Back to winning ways for Central wrestling
Central College
DUBUQUE— After stumbling in the opener, the Central College wrestling team rattled off a pair victories at the Iowa Conference Duals Saturday at the University of Dubuque.
The Dutch (7-2, 4-2 Iowa Conference) trampled the host Spartans 34-7 and bounced Buena Vista University 36-12. No. 1 Wartburg College defeated Central in the opener 37-6.
Centrals’ two highest-ranked wrestlers, No. 2 Ryan Vandall (senior, Phoenix, Ariz., Moon Valley HS) and No. 4 C.J. Pestano (junior, Torrance, Calif.) proved their mettle by going 3-0 on the day at 125 and 165 pounds, respectively. Pestano even knocked off No. 6 Arnulfo Olea of Wartburg in a 3-1 decision.
“Those guys have been leaders throughout the year and won hard-fought matches today,” coach Eric Van Kley said. “It’s a grind at these duals every year, but they did a really nice job.”
Freshmen Nathan Fritz (Sigourney) and Duncan Lee (Newton) came up clutch with a combined three pins at 184 and 197 pounds against Dubuque and Buena Vista. The duo stepped in for seniors A.J. McBroom (Runnells, Southeast Polk HS) and Matt Seabold (Burlington).
“When we needed them the most, they provided tremendous efforts,” Van Kley said. “It’s always a challenge for two freshmen to step into such a tough spot. I couldn’t be prouder of the toughness and courage those guys showed today.”
In both of Central’s victories, their opponents started to rally. That was until Zach Moss slammed the door shut on both of their upset bids.
“It always comes to a tipping point in duals when it can go one of two directions,” Van Kley said. “Dubuque was making a charge and Buena Vista was scraping their way back into it. Zach was a stud and came up with two huge wins for us.”
Central competes in front of the home crowd once again, taking on William Penn University in a dual Thursday night at 7 p.m. inside P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium.
