Men's Wrestling | 2/7/2020 10:14:00 PM

STORM LAKE, Iowa (February 7, 2020) - In what was a tightly contested battle throughout the entire dual on Friday night, the Buena Vista wrestling team came up just short in its bid for the first conference win of the year, falling at home to Simpson College, 24-16, inside of the Grand Ballroom.

Six of the 10 matches overall were decided by two points or less.  Sophomore Byron Fleming got things started for the Beavers at 125 pounds as he hung on in the end for a 4-3 decision.  Freshman Axel Hernandez came up just short, 3-1, at 133 as the Storm also picked up the first of their two pins on the night to take a 9-3 lead.

Senior Collin Stilson, who was one of three seniors recognized prior to the dual, got those points right back for the Beavers as he locked up a late cradle in the second period and recorded a pin with just one second left on the clock to even the team score at 9-9.  Stilson's now 20-8 on the year and improves to 5-1 in A-R-C duals.

Simpson (3-11, 1-6 A-R-C) then picked up three straight wins, including two by just a single point, as the Storm opened up a 21-9 advantage.

BVU didn't go away quietly, getting a 12-4 major decision from freshman Diego Escarcega at 184 pounds followed by a thrilling 9-7 victory from junior Don Phillips II at 197 pounds.  Senior Nick Mitchell nearly made it three wins in a row for BVU to close out the match, but came up short, 3-1, in overtime.

Buena Vista is now 3-8 overall (0-7 A-R-C) and will wrap up the regular season next Friday night when the team hosts No. 19 Luther College at 7 p.m. inside Siebens Fieldhouse.