Strong performance for Dutch wrestling team at home invitational
Central College
PELLA— The Central College wrestling team posted a strong performance including nine top-three finishes amongst a talented field at the home Central College Under Armour Invitational Saturday in H.S. Kuyper Fieldhouse.
Saturday’s meet featured 165 wrestlers representing 10 schools from Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Alabama. The meet included schools representing NCAA Divison II and III, NAIA, and NJCAA.
“This is always a fun tournament,” coach Eric Van Kley said. “It gets things kicked off for the second half of the season. This year was probably one of the stronger fields we’ve had here, which is fun. We think it’s great to start the second half of the season with some big matches and high levels of intensity.”
Matt Seabold (sophomore, Burlington) captured his first collegiate title at 197 pounds Saturday, winning over Truman State’s Helmut Rentschler in a 6-5 decision. Seabold (14-4) had close matches most of the day, winning three of his four matches by decisions.
“Similar to a lot of guys on our team, I think there are some situations he would like to have back, but for the first competition back after break I thought he did a lot of positive things,” Van Kley said. “He’s very hungry and focused and I think that showed when he maybe didn’t have his best day today and he was still a champion.”
The Dutch excelled at 125 pounds, taking the top three spots in the weight class. Senior Daniel Page (Tumwater, Wash.) and freshman CJ Pestano (San Pedro, Calif., Torrance HS) shared the title and Abe Fernandez (senior, Tampa, Fla., Strawberry Crest HS) took third place.
Page (14-4) provided a great deal of excitement for the fans in his semi-final match against Briar Cliff’s Kyle Robison. The match entered the third period with Page trailing 11-4. Page was able to take Robison down and secure a pin with only seven seconds remaining and earn the win.
“Daniel would be the first to say that it probably wasn’t the smartest match he ever wrestled,” Van Kley said. “The thing about Daniel that makes him special is that he is going to compete for seven minutes. I think most people would have considered themselves out of it in his situation, but Daniel is going to keep battling even if there is only a second left.”
Four other Dutch fought their way into the title matches before taking second place.
A.J. Pestano (sophomore, San Pedro, Calif., Torrance HS) at 133 pounds, Ryan Vandall (sophomore, Phoenix, Ariz., Moon Valley HS) at 149 pounds, Mike O’Connor (sophomore, Lockport, Ill., St. Rita HS); and Tyler Lowy (senior, Phoenix, Ariz., Thunderbird HS).
The Dutch will have short turnaround heading into a busy week, starting with a dual Tuesday at home against the University of the Ozarks (Ark.). The Dutch also take to the road for an Iowa Conference dual at Loras on Thursday and head to Mt. Vernon for the Cornell Matman Invitational Saturday.
“The weeks just get bigger and more intense from here and our guys are looking forward to the challenge,” Van Kley said. “It’s going to be a fun second half of the season, we’re excited about it.”
