Heiderman, 7-3. 125: Tyler Espitia, IW, open. 133: Stephen Spradlin, IW, dec. Blaine Smith, 7-2. 141: Skyler Rice, IL, dec. Kevin Olson, 5-1. 149: Ben Lieben, IW, open.
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