GRINNELL — It was hard to tell if it was just rust from the winter break or a bad habit from earlier in the season showing itself again, but the Newton wrestling team was able to battle back from a slow start Thursday night.

After a 51-21 loss to Grinnell in their first match since Dec. 18, the Cardinals recovered with a 42-39, come-from-behind victory over West Marshall to earn a 1-1 split at a double dual in Grinnell.

“For the most part, we wrestled hard,” Newton coach Bill Reed said. “It’s all fixable things. I think the guys that were able to be at all the practices over break are sitting fine, and it showed for some of the guys that missed practices.”