INDIANOLA — The Central College wrestling team defeated Luther College 32-10 and Simpson College 39-13 in a pair of American Rivers Conference duals Saturday.
Central (5-1, 5-1 conference) won 14 of 20 matches during the duals, including eight by fall and four other bonus-point victories.
"It was a team effort all the way today," coach
Eric Van Kley said. "Luther is a team we've gone back and forth with over the years and we have a tremendous amount of respect for them. I thought we did a much better job of getting to our offense consistently and it was the key to our success in both duals."
Luis Ramos (sophomore, Selma, Calif.) and
Rob Areyano (Junior, Selma, Calif.) continue to provide plenty of points in the 141 and 157 pound bouts, respectively. The duo went 4-0 with pins in both matches. Three of the matches ended in the first period.
"Luis and Rob really feed off each other," Van Kley said. "Both guys are outstanding wrestling on top."
Samuel Zook (junior, Oak Harbor, Wash.) was 2-0 with falls at 285 pounds.
"I can't give assistant coaches
Duncan Lee and
Brad Steele enough credit when it comes to Samuel," Van Kley said. "They've improved his overall wrestling but he's especially gotten better wrestling on top and getting those pins."
Shandon Akeo (senior, Honolulu, Hawaii, Kapolei HS) and
Brock Beck (freshman, Grinnell) also went 2-0 in dual action. Akeo won both of his matches at 133 pounds major decisions. Beck won an overtime decision against Luther and had a first-period pin against Simpson at 149 pounds.
The final piece of the puzzle for Central's wrestling schedule is a triangular against Coe College and Loras College, tentatively set for next Sunday at 1 p.m. in Dubuque. The three teams are tied at 5-1 in league matches and are fighting for second place in the standings.
"We have a lot of respect for both teams," Van Kley said. "They're going to be tough duals. We'll enjoy today's wins for tonight and then get ready for a great week of practice."
