Central men’s wrestlers take down No. 17 Dubuque
Central 44, Buena Vista 6
Central 27, Dubuque 15
Wartburg 48, Central 0
WAVERLY-Scoring a decisive win over a ranked foe, the 16th-ranked Central College men’s wrestling team posted a 2-1 mark at the American Rivers Duals Saturday.
Central (10-3 overall, 3-3 American Rivers) blitzed Buena Vista University 44-6, then took down the No. 17 University of Dubuque 27-15 before getting overwhelmed by No. 1 Wartburg College 48-0.
Pierre Baldwin (sophomore, Carol Stream, Ill., West Chicago HS) had a 2-0 day and helped Central score match-swinging back-to-back falls against Dubuque. The Dutch were without starting 133-pounder Brock Beck (senior, Grinnell) due to injury, so David Vukobratovich (sophomore, Homer Glen, Ill., Lockport Township HS) jumped up from 125 pounds and scored a fall over Jesus Sanchez in 1:05. Baldwin followed with his fall over Darian Diaz in 4:17.
“It’s huge when you get that quick start,” coach Eric Van Kley said. “For David to get a pin right away at a weight class above was a really big win for us. Cael Cox (junior, Ankeny) filled in at 149 and had another big win for us. And Sam West (sophomore, Burlington, Notre Dame HS) and Gage Linahon (senior, Newton) had really big wins at (184 and 197). It was just a total team effort.”
Colby Tool (junior, Reasnor, PCM HS), Jason Hermann (junior, Stockton, Ill.) and West notched falls at 157, 165 and 184 pounds, respectively, against Buena Vista as the Dutch won nine of 10 matches.
Top-ranked Wartburg was dominant.
“They’re just better than we are right now,” Van Kley said. “I thought our effort at some spots was decent, but they’re a really good team. They just beat the defending national champs, Augsburg, a week ago and they deserve the number one ranking.
“But it was a really solid day overall. To beat a nationally ranked team that’s been solid all year and to do that and be one man down was great.”
The Dutch are off until Jan. 30 when they travel to Oskaloosa for a 7 p.m. dual at William Penn University. Central was a 37-15 winner over the Statesmen last year. William Penn takes a 4-9 dual mark into a match at Missouri Valley College (Mo.) next Thursday.
“It’s definitely been a grind that last two-and-a-half weeks, so we’ll get some much-needed rest and reload,” Van Kley said. “But it was a very good weekend and I’m really proud of our guys.”
