Baldwin, Martinson Headed to National Wrestling Meet

A pair of Central College men’s wrestlers secured a trip to the NCAA Division III Championships by earning top-three finishes at the Region VI Championships Saturday. In the team standings, Central was fifth of 16  teams with 117.5 points. Wartburg College won the team title with 169 points. 

Pierre Baldwin was the regional champion at 141 pounds, earning Central’s sixth individual crown since the regional format debuted in 2013 and first since 2022. He won both of his matches by major decision on Saturday, including a 14-2 major decision Wartburg’s Tommy Thongseng in the final. He outscored opponents 49-4 in four regional matches. Carson Martinson won a thrilling 7-6 decision in his 165-pound semifinal against Wartburg’s Aiden Brosinski to earn his national bid, but fell 6-3 to top-seeded Dustin Bohren of Loras College in the final.

The No. 8 seed entering the weekend, Dominick Marre won three straight matches after suffering a loss by technical fall in the 125-pound quarterfinals against No. 1 Connor Fiser of Loras. He nearly avenged that loss before dropping an 11-8 decision in sudden victory overtime to finish in fourth. Junior 184-pounder Sam West also lost in the third-place match, dropping a 7-2 decision to Austin Wetzel of Westminster College (Mo.). Eight Dutch wrestlers finished in the top eight: Carter Martinson was fifth at 157 pounds, Jason Hermann was sixth at 174 pounds, Cade Siebrecht was sixth at 149 pounds and Austin Roos was seventh at 197 pounds.

Baldwin and Carson Martinson will travel to Providence, Rhode Island for the National Championship Meet, which starts on Friday, March 14th.

Brown, Purcell Titles Highlight Saturday at Conference Track Meet for Dutch Men

Individual event titles for Jack Brown in the mile and Kale Purcell in the triple jump were the key moments for the Central College men’s track and field team on the final day of the American Rivers Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships Saturday. The Dutch men finished fifth with 76.5 team points, while Wartburg College won the team championship with 207.5 points.

Brown saved his best lap for the end of the mile when he overtook Wartburg College’s Lance Sobaski with a 29.828 split. It was the fastest lap by any of the 23 runners in the field. It was the opposite story for Purcell in the triple jump, who recorded his winning mark of 47 feet, 11.25 inches on his first attempt. It was the senior’s first indoor triple jump league title and second overall after winning the outdoors in 2024.

Four of the top five finishers in the 60-meter hurdles represented Central. Gunner Meyer was second in 8.09 seconds and Reid Pakkebier was third in 8.14 seconds to earn all-conference accolades. Additionally, Grant Miller was fourth in 8.15 seconds and Connor Miklos was fifth in 8.27 seconds. Meyer also added an all-conference performance in the high jump, taking third with a leap of 6 feet, 5 inches.

Central will send a select group of athletes to the Wartburg Qualifier next weekend in Waverly.

Central Women Relay Win Puts Exclamation Point on Conference Track Championships

The Central College women’s track and field team won its third straight 4×400-meter relay at the American Rivers Conference Championships Indoor Championships on Saturday. Central was third with 126 team points, while Loras College won the team crown with 195.5.

The quartet of Mary Gustason, Olivia Bohlen, Emily McMartin, and Ava Parkins edged Wartburg College by .25 seconds to win the 4×400 relay in 3 minutes. 56.43 seconds. Before anchoring the relay team, Parkins had two other all-conference finishes, taking second in the 400 meters (57.79 seconds) and third in the 60 meters (7.80 seconds). Bohlen broke the school record in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.86 seconds to place second. McMartin also made a second appearance on the all-conference podium for the 200 meters, taking third in 25.71 seconds. Peyton Steffen and Addison Parrott finished first and second respectively in the 3,000 meters, with Steffen crossing the line in 9:54.41 and Parrott finishing in 9:58.72. Steffen also was the runner-up in the mile (4:57.28). The 4×800-meter relay team of Abby Halverson, Riley Packer, Teah Miller and Alivia Roerdink also earned all-conference accolades with a third-place effort in 9:54.56. 

Central will send a select group of athletes to the Wartburg Qualifier next weekend in Waverly.

Dutch Win Twice on Baseball Opening Day

Pounding out 23 hits, including 10 extra-base knocks, the Central College baseball team swept past St. Norbert College (Wis.) in their season-opening doubleheader on Saturday. The Dutch (2-0) won the opening game 11-1 in seven innings before closing out the day with an 8-5 win in game two.

At the plate, center fielder Max Steinlage was 5-for-8 on the day with two doubles, a home run and four RBIs. First baseman Chance Dreyer and third baseman Brayden Sawyer also had four hits apiece. Dreyer and shortstop Garrett Guenther added home runs while catcher/right fielder Caleb Douglass had two doubles.

Game one starting pitcher Mark Kenney needed just 76 pitches in six innings to get the victory, and allowed just one earned run on three hits with four strikeouts. Xander Poock recorded the final three outs. Brayden Sawyer got the win in game two, throwing six innings with five strikeouts and allowing just one earned run. Bryce Haessig recorded a three-inning save in relief.

The Dutch play another doubleheader today in West Liberty at noon against Cornell College.

Central Softball Finishes Opening Weekend 2-2

Playing Calvin College and the University of Washington- St. Louis for the second straight day, the Central College softball team split the two games once again on Saturday. Unlike Friday, the Dutch defeated No. 20 ranked Calvin 9-1 in six innings but fell to the University of Washington-St. Louis 5-3.

Against Calvin (3-1), the game was 1-1 going into the top of the sixth inning, before Central exploded for eight runs. The team sent up 12 hitters to the plate in the inning and got RBIs from designated player Alexa Anderson, left fielder Emma Jensen and two from right fielder Mariah Parton. Pitcher Emma Beck tossed her second consecutive complete game, allowing one run on seven hits and three strike outs across six innings. Second baseman Haley Bach recorded one hit and one RBI, while also scoring the first run of the game. Anderson and Parton both collected two hits along with their RBIs.

Against Washington-St. Louis (5-1), Parton recorded an RBI in the second inning despite the Dutch being down early. The team attempted to make a comeback late in the game with Bach bringing in two runs in the fifth inning, but the Bears shut down Central for the rest of the game. Pitcher Rylie Van Wyk came on in relief and threw another 1.2 innings without allowing a run. Jadyn Huisman came in the seventh inning and also did not allow a run.

The Dutch will not play Webster University today, as those games have been cancelled. Central’s next game will be on March 12th, when it starts the spring break trip against Hanover College in Louisville, Kentucky.