Central takes two victories at Iowa Conference Duals
Central College
PELLA— A dramatic come from behind victory over the University of Dubuque was the highlight of Saturday’s Iowa Conference Duals for the Central College wrestling team as the Dutch picked up two crucial conference wins.
Central also rolled to a 44-9 victory over Buena Vista in the first match of the day before succumbing to No. 1 Wartburg 44-0 in the finale.
“We talk over and over again about the Iowa Conference being the toughest conference in the country and today showed that.” Coach Eric Van Kley said. “To go 2-1 today and hopefully get ourselves in the top half of the conference is a step in the right direction.”
At the halfway point in the match, Central (7-2, 3-2, Iowa Conference) found itself in a 15-3 hole. Winning four of the last five matches propelled the Dutch to a 22-18 victory. It’s the first victory in the series against the Spartans since Jan. 24, 2004.
“That wasn’t the way we planned it,” Van Kley said. “We normally come out of the chutes pretty quickly at the lighter weights. Our guys are extremely resilient. To get the win against a team haven’t beaten in over a decade is huge for us.”
A.J. McBroom (junior, Runnells, Iowa, Southeast Polk HS) and Matt Seabold (senior, Burlington) picked up pins at 184 and 197 pounds, respectively to take the lead back.
“It’s one thing to know that you’ve got to get a win,” Van Kley said. “It’s another thing to know you’ve got to get the win and pick up bonus points. Both of them did a tremendous of taking care of business.”
With victories in the Buena Vista and Dubuque matches, Ryan Vandall (junior, Phoenix, Ariz., Moon Valley HS) moved his record to 22-2 on the season.
“He’s had a special season,” Van Kley said. “To move up from 149 pounds to 165 pounds and have the season that he’s having shows his work ethic and perseverance. Losing against Wartburg will help him to keep working hard and knowing he needs to get better.”
Central will break from conference action to travel to Oskaloosa for a non-conference match against William Penn on Thursday.
“We need a team effort and we’ve got to get healthy after this weekend,” Van Kley said. “We’ve got to keep improving and getting better next week.”
