There’s little doubt that the American Rivers Conference is the best in the country for division three wrestling.  Being one of the top teams in the league means that you’re among the best in the nation.

That held true this year for the Central College wrestling team, and it culminated on February 14th when the Dutch earned their highest regional meet finish in Eric Van Kley’s 12 years as head coach.

“Our regional this year had six of the top 11 teams in the country.  There are six regionals in the country, and half of the ranked teams in the top 11 were in our region.  We finished third, and qualified two young men, including one local guy in Chase Petty, for nationals. It was the culmination of a great group of guys who really came together as the season went on, and we wrestled our best at the end of the year.”

Petty, from Pella, went 0-2 at 133 pounds at the national meet in early March in Roanoke, Virgina.  Fellow senior Cam Timok closed his career with a sixth-place finish at 125 pounds. It was his second all-American performance for the Dutch.