COUNCIL BLUFFS - The Iowa Central wrestling team set the tone for another run at a national title here Wednesday morning.
The Tritons went 8-2 in the first round of the NJCAA Championships from inside the Mid-America Center, scoring 22.5 points. Iowa Central is second behind Clackamas after the opening session.
Yoseph Yilma, Bret Minor, Phil Smith Jr., Andrew Gamble, Keaton Geerts, Jose Rodriguez, Hugo Harp and Jorden Pryor all advanced to the round of 16 in their respective weight classes for the Tritons while Aidan Harris and Jesus Gutierrez suffered losses and will compete in the consolations.
Yilma scored a fall over Cameron Haslem of St. Clair County, pinning him in 3:21. He will face fourth-ranked Caleb Meekins from Indian Hills in the round of 16 at 133 pounds.
Minor locked up a major decision over Brady Villa from Garrett at 141, advancing to take on Brody Kemper from Mott.
Smith needed just 29 seconds before putting Joe Carpenter from Mott away, as the third-seeded freshman moved into the round of 16 at 149 and a date with Morgan Potts of Neosho.
Gamble, ranked sixth, pinned Noah Wusstig from Southwestern Oregon in 4:04. The returning national qualifier faces Triton's Cole Watkins next at 157. Geerts secured a technical fall in 3:25 over Kody Hahn from Colby, moving to a round of 16 matchup with eighth-ranked Julian Jimenez from Muskegon.
Rodriguez, the top-seed at 174 pounds and a returning All-American, pinned Muskegon's Glen Kuharevicz in 5:28. He will face Southwestern Oregon's Jaycen Crissostomo next.
At 197 pounds, Harp pinned Lance Wagner from Minnesota West in 1:29. He faces Kayleb Venema from Muskegon for a spot in the quarters. Heavyweight Jorden Pryor, ranked fifth, pinned Cooper Hise of Southwestern Oregon in just 1:52, advancing to face eighth-ranked Wyatt Kearn of Western Wyoming.
Harris dropped his first match at 125 pounds, falling by pin to Dalen Moore of Northeastern Oklahoma A&M. He will face Skyler Hunt from Northwest Kansas Tech in the consolation round of 16. Jesus Gutierrez suffered a 9-5 decision loss to Steve Liebler of Niagara County and meets Dean Elder of Henry Ford at 184.
Second round preliminaries along with the first and second rounds of consolations take place this afternoon with the championship quarterfinals, third round consolation and fourth round consolations beginning at 6:15 p.m.
-By Dana Becker