Thursday was the third-straight victory in the rivalry between the Statesmen (2-3) and Dutch (8-2) that was rekindled in 2013. Central was victorious in nine of 10 matches, with eight of those victories being bonus point victories.
"It's something that we continue to talk about with our team," Van Kley said. "We need to not just win matches, but we need to open matches up and go for bonus points. We showed some good offense tonight."
At 141 pounds, Jahleel Vester (sophomore, Oak Harbor, Wash.) broke his six-match losing skid with a dominating 15-5 major decision over Bryan Pittman.
"He bounced back tonight," Van Kley said. "He gave up the first takedown but really dominated the match after that. We've made some adjustments recently and he really showed improvement tonight."
Making his second dual appearance of the season, Steven Candley (sophomore, Arlington, Texas, Martin HS) picked up a major decision at 197 pounds by beating Chris Rodriguez 11-1.
"We feel like we've got some guys who aren't consistently in the lineup, but when they get an opportunity they have the ability to perform well," Van Kley said. "Steven got to his offense early in the first period and showed consistency through all three periods."
Competing for the first time in 2016, senior A.J. Pestano (Torrance, Calif.) started the match with a 10-2 victory at 125 pounds.
"He started the match well for us tonight," Van Kley said. "He had an injury earlier in the season that he's returning from and it was a big win for him. It was a real solid effort out of a senior captain."
A critical match awaits the Dutch next Thursday in Decorah as they take on No. 12 Luther.
"We have to keep getting tougher," Van Kley said. "We need to be more offensive. If we can keep doing, good things are going to happen for us."
Results:
125--AJ Pestano (Central) won by major decision over John Altieri, 10-2 (0-4)
133--Tommy Rios (William Penn) won by decision over Chase Petty, 11-8 (3-4)
141--Jahleel Vester (Central) won by major decision over Bryan Pittman, 15-5 (3-8)
149--Tanner Hocker (Central) won by technical fall over Fabian Rodriguez, 20-3 (6:12) (3-13)
157--Mike O'Connor (Central) won by major decision over Christian Padilla, 11-0 (3-17)
165--Ryan Vandall (Central) won by major decision over Austinn Goin, 13-2 (3-21)
174--Cory McCleary (Central) won by forfeit (3-27)
184--AJ McBroom (Central) won by fall over Cody Jones, 4:13 (3-33)
197--Steven Candley (Central) won by major decision over Chris Rodriguez, 11-1 (3-37)
285--Jay Pike (Central) won by decision over Matthew Cuthbert, 5-2 (3-40)
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