Dec. 13, 2006

Central back to Las Vegas for the Desert Duals

PELLA —The setting won't be much like Central College 's Kuyper Gym, but the competition will be intense for the Dutch wrestling team at the Desert Duals in Las Vegas Tuesday. It's the third straight year Central has competed in the all-day event, which is hosted by Wartburg College and staged in a ballroom of the Flamingo Hotel. The meet also features league rivals Loras, Coe and Buena Vista .  

The competition begins at 8 a.m. (Pacific Standard Time) and Central opens in the second round against Great Falls University ( Mont. ) before taking on Menlo College ( Calif. ), the Apprentice School ( Va. ) and Ohio Northern University .

Great Falls is rated ninth in the NAIA and Menlo is ranked 12th. Apprentice has a 2-1 dual meet record and Ohio Northern is 4-2 heading into a dual Saturday.

“It will be a tough day,” coach Eric Reed said.

Central's freshman-dominated lineup will be a little short as just eight wrestlers will make the trip, leaving the Dutch (0-5) open at 141 and 149 pounds.

“It's good just to go see some teams we don't normally see,” Reed said. “And it's an experience going out there for the guys. It's a different setting to compete in and there are a lot of good teams there. We'll have a little fun, too, but our focus is on wrestling.”

Following the return to Iowa the Dutch get some time off for Christmas before beginning preparations for the Cornell Matman Invitational at Mount Vernon Jan. 5-6.

Probable lineup
125 Tyrone Callender (1-9) Fr. Clarksville , Tenn. /Kenwood
133 Nick Johnson (1-8) Fr. San Antonio , Texas /James Madison
141 Open
149 Open
157 Ryan DeVriendt (1-1) Sr. Sherrard , Ill. /Sherrard
165 Griffin Holden (1-7) Fr. Bettendorf , Iowa /Pleasant Valley
174 Josh Stutting (1-4) Fr. Clintonville , Wis. /Clintonville
184 Jess Welu (4-6) Fr. Dubuque , Iowa / Hempstead
197 Max Davis (4-7) Fr. Des Moines , Iowa / Roosevelt
285 Nathan Stueve (3-7) Sr. Martensdale, Iowa/Martensdale-St. Mary's