By: Dana Becker
Messenger Sports Staff
For the seventh time under Luke Moffitt, the Iowa Central wrestling team claimed the national duals title.
This one, though, might have been the most surprising.
Minus a high national ranking, Iowa Central ran through the field in pool play before doing the same here Saturday in the championship bracket.
The Tritons topped Northeastern, 38-6, before getting past Carl Albert State in the semifinals, 25-16. In the finals, they completely dominated Triton, 31-9, for their first duals crown in 11 years.
"We've really been working to put together our best lineup, and I think we did that," Moffitt said. "The kids just wrestled great. We had some close matches that turned into bonus points for us with late pins and that really made the final scores of some of those duals much different."
Lane Cowell, a former Fort Dodge Senior High standout, was the starter at 125 pounds and finished 5-1 overall, while his brother, Brooks, had a pair of victories.
"The Cowell brothers gave us a great 1-2 punch right off the bat," Moffitt said. "Lane cut down to 125 and Brooks got to 133. It was a really good weekend for them both."
Matt Sarbo finished the event a perfect 6-0 with five wins that earned him bonus points. Andrew Gamble, a returning national qualifier, put together a 6-0 mark, while Caleb Nadig went 5-1.
Nathan Napolitano, Phil Smith Jr. and Quintin Saunders had four wins. Former Humboldt standout Colten Goodell, Hugo Harp and Colten McElliott each won two matches.
In the championship dual with Triton, Nadig, Sarbo, Napolitano, Gamble, Smith, Saunders and Harp all scored wins, with Nadig, Napolitano and Smith earning falls. Sarbo added bonus points with a major decision.
The seven national dual titles matches the seven national championships captured by Iowa Central under Moffitt.
"It's definitely been a while, so this feels nice," Moffitt said. "We've won two traditional titles since our last duals crown."
The Tritons return home to host Iowa Lakes on Wednesday inside Hodges Fieldhouse.