Central College had three wrestlers punch tickets to the NCAA Division III Championships in two weeks at the Lower Midwest Regional meet on Saturday. As a team, Central finished sixth in the 18-team field with 97.5 points.
Shandon Akeo secured a first-period takedown in his semifinal match against Nathan Rankin from the University of the Ozarks (Ark.) but was hit with a reversal and a four-point nearfall as the clock expired to trail 6-2 at the end of the first period. Akeo got two points back with a reversal of his own with 12 seconds left in the second period. He got two more takedowns in the third period and added a riding-time point to win 9-8 and secure his spot at the national meet. Akeo wasn’t done with his late-match heroics. In the title bout against Brady Kyner of Wartburg College, Akeo trailed 6-4 at the start of the third period. He got an escape, secured a takedown and executed a 46-second rideout to win the Lower Midwest Regional crown 7-6.
Rob Areyano and Gage Linahon also clinched spots at the national meet by finishing second and third, respectively. Areyano needed overtime to secure his spot at the national meet. Trailing 2-1 at the start of third period, he stayed on top of North Central College’s Alex Villar for the full two-minute period to pick up a riding-time point and send it into overtime. In the two-minute sudden victory period, Areyano secured a takedown and a 4-2 win. He would lose the title match against Wartbrug’s Kristian Rumph. Linahon lost his semifinal match 11-6 against the No. 1 seed and eventual champion Cody Baldridge of North Central before battling back with a pair of wins in the consolation bracket. He started with an 8-3 decision over Treyton Steffen of Cornell College before winning the third-place bout 4-1 over Loras College’s Brady Vogel. Samuel Zook and Peyton Hammerich came up one win short of a trip to the national meet after each lost in the third-place match.
The national meet is set for Friday, March 12 and Saturday, March 13 in Cedar Rapids at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse.