Jan. 13, 2007

Johnson third at Central Invitational

PELLA —Freshman Nick Johnson ( San Antonio , Texas, James Madison HS) scored a surprising third-place finish at the Central Invitational wrestling tourney Saturday.    

There were no team scores in the meet which attracted 141 wrestlers from 14 schools.

Also placing for the Dutch was Max Davis (freshman, Des Moines , Roosevelt HS) who was fifth at 197 pounds.

Johnson entered the tourney with a 1-12 record but was 3-1 Saturday, whipping No. 2 seed Bryan Yale of Waldorf in the third-place match 13-8.

“That was a great finish for Nick,” said coach Eric Reed. “At Las Vegas (in the Desert Duals Dec. 19) he was looking better and today he came back and started doing the things we've been working on. This was the best he's looked. He was scoring some takedowns and being competitive.”

Davis showed improvement as well.

“Max has been right in a lot of matches,” Reed said. “His record could easily be much better.”

Reed also liked the progress being shown at 125 pounds from Tyrone Callender (freshman, Clarksville , Tenn. , Kenwood HS) .

“This is the best I've seen him wrestle,” Reed said. “Even though he was 1-2, he was wrestling hard and going after guys.”

Central's progress was welcome after a dismal day at the Cornell Invitational the previous week.

“We trained right through the tournament last week,” Reed said. “Some of the guys came back pretty heavy after break and were cutting a lot of weight. This week was a little better. We gave them a little recovery time.”

Central is also inching closer to being at full strength. Three regulars were absent from Saturday's lineup but should return next week and the Dutch get a boost with the addition of transfer Jeremiah Teeple (sophomore, Lincoln, Neb.) who joins the squad for the start of the spring semester Monday. He'll likely go at 149 pounds.

The Dutch will be home again next Saturday for the Central Duals, starting at 9 a.m. in H.S. Kuyper Fieldhouse, featuring Augustana ( Ill. ), William Penn, Simpson and Dubuque . Central will meet Augustana at 9 a.m., William Penn at 10:30 a.m. and Dubuque at 1:30 p.m.

Augustana topped the Dutch 25-14 in a dual at Rock Island , Ill. Dec. 7.