PELLA —Central College is eyeing a return to contender status in the Iowa Conference men’s basketball race.

After making a surprising run to the championship in 2014, the Dutch made a quick exit from the league tournament last year, leaving them eager for another shot. ANovember 14 contest with Webster (Mo.) opens a slate highlighted by a Dec. 28-29 trip to Puerto Rico.

After inheriting a team that posted a 10-14 mark in his first season, fourth-year coach Craig Douma led Central to back-to-back winning campaigns the past two years, including a 21-8 mark and the program’s 10th NCAA Division III tourney berth in 2013-14.

The Dutch return 10 letterwinners from last year’s squad that finished fourth in the conference with an 8-6 league record, but only two starters are back.

“We’re really excited to see what this year brings,” Douma said. “We feel we can contend for a conference championship.”

But first, there are several lineup questions to be answered.

“There will be a lot of competition for positions,” he said. “As a coach, that’s what you want. It will only make us better.”

Guards—The Dutch return six guards from last year, but graduated all-conference sharpshooter Nile Eckermann, who averaged 15.3 points per contest last season and drilled a team-high 74 3-point goals. Also lost is Aaron Rosenstiel who was third on the squad, averaging 10.9 points per game.

But 6-foot-4 sophomore Kyle Smith returns after a promising freshman campaign, averaging 6.9 points and 3.6 boards.

“Kyle is a guy we can use in a lot of different ways,” Douma said. “He has the ability to put the ball on the floor, shoot the three and play multiple positions.”

Austin Hauser, a 6-1 senior, also returns after averaging 5.3 points and 2.6 assists as the starting point guard.

“We’re looking for a lot of leadership out of Austin this season,” said Douma. “He’s growing as a player and developing that senior leadership role.”

Tate Handsaker, a 6-4 junior, won the team’s Mr. Defense Award and averaged 4.3 points. “Tate is a guy who had his name called last year and really stepped up,” Douma said. “He’s stronger and faster this season and has a year of varsity experience under his belt.”

Nate Munn, a 6-4 junior two-time letterwinner, was an aggressive offensive player off the bench in limited minutes last year, tallying 3.4 points a game. “Nate is a great shooter,” said Douma. “He comes into a game and brings instant offense. He makes the defense guard him all over the court and has an opportunity to make a splash this season.”

Last year’s backup point guard, Trashawn Boyd, returns after playing in 17 games. The 5-8 sophomore from Normal, Ill. averaged 3.5 points. “Trashawn is one of the most explosive guards on the team,” Douma said. “He’s worked really hard to gain strength this offseason and has come into camp ready to compete.”

Two other letterwinners return at guard in 6-0 sophomore Nick Drucker and 6-4 junior Pete Walker. Darius Bradford, a 6-0 senior transfer, will also get an opportunity to compete at guard. Sophomores Ben Clark and Jacob Hay also return.

Forwards— Central’s other returning starter is all-region forward Colby Taylor, the team’s top scorer. The 6-6 junior was a third-team D3hoops.com All-West Region pick and a second team all-conference honoree after averaging 16.4 points, 9.6 boards and a team-high 2.9 assists.

“Colby is going to play a critical role for us,” Douma said. “He’s a great shooter, stretches the floor and can handle the basketball. He’s going to bring a lot of leadership.”

Ryan Kunkel, a 6-7 junior, is back after an injury-riddled season. He averaged 2.2 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.

“Ryan started for us last season, got hurt and just couldn’t recover,” said Douma. “We’re excited to see what he can do this season. He’s athletic, long and will definitely contribute this year.”

It’s likely to be an undersized front line for the Dutch. The team’s tallest player, 6-8 sophomore Luke Posivio, has little experience.

A host of others looking for time include 6-5 junior Austin Glawe, 6-4 sophomore Connor Hehli, 6-5 sophomore Taylor Heitkamp, 6-4 sophomore Austin Konsor and 6-4 sophomore Jordan Saddoris.

Freshmen— Douma brought in 13 freshmen who will mainly see time at the junior varsity level this season.

“We have a nice freshman class that came in,” said Douma. “We have a lot of different pieces with a nice mix of height and length, as well as great guard play. I’m excited to see how they develop this year.”

Schedule—The Dutch will play a tough non-conference schedule highlighted by the holiday Excursion.

“Our team is really excited about our trip to Puerto Rico,” Douma said. “We get to see a different culture and it’s a good opportunity to bond and grow as a team. It was great for us two years ago and we are looking forward to it again.”

