Luther’s experience triumphs Central in wrestling defeat
Central College
PELLA— An experienced Norse lineup proved the difference as the Central College wrestling team fell 28-9 to Luther Thursday.
Upperclassmen, including three seniors, earned five of Luther’s seven wins Thursday. The Dutch were close in nearly every match, losing four matches by less than four points. A pair of pins late in the match increased Luther’s margin of victory, but the score was not indicative of the team’s effort according to coach Eric Van Kley.
“Overall I thought we competed well. I thought we did a lot of positive things tonight. Luther was just a little bit more experienced team. I give them a lot of credit, they’ve got a very tough team. There were some critical positions that we had to win tonight and we didn’t get the job done. That’s something we’ve got to learn from.”
Two of Central’s three ranked wrestlers earned decisions for the Dutch. Daniel Page (senior, Tumwater, Wash.) and Matt Seabold (sophomore, Burlington) each recorded their 19th win of the season. Seventh-ranked Page earned a 5-1 decision at 125 pounds while 10th-ranked Seabold took a 4-2 decision at 197 pounds.
Central is still without its third and final ranked wrestler. Aaron Anderson (junior, Clarion, Iowa, Clarion-Goldfield HS), ranked eighth at 133 pounds, hasn’t wrestled since December 12 because of injury. Fellow junior A.J. Pestano (Torrance, Calif.) has continued to fill in well, despite dropping a 6-4 decision to fifth-ranked Evan Obert of Luther Thursday.
“I can’t ask for any more out of A.J. Pestano,” Van Kley said. “He’s competing well, there’s some things that we’ve got to improve on. But as far as his effort, it was very strong tonight.”
The Dutch head to Indianola to face Simpson next Thursday for their final Iowa Conference dual of the season. Central has beaten Simpson six consecutive times, including twice last season.
“Next week is as big of a dual as we’ve had all year,” Van Kley said. “Simpson has a much improved team, we’re going to be as ready for them as we’ve been ready for anybody all year. We’re going to be ready to go, it’s going to be a battle.”
