Central wrestlers knocked off at home
Central College
PELLA—Although the Central College wrestling team posted 10 dual wins for its second straight year, the Dutch didn’t end the dual-meet portion of the season the way they wanted as No. 26 Dubuque College topped Central 40-3 Tuesday night.
“I don’t think tonight was our best effort,” coach Eric Van Kley said. “We came out flat and Dubuque’s (9-6) a good team that established their aggressiveness early in the matches. That’s a bad combination.”
Junior Tommy Van Renterghem (Oskaloosa) picked up Central’s lone victory, winning 9-3 at 174 pounds.
“It was good to see us get one,” Van Kley said. “Tommy battled hard tonight.”
Suffering injuries throughout the year, the Dutch (10-10) fell short of their preseason goal of 12 dual wins. But Van Kley is confident Central will get there.
“We had a lot higher expectations for ourselves,” Van Kley said. “It’s good to get two 10-win seasons but we need to continue to get better and we will.”
Central also set a goal to be on the mat in March, sending at least one qualifier to the NCAA Division III national tournament March 11-12 in La Crosse, Wis. Van Kley hasn’t lowered his expectations as the Dutch take the next nine days to prepare for the challenge at the loaded Iowa Conference tournament Feb. 25 at Simpson College in Indianola.
The Dutch just need some faith.
“Our wrestlers have got to believe in the system,” Van Kley said. “They need to trust the work they put in and believe in themselves each time they step on the mat. If they do they’ll surprise some people and finish the year on a high note.”
