Wild win for Central wrestlers
Central College
CEDAR RAPIDS — After narrow losses in recent years, the No. 10 Central College wrestling team rallied behind an enthusiastic crowd in P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium to defeat No. 12 Coe College 20-12.
It’s the first victory in the series for the Dutch since a 39-6 win in December of 2000. Central had suffered one-point losses in two of the last three seasons.
“We talk over and over about making steady steps in the right direction,” coach Eric Van Kley said. “Coe’s a team we have a lot of respect for and one that we haven’t beaten in over 15 years. It’s definitely a step in the right direction.”
A boisterous crowd filled the stands in Kuyper Gym to help propel the Dutch.
“It was a fun night for a hard-fought win,” Van Kley said. “It was a great environment tonight with a great crowd.
In a battle of ranked foes at 125 pounds, No. 2 C.J. Pestano (junior, Torrance, Calif.) powered to a 12-3 major decision over No. 8 Jan Rosenberg. Cam Timok (sophomore, Glen Allen, Va., Hermitage HS) followed with an 11-9 decision at 133 pounds.
“Those two were ready to go and they set table for everybody else,” Van Kley said. “They were able to get crowd into it and start some momentum. We feel like we’re going to start pretty solid against most teams with those two at the top.”
Central stretched its lead to 17-3 after consecutive decisions at 157 and 165 pounds by Jeremy Vester (sophomore, Oak Harbor, Wash.) and Ryan Vandall (senior Phoenix, Ariz., Moon Valley HS). Coe put together back-to-back victories of its own at 174 and 184 pounds before Central’s 197-pounder Matt Seabold (senior, Burlington) put the nail in the coffin with a 9-2 win.
“Ryan and Matt dug deep tonight,” Van Kley said. “They’ve wrestled in a lot of these duals and have come up short. They wanted this one badly.”
Jordan Challen (sophomore, Jefferson, Greene County HS) also won decisively at 149 pounds, taking an 18-7 major decision.
The win is a step in a positive direction for the Dutch, but the season is still young.
“We’re going to enjoy this tonight,” Van Kley said. “But we’ll need to separate emotions and find the things we need to get better at. Our guys are mature enough to know we’ve got to get better.”
The final contest for the Dutch before Thanksgiving break is this Saturday at the Augsburg-Adidas Open in Minneapolis.