The conference slate begins January 6 at Luther. “I think our schedule sets up nicely for conference play,” said Douma. “More than ever, it’s anybody’s chance to win the league this year. The parity has been there for years and continues to get better.”

Coaching staff—Douma is excited about the coaches he has on the staff.

“Our coaching staff is awesome,” he said. “We continue to grow and I couldn’t ask for anything better. I would put our staff up against anyone’s.”

Joe Steinkamp, a former Central player, is entering his 10th season on the staff. “Having Coach Steinkamp is like having another head coach,” said Douma. “He’s a basketball junkie that studies the game hard. The two of us work so well together. We challenge each other and that’s what a coaching staff should do.”

Michael Iseman joined the staff after finishing his Central career last year, serving as a varsity assistant and the junior varsity coach.

“Mike brings a youthful energy and passion for the game,” Douma said. “He has already made a huge impact in recruiting and he is doing the necessary steps to make himself a successful head coach one day.”

Goals— Douma knows the recipe for success for the Dutch.

“We have to defend, take care of the ball and rebound,” he said. “If we can do those three things well, the rest of the game will take care of itself.”

Douma knows the scoring opportunities will come.

“We have shooters who can take care of business on the offensive end,” he said. “If we don’t turn the ball over, we can score points and give ourselves a chance to win every game.”

The inexperienced Dutch won’t be favored in the conference race, but Douma nonetheless wants his team to aim for hoisting the league trophy come February 27.

“Our team got a feel for that two years ago and the players who were on that team know how good it felt,” he said. “We are at the point where we expect to contend for a conference title.”

Story provided by Alex Cooper

Oskaloosa–Alyce Correia (Jr., Perth, Australia, Elementary Education) and Silvia Munoz (Sr., Paramount, Calif., Elementary Education) finished off strong 2015 campaigns by being named to the league’s postseason groups as the Heart of America Athletic Conference announced its women’s soccer teams Wednesday.

Correia and Munoz were both named to the 13-person second team; a first and third squad (also with 13 players each) were also honored.  The award is the third for Correia in her career and the second for Munoz.

Munoz paced the Statesmen offense with 10 goals and two assists for 22 points.  The one-time Heart Offensive Player of the Week notched three game-winners this fall.  She posted a pair of hat tricks, scoring three goals against both Clarke and Evangel in back-to-back outings.

Correia tallied three goals with two assists for eight points; the junior converted her lone penalty kick opportunity.  While her offensive stats may not have been overly impressive, her control of the William Penn midfield made her a lock for her third postseason laurel in as many seasons.

Rosie McShane of Benedictine (Kan.) was selected as the Heart’s Most Valuable Player as well as Offensive Player of the Year, while her coach Lincoln Roblee was chosen as Coach of the Year.  Baker’s Krista Hooper collected Defensive POY accolades.

To view the complete all-Heart teams, click here http://www.haacsports.com/d/2015-16/2015{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b}20WSOC{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b}20All{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b}20Conf{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b}20Teams.pdf

Story provided by Wade Steinlage

Oskaloosa–Two of the William Penn men’s soccer team’s best were honored as the Heart of America Athletic Conference announced its postseason teams Wednesday.
Angelo Kelly (Jr., Ottumwa, Iowa, Physical Education) and Randolph Tamba (Jr., Firestone, Liberia, Information Technology) were both named to the 13-person first team; two additional 13-player teams were also honored.

The award is the first for Tamba, while Kelly is now a three-time pick (first nod on the top team).  The duo will try to lead the Statesmen to an upset over top-seeded and #4 Baker (Kan.) in the Heart quarterfinals Friday (7 p.m. start).

Kelly has tallied six goals with five assists for 17 points thus far in 2015.  The senior has managed two game-winners and converted both of penalty kick tries.  He has once been selected as Heart Offensive Player of the Week.

Tamba has paced WPU with 12 goals and three assists for 27 points.  The junior, who had a hat trick against Evangel, managed three game-winners.

Both players will now be considered for NAIA All-America recognition.

Amer Didic of Baker was named the Heart’s Most Valuable Player as well as Defensive Player of the Year, while his coach Nate Houser earned Coach of the Year laurels.  Raul Beneit of Missouri Valley was named Offensive POY.

To view the complete all-Heart teams, go to http://www.haacsports.com/d/2015-16/2015{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b}20MSOC{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b}20All{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b}20Conf{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b}20Teams.pdf

Story provided by Wade Steinlage

PELLA— Coming off the program’s best season in over 20 years, the Central College wrestling team is poised to take the next step and make a splash on a national level.

