Dutch place seven wrestlers in regular season finale
Central College
DUBUQUE — Seven Central College wrestlers were placewinners Saturday in the final tournament of the regular season at the Jim Fox Invitational.
Wrapping up the regular season Saturday in Dubuque was a chance to not only rest some starters, but also to get some reserves some mat time. Seven wrestlers finished in the top four of their weight classes in the last regular season action before the NCAA Division III Central Regional in two weeks.
“It was great to see a lot of younger guys get one more opportunity to compete,” Coach Eric Van Kley said. “I’ve been very proud of their efforts all year. I think several of them were able to finish with their best effort of the year in their last competition.”
A pair of underclassmen earned runner-up finishes in their final action of the season.
Gabe Cobb (freshman, Gilbert, Ariz., Williams Field HS) finished second at 133 pounds and Dustin Thiebault (sophomore, Billerica, Mass., Shawsheen Tech HS) took runner-up at 184 pounds. Both Cobb and Thiebault went 2-1 on the day.
“Both of them did a really nice job throughout the day of being offensive,” Van Kley said. “Those are two guys who haven’t had a lot of opportunities to get in our duals, but they have been working hard in the practice room competing against some of our older guys. It was great to see both of those guys in the final.”
With Wartburg’s victory over Loras on Friday night, Central finishes the regular season tied with Dubuque and Loras for fourth place, Central’s best league finish since finishing third in 1995.
The attention now turns to the NCAA Division III Central Regional on February 28 in Dubuque. Van Kley’s team has two weeks to prepare for the regional meet that serves as the qualifier to compete at the NCAA Division III National Championships in Hershey, Pennsylvania on March 13 and 14.
“Our goal is to have the best two weeks of practice that we’ve had all year,” Van Kley said. “Our guys know that it’s going to be a dog fight at regionals and they’re excited for that. They look at the pressure of regionals as privilege. That’s something that we are excited about it. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
