Dutch wrestlers ready to rock and roll in Cleveland
Central Dutch Athletics
PELLA— C.J. Pestano (senior, Torrance, Calif.) has one last shot for a national title at 125 pounds and two other Central College wrestlers will make their NCAA Division III Championships debuts this weekend in Cleveland, Ohio.
Joining Pestano will be 165-pounder Jeremy Vester (junior, Oak Harbor, Wash.) and 174-pounder Nathan Fritz (sophomore, Sigourney). It’s the third year in a row that coach Eric Van Kley’s team will send at least three wrestlers to the national tournament.
“We were a young team that really grew throughout the season,” he said. “We wrestled our best at the regional tournament and we’re excited to be competing at the national tournament again.”
Ending on top—Pestano (27-1) has left the past two national tournaments an All-American, but he’s also left with a season-ending loss both times. As a sophomore he shocked the field by charging his way to the title bout and a runner-up finish. Last year, Pestano fell in the third-place match.
“Having been here twice is a tremendous advantage,” Van Kley said. “His preparation is exactly what he needs. We’re looking for another great showing out him this weekend.”
The No. 1 seed, Pestano is 3-1 against other qualifiers this season. He’s twice defeated Devon Jackson (25-8) of the University of the Ozarks (Ark.) and downed the No. 5 seed, Carlos Fuentez (34-2) of Wheaton College (Ill.), in the Milwaukee School of Engineering Invitational title match in December. His only loss was by medical forfeit to Brennen Doebel (19-4) of Wartburg College in the regional final.
The runner-up at 133 pounds last year, Jay Albis (43-2) of Johnson & Wales (R.I.) has dropped down a weight class and is the No. 2 seed. Brockport State’s Jonathan Haas (32-1) was victorious in the third-place match against Pestano last year and is seeded third. The No. 7 seed Victor Gilva (28-6) is also a returning All-American, placing eighth in 2018.
The journey starts with a pigtail match against Ferdinand Mase of Ithaca College (N.Y.) (28-5) on Friday morning. Pestano’s emphatic run to the title bout in 2016 started with a victory in a pigtail match.
“He’s extremely focused on the first match,” Van Kley said. “It’s a familiar route for him having gone to the finals this way as a sophomore. He’s excited to wrestle the first match of the day on Friday.”
Trending up—Through the first five matches of this season, Vester was 2-3. He was beaten 8-5 in the first round of Millikin Open before rattling off five straight wins to finish the tournament in third place. Those were the first five of 16 straight wins for the junior, who has gone 23-4 since that disappointing start to the season.
“The biggest thing with Jeremy is how much his confidence has grown throughout the year,” Van Kley said. “He’s really learned how to win big college matches.”
Of the 17 other wrestlers in the field, Vester has only faced No. 1 seed Mike Ross (25-0) of Wartburg College a loss in the regional semifinals. No. 2 seed Lucas Jeske of Augsburg College (Minn.) and No. 3 seed Anthony Arroyo of Baldwin-Wallace (Ohio) are both returning All-Americans.
Vester drew No. 7 seed Taylor Shay of Roger Williams University (R.I.) in his opening bout. A victory would likely result in a battle with Jeske in the quarterfinals.
“Coming out of the Iowa Conference, we know we can wrestle with anybody,” Van Kley said. “There are no easy matches here. You’re not expecting any because it’s the national tournament. We expect him to wrestle his best tournament of the season this weekend.”
Long way back—Fritz ended his Sigourney High School career with a 49-2 senior season in which he won the third-place match at 145 pounds with a pin in 31 seconds. His wrestling career was put on hold when an injury cost him his freshman season at Central. Now two years removed from his lost season, Fritz is ready to take center stage in his national debut.
“Fritz is a gamer,” Van Kley said. “When the stakes are high is when he seems to perform his best. It’s been obvious that he’s gotten progressively better as the year has gone on. He’s wrestling his best at the biggest time of the year.”
All three of Fritz’s defeats have come against qualified wrestlers. No. 1 seed and defending national champion Eric DeVos has a victory over Fritz and No. 6 seed Jake Voss has a pair of wins. Other returning All-Americans include No. 3 seed Ben Swarr (38-4) of Messiah College (Pa.) and No. 7 seed Daniel Kilroy (21-6) from The College of New Jersey
The path for Fritz begins against No. 5 seed Jon Goetz (25-1) of Wisconsin-Platteville. While the two have never faced off, Central saw Goetz at the Super 8 Invitational while Fritz was injured.
“I think he’s in a good place,” Van Kley said. “Fritz has a style that’s conducive to winning matches at the national tournament. He’s good in all three positions and wrestles well in big matches.”
Progress of a program—In 2011, the Dutch ended a dubious six-year run of not qualifying any wrestlers for the national meet. Four years later in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Daniel Page and Matt Seabold gave Central its first All-American honorees since 2004. Pestano was welcomed to the club in 2016 and was joined by Cam Timok (junior, Glen Allen, Va., Hermitage HS) in 2017.
As a team, the Dutch broke into the top-30 with a 29th-place finish in 2015. Subsequent years have warranted 20th and 18th-place finishes, the program’s best since 1993’s 11th-place finish.
The first session of wrestling is Friday morning at 11 a.m. local time in Cleveland.