Last year Central finished in the top half of the Iowa Conference for the first time since 1995. With seven starters returning bolstered by a stellar recruiting class, ninth-year coach Eric Van Kley, looks for this year’s team to reach new heights.

“I think our guys really embrace the challenge of having had a special season last year,” he said. “But last year was exactly that, last year. With Central College wrestling, our expectations continue to grow. We can wrestle in the postseason, finish in the top of the conference and be competitive nationally. We’ve got the athletes and a coaching staff that are up for the challenge.”

Last year was the fifth consecutive in which a Central wrestler qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships. The Dutch reached another milestone in Van Kley’s rebuilding efforts last year as Daniel Page, a 125-pounder and 197-pound Matt Seabold both earned All-America status. Their performances helped the Dutch finish in a tie for 29th place in Division III, the best for Central since 2003.

“The next step for this program is to have success at the national level on a consistent basis,” Van Kley said. “We did it last year and now it’s a matter of doing it again and hopefully doing it better.”

The Iowa Conference is as strong as ever, with Wartburg, Coe and Luther ranked in the top 10 in the preseason National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) poll. Central, as well as Loras and Dubuque, also spent time in the rankings a year ago, while Buena Vista and Simpson are also trending upwards.

“Our conference is without question the strongest in the country,” Van Kley said. “There’s no place we’d rather be for that competition. Every single night in the Iowa Conference you’re going against a team that has guys capable of wrestling at a very high level.”

Central also set program records off the mat a year ago when four Dutch wrestlers were honored by the NWCA as Scholar All-Americans.

“I’m equally proud if not even more proud of having four Scholar All-Americans,” Van Kley said. “That’s something we’d like to attain or improve upon this year.”

Fifteen new wrestlers join the program this season, including 12 freshmen and three transfers. The newcomers hail from Iowa, Illinois, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.

“I’ve been pleased with the commitment level that we’ve seen from them in workouts,” Van Kley said. “Now it’s just matter a matter of doing the little things on a daily basis and setting themselves up for success.”

125

Graduation hit the Dutch hard at 125 pounds as they lost Page, a four-year starter. Page, became the 11th member of the 100-win club at Central last season, and is now an assistant coach for the Dutch.

Vying to replace Page will be brothers AJ and CJ Pestano. AJ, a senior, went 9-10 at 133 pounds last season, while sophomore CJ was 20-7 at 125 pounds.

“Both of them got a lot of varsity experience last year and had a lot of success,” Van Kley said. “CJ was a Scholar All-American. AJ stepped in several times at 133 and had one of our biggest wins of the year against Loras.”

133

A healthy senior Aaron Anderson will look to improve upon his injury-riddled 2014-15 season. In limited action, he went 11-6 including a second-place finish at the Milwaukee School of Engineering Invitational.

“Aaron’s a three-year starter and tremendous leader as a captain.” Van Kley said. “He really sets the tone and excels on the mat in the classroom and socially.”

A trio of freshmen, Tristan Clark of Monroe, Devin Dilley of Springfield, Ill. and Chase Petty of Pella provide additional depth.

141

Five returners are vying for the hotly contested 141-pound slot in the Dutch lineup.

“That is going to be a weight that’s up for grabs,” Van Kley said. “We think that’s a really good thing.”

Several different wrestlers rotated at the spot last year before sophomore Jahleel Vester (14-19) finished the season out as the starter. Junior Mitchell Knock (3-8), and sophomores Gabriel Cobb (9-8), Jake Challen (6-11) and Preston Adams (0-12) are also in the race.

“That’s a spot that we need to be stronger at this year than we were last year,” Van Kley said. “It may be a little bit by committee on how we do it. We’ve got some returners who gained some valuable experience last year. We’re going to need some guys to step up and grab hold of that weight.”

149

With last year’s starter, Ryan Vandall, moving up to 165 pounds, 149 pounds is lacking experience. Sophomore Elden Esterly (2-12) is the lone returner, while freshmen Jeremy Vester of Oak Harbor, Wash., Jordan Challen of Jefferson and Tanner Hocker of Fort Madison show promise.

“We’re potentially going to be young there, but I think young and talented,” Van Kley said. “The freshmen had a lot of success at the high school level, but they’re starting over in college. Some of those guys are going to have to grow up in a hurry. We’re going to have pretty high expectations.”

157

Mike O’Connor went 18-13, including 12 wins by fall, at 157 pounds last year.

