Quincy Wins Men’s Tennis Match over Central
A difficult stretch to open the season continued for the Central College men’s tennis team, as they fell 5-2 to NCAA Division II Quincy University (Ill.) Friday afternoon.
Central (0-6) returned to action after two weekends off from competition. The Dutch were able to win a pair of singles matches, including at the top of the lineup. Bodi Kortz secured a 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 win in the #1 slot, while Ernest Alvarez Chedzoy also won his singles match 2-6, 6-2, 1-0 at #3.
Central travels to Mount Vernon for a 2 p.m. match against Cornell College on Sunday.
Central Teams in Striking Distance After Day One of Conference Track Championships
With a dozen events remaining, the Central College men’s and women’s track and field teams are well positioned to finish strong at the American Rivers Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Through six women’s events, Central is in second with 38.5 points, while the Dutch men are in fourth with 31 points after five events.
Freshman pole vaulter Kyle Rogers was the lone individual champion for Central Friday, taking the men’s title after clearing 14 feet, 3.5 inches. Four Dutch men scored in the long jump, led by Kale Hobart’s runner-up finish in 22-10. Kale Purcell was third (22-8.50), Owen Tomko was fourth (22-5.25) and Gavin Smith was seventh (21-4.75). The women scored three in the pole vault, including a pair of all-conference performers. Leah Howard was second (10-10) and Kylie Meyer tied for third (9-10). Brooklyn Duncan was also fifth (9-4.25). The women’s distance medley relay team of Kyra Cordes, Olivia Phillips, Kelley Duffy, and Leah Bontrager also earned all-league accolades by finishing third (12 minutes, 18.30 seconds).
Karlee Warnke was third in the long jump (18-2.25), while Olivia Bohlen was sixth (17-6.25). Freshmen Shayla Greeley and Kinsey Drake finished seventh (2,821 points) and eighth (2,784 points) in the women’s pentathlon to contribute three points to the team score.
Dutch Put Four Into Men’s Wrestling Regional Semifinals
All 10 members of the Central College men’s wrestling team are still alive at the NCAA Division III Region Six Championships after the first day of action Friday, with four of them one win away from a trip to the national meet. In the team standings, Central is in fourth place with 93.5 points. Wartburg College leads the 18-team field with 121.0 points.
Taking a bye into the 125-pound quarterfinals #5 seed Carter West had a mild upset over # 4 Shelton Chastain of the University of the Ozarks (Ark).) via a 9-3 decision in his only match. Pierre Baldwin logged a pair of technical falls as the #2 seed at 141 pounds to reach the semifinals. Top-seeded Cade Siebrecht needed overtime in his 149-pound quarterfinal to down #8 Jayden Bustillos of Schreiner College (Texas) 10-7. Sam West joined his younger brother in the semifinals with a dominant 11-0 major decision over #4 seed Jackson Brinker of Cornell College at 197 pounds.
The other six members of Central’s lineup lost their quarterfinal match but rallied with victories to reach the third round of consolations. CJ Davis (133 pounds), Christian Stanek (157 pounds), Shane Hanford (165 pounds), Abe Bushong (174 pounds), Cole Martin (184 pounds) and Jamal Neeway (285 pounds) all need to win three matches in a row to take third place and the final national qualifying spot.
Today’s action starts at 9 a.m. With only eight wrestlers remaining in each class, the 80 remaining wrestlers are fighting for their placement on the podium.