Central to send five wrestlers to national meet
Central College
DUBUQUE — A quintet of Central College wrestlers are headed to La Crosse, Wisconsin in two weeks after top-three finishes at the NCAA Division III Central Regional resulted in the program’s largest contingent of NCAA Division III Championships qualifiers in over 20 years.
The Dutch tied for third place in the team standings with 111.5 points. Wartburg College won the title with 190.0 points. Central also maintained its streak of sending someone to compete at the national meet for the seventh year in a row.
“It was an awesome day overall for this program,” Van Kley said. “I couldn’t be any prouder of the effort and toughness every guy showed today. Sending five guys to the national meet and having seven place winners overall is a huge step forward for our program.”
C.J. Pestano (junior, Torrance, Calif.) avenged his loss against Arnulfo Olea of Wartburg College in the 125-pound title match, taking a 3-1 decision to win the crown. Olea won last year’s title bout in a controversial overtime finish.
“He’s really peaking at the right time and had a dominant effort today,” Van Kley said. “He continues to be a spark plug for our lineup and provides a ton of energy for the rest of the team.”
At 165 pounds, Ryan Vandall (senior, Phoenix, Ariz./Moon Valley HS) ran his winning streak to 25 with a 4-3 decision over Tristan Zurfluh of Luther College in the title match. Vandall is ranked No. 2 in the country.
“He’s wrestling extremely confident and loose,” Van Kley said. “He knows he can wrestle with anyone in the country and showed it again today.”
Before dropping a tough 5-2 decision in the finals, Cam Timok (sophomore, Glen Allen, Va./Hermitage HS) punched his ticket at 133 pounds with a pair of wins in the early rounds, including avenging his earlier loss to Connor Campo of Wartburg College.
“He’s really finding his groove and growing in confidence,” Van Kley said. “That was a tremendous effort in the semifinals to knock off Campo.
Matt Seabold (senior, Burlington) lost by medical forfeit in the 197-pound title match, but qualified for the national meet by winning his first three matches of the day. Seabold has preserved through an injury-ravaged season.
“I’m so happy for him in working through his injuries,” Van Kley said. ‘He showed tremendous grit and toughness and wrestled awesome all day.”
Central’s final qualifier had to do it the hard way, as Daniel Radcliffe (freshman, Lockport, Ill./Lockport Township HS used two consolation matches including the third-place match to qualify. He battled Jason Kiehne of Simpson College to a 7-5 decision in that clinching bout.
“He’s been a very positive addition to our team both on and off the mat,” Van Kley said. “He showed a lot of heart and perseverance to earn his first ticket to nationals.”
Other placewinners for the Dutch were Jeremy Vester (sophomore, Oak Harbor, Wash.) who took fifth at 157 pounds and Zach Moss (senior, Winterset) who took sixth place at 174 pounds.
In addition to the success of the wrestlers on the mat, Coach Van Kley was honored as the Central Regional Coach of the Year.
“I want to thank our huge crowed of Central supporters,” Van Kley said. “Our guys fed off their energy and really responded well. I also want to thank all of the efforts of our assistants, support staff and administration. None of this is possible without them.”
The five qualifiers will take part in the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships starting on Friday, March 10 in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
