Wrestling poll shows little change for Central

Central Dutch Athletics

PELLA — A month off from competition showed no ill effects on the team ranking for the Central College wrestling program, holding at No. 12 in the fourth edition of the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III poll.

Individually, C.J. Pestano (125 pounds, senior, Torrance, Calif.) dropped to No. 3, matching Cam Timok’s (133 pounds, junior, Glen Allen, Va., Hermitage HS) position.

A 13-0 record for Pestano includes four pins and one technical fall, a 21-6 throttling of Ryan Smales (Nebraska Wesleyan University) in his most recent match. He earned a 5-1 decision over No. 7 Carlos Fuentez of Wheaton College to win the MSOE Invitational crown, his third title of the season.

Leading the team with nine total falls, Timok (15-0) has pinned his last four opponents. He racked up three straight falls to close out the MSOE Invitational after securing technical falls in his first two matches of the tournament. Only two of his 15 wins have been decisions, having earned 13 bonus-point victories.

Reclaiming the No. 1 overall spot was Wartburg College, bouncing Johnson & Wales University (R.I.) to No. 2. Iowa Conference foes Loras College and Coe are No. 4 and No. 11. Pestano and Timok are among 13 conference wrestlers ranked in the top-10 at their weight classes.

The second half of the season jumps off with the Central College Under Armour Invitational on Saturday starting at 10 a.m. in H.S. Kuyper Fieldhouse.