Lowy, Miranda win three in Florida for Central wrestlers
Central College
FORT MYERS, FLA. — Central College 197-pounder Tyler Lowy (Phoenix, Ariz., Thunderbird HS) and 285-pounder Jaime Miranda (freshman, Aberdeen, Wash.) both posted 3-0 marks but the Dutch wrestlers dropped two of three matches at the Gulf Coast Duals Saturday.
North Central (Ill.) tripped the Dutch 29-13 and No. 27-ranked Alma College (Mich.) was a 30-15 winner before Central (3-4) outdueled NAIA Wheeling Jesuit (W. Va.) 25-17.
Lowy was a 14-3 victor over Casey Greenberg of North Central, edged Trevor Maresh of Alma 4-3 and then delivered a pivotal fall over Max Lacey of Wheeling Jesuit in 1:51.
“That was a huge pin for us,” coach Eric Van Kley said. “We were down 17-16 going into the last two weights and that got us the lead, then Jaime (Miranda) pulled out a tight match to get the win.”
Miranda won by forfeit against North Central, pinned Alma’s Andrew Ackerman in 1:03 and blanked Wheeling Jesuit’s Logan Bauman, 3-0.
But Van Kley was disappointed in his squad’s overall showing in the first two matches.
“We knew coming down here that we would battle three really good teams,” he said. “We expected every dual to be competitive and it was. But that said, we were really, really flat in the morning. We just didn’t compete well in those first two matches.”
Central had a break after the Alma match, and gave a more energized performance against what Van Kley viewed as a strong Wheeling Jesuit team–the Cardinals toppled North Central earlier, 25-18.
“I was proud to see the guys respond in the afternoon,” he said. “They gave an outstanding effort. It was nice to finish strong and bounce back after a couple of tough matches.”
Van Kley cited freshman Zach Moss (Winterset) for delivering a pivotal 4-2 win at 165 pounds.
“He really gave a great effort,” he said. “That got us a big win in a swing match and gave us some momentum.”
The matches were wrestled at Riverdale High School in Fort Myers. Central freshman Edwin Etienne (Lehigh Acres, Fla.) graduated from Riverdale last spring. Etienne, who also played for the Dutch football squad, will compete at 285 pounds in the spring semester.
Central has a four-week layoff, returning to action Jan. 11 in the Central Invitational. Van Kley said the Dutch need to use the time wisely.
“The biggest thing is the guys need to get some rest, mentally and physically,” he said. “We need to reload and get ready for a big second half of the season. We’re young in a lot of spots. We’ve got to keep working hard and keep getting better.”
