Tritons of Iowa Central claim seventh NJCAA Wrestling title

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DES MOINES, IOWA – Down 12 points heading into the final day of competition, the Iowa Central wrestling team surged in the later rounds of the 2015 NJCAA Wrestling Championship to claim the program's seventh national title Saturday night at the Jacobsen Exhibition Center. The Tritons outlasted top-ranked Clackamas (Ore.) in the final team standings by 27 points (158.5 to 131.5), securing the first national championship for Iowa Central since 2009.

After losing four consecutive matches in the opening round on Friday, Triton wrestlers regrouped and finished 40-7 for the tournament including three victories in the finals. Jason Alfau took home the title in the 141 pound division, defeating Jake Martin of North Iowa Area by a 5-2 decision. Tyler Hoffman scored a pin over Matt Hurford of Ellsworth (Iowa) in 5:33 to claim the 184 pound title. In the 197 pound division, Patrick Downey handled Ihoghama Odighizuwa of Clackamas with a 9-5 decision. 

In addition to three individual titles, Iowa Central had two third place showings (Alex DelaCruz, 125# | Richie Lewis, 157# | Chris Ballard, HWT ) and two fifth-place finishers (Teddie Harvey, 149# | Ryan Niven, 165#).

Iowa colleges dominated the podium at this year's tournament. Winning titles for the second year in a row were Nosomy Pozo (149#) and Yoanse Mejias (157#) of North Iowa Area as well as Alfredo Rodriguez (125#) of Iowa Lakes.

North Iowa Area finished third in the team standings with 113 points, followed by North Idaho with 109 and 2014 champions Northeastern Oklahoma A&M with 95.5.