Luke Moffitt has been impressed with the conditioning of his wrestlers through the early stages of the season.
That was on full display here Tuesday night as No. 10 Iowa Central pinned seventh-ranked North Iowa Area inside Hodges Fieldhouse, 36-6.
The Tritons (1-1 overall, 1-1 in ICCAC) won eight matches, recording bonus points in five of those victories.
"Sometimes it's hard to tell just where you are when you only see them inside the training room," Moffitt said. "But at the opens and our dual with Indian Hills, I've been pleased with our motors. These kids go from the whistle to the end of the match each time out.
"(Tuesday) that was one area I was really happy about."
Lane Cowell, a former Fort Dodge Senior High standout, earned a forfeit to get the ball rolling for Iowa Central at 125 pounds. Hayden Halter followed with a technical fall in the first period at 133 and Aidan Harris pumped up to 141 to claim a 6-5 decision over Connor Wiemann.
"That was a big win for Aidan," Moffitt said. "He was undersized, weighing in at 133, but he showed his abilities on the mat. And Hayden just completely dominated.
NIACC (0-2, 0-2) picked up a win at 149 from Brody Hawtry before Iowa Central reeled off four consecutive wins to secure the dual. Nolan Miller-Johnston was awarded an injury default in a match he was leading, former Dodger Kody Cook scored a decision, Jesus Gutierrez topped Cale Luthens, 5-0, and Aiden Carr secured a major decision.
Jose Valdez, ranked third for the Trojans at 197 pounds, just escaped the upset bid of Trevion Sample, 5-4. Heavyweight Jorden Pryor, a returning finalist for the Tritons, finished off the meet with a first period pin.
"There were a few swing-matches there in the middle that I wasn't sure of," Moffitt said. "But they went our way. Those kids really wrestled well, especially Jesus. Luthens is a high school All-American and he controlled that entire match against him, especially late.
"We've got a long way to go, but this was a good dual and a great effort from the guys that wrestled."
Iowa Central returns to the mats this Saturday when they compete in Kearney, Neb. at the UNK Open.
-By Dana Becker
IOWA CENTRAL 36, NORTH IOWA AREA 6
125 - Lane Cowell, Iowa Central won by forfeit; 133 - Hayden Halter, Iowa Central tech. fall Gabe Rolon, 16-1 (2:26); 141 - Aidan Harris, Iowa Central dec. Connor Wiemann, 6-5; 149 - Brody Hawtry, NIACC dec. Justice Hefley, 9-6; 157 - Nolan Miller-Johnston, Iowa Central won by injury def. over Curtis Brock; 165 - Kody Cook, Iowa Central def. Ryan Van Donselaar, 8-1; 174 - Jesus Gutierrez, Iowa Central dec. Cale Luthens, 5-0; 184 - Aidan Carr, Iowa Central major dec. Drew Fox, 8-0; 197 - Jose Valdez, NIACC dec. Trevion Sample, 5-4; 285 - Jorden Pryor, Iowa Central pinned Jaylin Smith, 1:16.