CENTERVILLE, IA – After a third-straight impressive conference victory to kick off their inaugural season, many Indian Hills wrestling followers are wondering…

When will the new rankings be out?

A second-straight dominating win over a ranked opponent came on Wednesday night in Centerville as the No. 20-rated Warriors dispatched of No. 13-ranked Iowa Lakes, 39-12.  This comes on the heels of a 27-15 road win over No. 6 Iowa Central, and suddenly Indian Hills has turned into a juggernaut to be reckoned with in just its first year.

"Things are clicking and we've been on a roll," said IHCC head coach Cole Spree.  "Our message to the guys has been consistency and purpose.  We cannot get distracted by our success." 

Apparently the plan is working as the Warriors, who may see a new NJCAA poll as early as Friday, took home seven of nine contested matches against the Lakers at the Centerville Multipurpose Building. The IHCC wrestlers were spurned on in several matches by Spree to keep on attacking despite some reasonably comfortable advantages, resulting in two pins, two technical falls and two major decisions, allowing the Warriors to pile up team points.

"I know I told our guys to cut them loose and keep on attacking, but they've got to learn to keep stepping on the gas," Spree said.  "You can't get comfortable.  Eventually you'll find yourself in a spot that you're behind and you won't know how to handle it."

IHCC again set the tone early as freshman 125-pounder Chris Busutil was the first of what would be six straight victories for the Warriors, as the Homestead, Florida native won a tight 3-0 battle.

"It always helps when you get a fast start, and that's why we put an emphasis on having a good 125-pounder," Spree added.  "Chris is the one that gets the party started for us, and that was a huge win."

At 133 pounds, No. 8-rated Caleb Meekins began a stretch of five-straight commanding victories as each came by eight points or more, except the final one in the run, when Neal Larson put an exclamation point on the run at 165 with a first-period pin.

Meekins took at 10-2 major decision, followed by Victor Guzman's 18-3 technical fall at 141. 

"Victor is special," Spree said.  "He doesn't do anything flashy, he's just solid.  Position, position, position.  He's that type of a person.  He's going to capitalize off your mistakes." 

Destin Jones added a second-straight technical fall for the Warriors at 149 with an 18-2 drubbing of Iowa Lakes' T.J. Arnold before Eli Loyd made it 21-0 in favor of the hosts after a 20-11 major decision at 157.

"Eli's learning.  The fight is there and he's getting better," said Spree.  "I don't know if three weeks ago you would have seen him wrestle seven minutes as well as he did tonight.  There was non-stop action.  Now we made a lot of mistakes, but we'll learn from that.  We'll tighten up our game."

Larson's pin increased the bulge to 27-0 right after the intermission and the team victory was secured.  The night wasn't without its disappointments, however, as redshirt sophomore Justin Grant, ranked No. 5 at 174 was upset by the Lakers' Massoma Endene with a pin in just 45 seconds. 

"That was really Justin's first competition of the year, and he tried to force something, and you can't do that," Spree said.  "In a big-time match you have to go out there with the mentality that it's going to take seven minutes.  You're going to have to grind away at it.  I would have rather had this happen now then later, but it'll be a great learning lesson for him."

Deron Pulliam continued his path of destruction at 184 with a first-period win over NJCAA No. 5-ranked Logan Koedam to get the Warriors back in the win column and a commanding 33-6 advantage.

"I've said it from day one.  Deron is the best kid in the country… at any weight sometimes," Spree said.  "I've got maybe four or five kids that are like that.  If they pull the trigger they can be the best in the country."

"Deron got more offensive on top tonight, and that's something we haven't seen from him at all.  To see him go out there and do that to the No. 5 kid in the country?  Awesome."

Khris Walton received a forfeit at 197 and then Iowa Lakes' ranked heavyweight Mitchell Williamson handed IHCC one of only two losses on the night as he pinned Caleb Collins with five seconds left in the first period to bring the final tally to 39-12.

"Caleb is a good wrestler, and he's going to be even better when he starts believing in himself," Spree added.

The win moves Indian Hills to 4-0 overall and 3-0 atop the ICCAC standings, tied with Iowa Western and one match ahead of NIACC, the two remaining conference opponents for the Warriors.  Iowa Lakes falls to 2-3 and 1-3 overall.

The Warriors will be back in action tomorrow for non-league wrestling as both the men's and women's programs travel to Mount Pleasant to take on Iowa Wesleyan.  The ladies get things started at 5 p.m. with the men to follow.  A live stream is available at: https://www.iwtigers.com/liveEventVideos

INDIAN HILLS 39, IOWA LAKES 12

125 - Chris Busutil (IH) won by 3-0 decision over Karsten Johnson (IL).  (IH leads 3-0)

133 - Caleb Meekins (IH) won by 10-2 major decision over Jeremiah Boykins (IL).  (IH leads, 7-0)

141 - Victor Guzman (IH) won by 22-3 technical fall over Dontario Norwood (IL). (IH leads, 12-0)

149 - Destin Jones (IH) won by 18-2 technical fall over TJ Arnold (IL).  (IH leads, 17-0)

157 - Eli Loyd (IH) won by 19-11 major decision over Jovanni Butler (IL).  (IH leads, 21-0)

165 - Neal Larsen (IH) won by pinfall over Alex Lozano (IL), 2:46.  (IH leads, 27-0)

174 - Massoma Endene (IL) won by pinfall over Justin Grant (IH), :45.  (IH leads, 27-6)

184 - Deron Pulliam (IH) won by pinfall over Logan Koedam (IL), 1:21.  (IH leads, 33-6)

197 - Khris Walton (IH) won by forfeit.  (IH leads, 39-6)

285- Mitchell Williamson (IL) won by pinfall over Caleb Collins (IH), 2:55.  (IH wins, 39-12)