PELLA — Closing out its dual slate in style, the Central College wrestling team trounced Simpson College 30-9 Thursday night.

The win is the 15th in a row for Central (7-5, 4-4 conference) against its American Rivers Conference rivals from Simpson (6-6, 2-5 conference).

"We wrestled hard and really wrestled smart tonight," coach Eric Van Kley said. "It was so much fun and good to see our guys wrestle more like they are capable of."

Trailing 6-0 in the second match of the night, sophomore Cael Cox (133 pounds, Ankeny) was caught in a bad position and nearly stuck for a fall in the second period. Trailing 7-3 with three minutes remaining, he outscored his opponent 9-1 the rest of the way and took a 12-8 decision. After Cox's win Central won seven of the next eight matches, including four in a row.

"So much of winning a dual is that you need a spark and you need guys to step up," Van Kley said. "We say over and over again if we wrestle hard for seven minutes were a pretty good team and that's exactly what Cael did tonight."

On Senior Night, the Dutch lineup had a trio of seniors and all three were victorious. Rob Areyano (fifth year, 149 pounds, Selma, Calif.) and Luke Condy (senior, Memphis, Tenn., Christian Brothers HS) both registered 8-2 decisions. Peyton Hammerich (senior, 184 pounds, Princeton, Ill.) added a 7-1 decision.

"We're proud of our seniors, both the guys that wrestled tonight and the other five guys who didn't wrestle tonight," Van Kley said. "It's a long journey and they've sacrificed a lot. It's just fun to see all three of those guys come out on top."

Gage Linahon (junior, Newton) put the match on ice at 197 pounds with a fall at 4:30. He was one of three bonus-point victors for the Dutch following Pierre Baldwin's (freshman, 141 pounds, Carol Stream Ill., West Chicago HS) 14-4 major decision and Colby Tool's (sophomore, 165 pounds, Reasnor, PCM HS) 22-7 technical fall.

Miles Berg (junior, 285 pounds, Indianola) put an exclamation on the night with his 3-2 win. Tied 1-1 at the end of regulation, both Berg and his opponent Colton Kinnison were able to escape in the 30-second tie-breaker periods, but Berg got out faster and earned the riding time point.
           
Central hosts the Last Chance Invitational Friday night at 5 p.m. in H.S. Kuyper Fieldhouse, the final regular season event for the Dutch.