Akeo Headed to National Wrestling Semifinal

After going 2-0 on the opening day of the NCAA Division III Championships Friday, Central College wrestler Shandon Akeo will wrestle for a spot in the national title match.

Akeo was dominant from start to finish in his first-round bout against Joey Lamparelli from Muhlenberg College (Pa.), registering a technical fall 17-2 (6:44). In his quarterfinal match, he needed overtime to take an 8-6 win over No. 6 Nicholas Arborio of Western New England University (Mass.).

After dropping his opener 5-2 against the University of Chicago’s Ryan Flack, Rob Areyano roared back to pin No. 4 Tony Ulaszek of the United States Coast Guard Academy (Ct.). He was eliminated in a 3-1 defeat against No. 6 Alex Villar from North Central College.

Gage Linahon lost both of his matches in the preliminary round section of the 18-man bracket. He fell 7-5 in overtime against Camden Farrow from York College (Pa.) in his first match before getting pinned against Josh Harkless of Rochester Institute of Technology (N.Y.) in his second match.

Akeo will be on the mat at 10 a.m. for the 125-pound semifinal and will face the No. 7 seed Carlos Champagne of Wabash College (Ind.) in the semifinals on Saturday morning. He’s already secured All-American honors.

Five Central All-Americans on First Day of National Track Meet

The four members of the Central College men’s track and field distance medley relay team and long jumper Brock Lewis stood on the All-American podium Friday at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships. Through five scored events, Central’s men’s team is tied for 13th in the team standings with six points.

In the distance medley relay, Adam Sylvia, Carter Tryon, Noah Jorgenson, and Will DeHaan finished in eighth in a time 10 minutes, 1.83 seconds. Lewis registered his best long jump mark on his second attempt, reaching 23 feet, 10 inches and finishing fourth. Jorgenson finished 11th in the 800-meter run prelims in 1:53.62, missing Saturday’s finals. At the halfway point of the men’s heptathlon, Brody Klein is 11th with 2,599 points and Lucas Heitz is 19th with 2,408 points.

Abby Marr finished just off the podium in the women’s weight throw, placing ninth with a toss of 55 feet, 4.15 inches. The top-nine finish qualified her for the finals and gave her an extra three throws at the national level.

Day two of action for Central starts with the men’s high jump at 11 a.m. (EST).