Zach Beekman Jan. 4, 2009

Central 10th in California tourney

ATHERTON, CALIF.—Central College ran into its biggest challenge of the early wrestling season and finished 10th in the 11-team Menlo College (Calif.) Invitational Sunday.

St. Cloud State (Minn.) took first with 184 points, followed by Southern Oregon with 163. Central finished with 20, placing ahead of San Jose State (Calif.). The field included six schools receiving votes in the national NAIA and NCAA Division II polls. Southern Oregon is ranked second in the NAIA.

Central’s Bobby Vineis (freshman, Perkasie, Pa., Pennridge HS) and Ted Dirkx (sophomore, Alleman, North Polk HS) both came within a win of placing at 174 and 285 pounds, respectively. Only four places were awarded at each weight.

“Both seem to be getting better and better every week,” coach Eric Van Kley said. “Ted is getting better offensively from his feet and Bobby is figuring out how to score some points at the collegiate level.

“It was a really outstanding tournament and I thought the guys competed hard. We definitely saw the toughest competition we’ve seen all year but it was a good starting point for the semester.”

The Dutch will remain in California for two more days of training before returning to Iowa Wednesday.

Menlo (Calif.) Invitational
Team standings
1. St. Cloud State (Calif) 184
2. Southern Oregon, 163
3. Menlo (Calif.), 101
4. Cal State-Bakersfield, 96.5
5. San Francisco State, 94.5
6. Embry-Riddle (Ariz.), 82
7. Burnaby Mountain (B.C.), 45.5
8. Douglas (B.C.), 27.5
9. Simon Fraser (B.C.), 27
10. Central, 20
11. San Jose State (Calif.), 6