Eight Central wrestlers remain alive at regionals
Central Dutch Athletics
PELLA — Five Central College wrestlers advanced to the semifinals and three more are in contention in the consolation bracket during the first day of the NCAA Division III Lower Midwest Regional on Saturday.
Central currently sits in third place with 78.5 team points, 15 back of Wartburg College in first.
“I couldn’t be any prouder of toughness and perseverance, top to bottom,” coach Eric Van Kley said. “It’s a solid start to the tournament. We’ve put ourselves in position to do some really solid things.”
Cam Timok (senior, 125 pounds, Glen Allen Va., Hermitage HS), Chase Petty (senior, 133 pounds, Pella), Daniel Radcliffe (junior, Lockport, Ill., Lockport Township HS), Rob Areyano (freshman, 149 pounds, Selma, Calif.) and Nathan Fritz (junior, 174 pounds, Sigourney) all possess 2-0 records and would advance to the national meet with a win in tomorrow’s semifinals.
Winning both of his matches by decision, Petty used a thrilling 13-10 win over Dalton Landreth (Westminster {Mo.}) to advance to the semifinals. He won his first match over Ron Dazey (Millikin {Ill.}) 8-6.
“He literally wrestled to the very last second,” Van Kley said. “He got the takedown with two seconds to seal the win in the quarterfinals. He had a mindset that he was going to do whatever it took to win and it really showed. That match epitomized our day as a team.”
Avenging his worse loss of the season, Fritz pinned Millikin’s Austin Hedrick in 3:46 in the quarterfinals.
“Fritz pinned a guy that beat him by technical fall earlier in the year at MSOE,” Van Kley said. “A very resilient effort by Nathan.”
Radcliffe won both of his matches by fall while Areyano opened with a pin before a 10-4 decision advanced him to the semifinals. Timok won in his opener by technical fall and then by major decision in the quarterfinals.
Three more Central wrestlers, Jeremy Vester (senior, 165 pounds, Oak Harbor, Wash.), Griffen McBride (sophomore, Pleasantville) and Gavin Babcock (sophomore, Altoona, Southeast Polk HS) all recovered from earlier losses and remain alive in the consolation quarterfinals.
“They’re a resilient group of guys,” Van Kley said. “They showed a tremendous amount of toughness and heart.”
The wrestlers return to the mats at the Five Flags Center Sunday morning at 11 a.m.
