Exciting first day of NCAA wrestling regional for the Dutch
Central Dutch Athletics
DUBUQUE — Four Central College wrestlers are unscathed and in the semifinals while five more are still in contention after the first day of action at the NCAA Division III Lower Midwest Regional.
In the 17-team regional, the Dutch are currently fourth in the team standings with 51.5 points. Wartburg College leads with 87.5 points.
“I thought our team showed a tremendous amount of toughness and consistency,” coach Eric Van Kley said. “We’ll have to reload with that effort tomorrow.”
Nathan Fritz (junior, Sigourney) advanced to the 174-pound semifinals after pinning Matthew Fricke of Nebraska Wesleyan University in 1 minute, 38 seconds in his first match and downing Jamal Vaughns of Luther College in the quarterfinals 6-2.
The top seed at 125 pounds, C.J. Pestano (senior, Torrance, Calif.) breezed into the semifinals after a 17-0 technical fall over Ryan Brooks of Huntingdon College (Ala.) and a 14-5 major decision over Loras College’s Matt Randone.
Joining Pestano and Fritz in the semifinals, 141-pounder Daniel Radcliffe (sophomore, Lockport, Ill., Lockport Township HS) won with an 18-3 technical fall over Tyler Menegay of Luther College in his first match and followed it up with an 18-5 major decision against Mario Vasquez from the University of the Ozarks (Ark.).
After a first round bye, Jeremy Vester (junior, Oak Harbor, Wash.) knocked off Luther’s Billy Poray by a 6-2 decision in the 165-pound quarterfinals, giving Central a total of four in the semifinals.
“Every math is going to be a dog fight, but they are all one match away from nationals,” Van Kley said. “We’ll need to have an equal great effort tomorrow.”
After being stuck facing the No. 1 seed in the opening round, Jordan Challen (junior, Jefferson, Greene County HS) bounced back with two pins in the consolation bracket. A first-period fall over the No. 2 seed Phillip Opelt of Cornell College sent Challen to the consolation quarterfinals.
“That was huge by Challen,” Van Kley said. “He gave our team a lot of momentum.”
The other four wrestlers remaining for the Dutch in the consolation bracket are 133-pounder Isaac Figueroa (freshman, Sterling, Ill.), 157-pounder Collin Groleau (sophomore, Peru, Ill., LaSalle-Peru Township HS), 184-pounder Wayne Sommerlot (freshman, Pocahontas Area HS) and 285-pounder (senior, Arlington, Texas, Martin HS)
“We looked especially tough in the last round of consolations,” Van Kley said. “Our unsung heroes came up in a big way today.”
Wrestlers will return to the mats Sunday for the final day of competition starting at 11 a.m.
