Dec. 13, 2006

DeVriendt wins three

LAS VEGAS, NEV.— Central College 157-pounder Ryan DeVriendt (senior, Sherrard, Ill.) won three matches but the young Dutch wrestling squad was outscored by four foes at the Desert Duals Tuesday.  

With wrestling mats covering a ballroom floor in the stately Flamingo Hotel, Central was overwhelmed by Great Falls ( Mont.) 46-3, Menlo ( Calif.) 52-0, Apprentice ( Va.) 48-6 and Ohio Northern 38-12, leaving the Dutch 0-9 for the season. Central was without its complete lineup and had to forfeit at 141 and 149 pounds. An injury to Nathan Stueve (senior, Martensdale, Martensdale-St. Marys HS) at 285 pounds forced Central to forfeit that weight as well in the last two matches.

DeVriendt, Central’s lone wrestler at the meet with varsity experience, got a late start to the season because of injury, but improved to 4-2 with three wins Tuesday. He opened with an 11-7 decision over Jeremy Montang of Great Falls before suffering a 14-2 setback to Menlo ( Calif.) College’s Robert Davis. DeVriendt rebounded with a pin of David Thornton of Apprentice ( Va.) in 3:30 and won by injury default in 5:23 over A.J. Coleman of Ohio Northern.

The Dutch also got a fall by Jess Welu (freshman, Dubuque, Hempstead HS) at 184 pounds over Ohio Northern’s Stu Fischer in 2:14.

After returning home the Dutch break for the Christmas holiday before starting preparation for the Cornell Matman Invitational Jan. 5-6 in Mount Vernon. Central was 14th in a 17-team field there last year.