Central climbs in league men's wrestling standings

Baldwin leads Dutch with 3-0 day

by Joseph Flaherty

Pella, IA (01/27/2025) — The Central College men's wrestling team picked up a pair of victories at the American Rivers Conference duals Saturday afternoon.

The No. 18 rated team in NCAA Division III, Central opened by breezing to a 56-0 win over Buena Vista University and followed up with a 25-12 win over the University of Dubuque. Central was downed by No. 2 Wartburg College 35-6 to end the day.

"Every dual meet in the American Rivers Conference matters," coach Landon Williams said. "It's the toughest conference in the country and it's preparing us for the regional tournament. We like to put ourselves in matches against highly ranked teams and highly ranked individuals."

In the match against the Spartans, Central led 14-9 entering the 174-pound match against No. 14 Zane Pannell of Dubuque. Unranked Jason Hermann (senior, 174 pounds, Stockton, Ill.) secured a 4-3 upset to increase the Dutch lead to 17-9.

"I know Jason the ability and he knows that, too," Williams said. "For him, it's about having the confidence to get to his offense. When he does that, he can score. He dug deep in a key situation against a good opponent."

Sam West (junior, 184 pounds, Burlington, Notre Dame HS) and Austin Roos (senior, 197 pounds, Atkins, Benton HS) put the match out of reach with back-to-back wins, including a technical fall by Roos.

"Roos is continuing to get better and having confidence on his attacks," Williams said. "We saw him open up today with a few new attacks he's been working on and that's refreshing to know he's still improving and opening his offense."

Carter West (freshman, 133 pounds, Burlington, Notre Dame HS) put Central on the board against Dubuque with a second-period fall. Pierre Baldwin (junior, 141 pounds, Carol Stream, Ill., West Chicago HS) followed with a 8-2 decision. Carter Martinson (sophomore, 157 pounds, Altoona, Southeast Polk HS) won by technical fall 20-4 at 165 pounds as well.

Against Buena Vista, Central picked up 24 points via forfeit as the Beavers had four open weights. The Dutch also registered four falls for 24 more points. Baldwin, Carson Martinson, Colby Tool (senior, 174 pounds, Reasnor, PCM HS) and Sam West registered the pins. Dominick Marre (freshman, Bartlett, Ill., Glenbard North HS) started the dual with an 8-6 decision at 125 pounds and Carter West had a 21-4 technical fall.

Baldwin and Carson Martinson bagged wins against Wartburg. Baldwin had a 9-5 decision over No. 15 Tommy Thongseng while Martinson won 8-5 over Carter Proffitt. Baldwin finished the day 3-0.

"Pierre has been there before," Willliams said. "He knows he has to keep his composure no matter what the score is. His focus was on scoring points and giving himself attempts on the legs."

Central is off for nearly two weeks before travelling to Decorah for a dual with Luther College on February 6 at 7 p.m. The broadcast of that dual will be live on Iowa PBS.

Jason

Hermann