“He had some really big wins for us last year,” Van Kley said. “The thing about Mike is that he’s far and away the best guy on our team from the top position. He’s got high expectations and he’s put in a lot of work to continue improving.”

Freshman Lane Rummelhart from Guthrie Center is also competing at 157.

165

Two starters from last year will battle for one spot this year. Cory McCleary went 9-13 as a freshman at 165 last year, but will have to fend off Vandall, who was 21-10 at 149 pounds last year.

“That’s another weight where we think there’s some really positive competition,” Van Kley said. “Both Vandall and McCleary had some really positive showings last year and both were a bit disappointed by how they did at the regional. We’re hoping another year of experience under their belts may produce some good results.”

A quartet of freshmen contenders include Jamie Day of Cedar Rapids, Nathan Fritz of Sigourney, Eddie Ginnan of Homer Glen, Ill. and Jeremy Scheuerman of Jefferson, will be in the mix as well.

174

Though he spent the majority of the year at 174 pounds junior Zach Moss may have had his best performance at 184 pounds last season. An injury created an opening for the NCAA Division IIII regional tournament and Moss (19-13) took advantage by finishing fifth.

“Zach’s pretty special,” Van Kley said. “There’s not a lot of guys that can move up a weight class for the final event of the year and do what he did by placing at the regional tournament.”

Moss will return to his normal weight of 174 pounds this season with his loftier expectations.

“We think he’s even better this year than he was last year,” Van Kley said. “Zach has very high goals of wrestling at nationals. He just needs to get that next level of confidence so he can beat the best guys in the country at 174 pounds.”

184

With the graduation of four-year starter Tyler Lowy, someone new will step in at 184 pounds. Junior Steven Candley, an Arlington, Texas native and Ellsworth Community College transfer and freshman Austin Laabs of Guthrie Center are the favorites.

“Anytime you lose a guy that had the success that Lowy had, you’re not going to replace him easily,” Van Kley said. “Candley is a guy that has had some success at the junior college level. Laabs was a high school state finalist last year. We still think it can be a strong weight for us as they get more mat time and experience.”

197

Seabold returns at 197 pounds and after an impressive 24-8 campaign, He is looking to improve upon his eighth-place NCAA finish. Seabold opens the season ranked No. 4 according to the NWCA poll.

“Matt had a really successful year last year,” Van Kley said. “But this is a new year and he has even higher goals for this season. He shows a tremendous amount of leadership and puts the work in every day to make it work. We look at 197 as an exceptionally strong weight and we’re excited to put a returning All-American out there.”

Candley and freshman Christopther Murnio of Homer Glen, Ill. may also figure at 197.

285

The competition for the starting nod at 285 pounds was back and forth throughout last season. Senior Jay Pike (17-16) finally edged junior Jaime Miranda (17-12) in order to get the nod at the regional meet. The competition resumes this year.

“Both of them really feed off of the competition and are tremendous teammates in pushing each other,” Van Kley said. “We look at it is a strong weight for us regardless of who is wrestling.”

Seniors Alex Dean and Francisco Ruiz Jr. have seen little mat time but are important to the team, Van Kley said. “

Both of them have been around the program and shown good leadership,” he said. “They’ll both have opportunities to step in this year. We’re really proud and excited of the seniors we have this year.”

Murino is also a possibility at 285.

Coaching staff

The Dutch coaching staff features veteran coaches and some recent Central graduates.

Van Kley is joined by former Central All-American Matt Diehl, entering his 25^th season serving the program, including eight years as head from 1996-2004. Kevin Donahue, an All-American and conference champion at Cornell College is back for a fifth season. Wartburg grad Bob Kuennen enters his seventh season.

The coaching staff also features 2013 Central grad Joseph Atwell and 2015 grad Daniel Page. Both Atwell and Page wrestled in the program under Van Kley and each made at least one trip to the national meet.

“It really helps having two guys that have been through the program and know the expectations of the program,” Van Kley said.

“I feel really blessed and fortunate to have each of the guys on our staff. At the core of who they are, they really care a lot about young people and making them better on and off the mat.”

Schedule

The 2015-16 schedule sees the Dutch match up with some familiar foes and a few new faces.

The biggest difference from last year’s schedule is an appearance at the season-opening Wis.-Platteville Invitational November 7.

“I think it’s going to be a great event,” Van Kley said. “Platteville had three national qualifiers last year and we’re going to see some other good teams from our region there.”

The rest of the first semester is highlighted by Minnesota trips for the Auggie-Adidas Open in Minneapolis November 21 and a dual with St. Olaf at Northfield December 10. Central opens the conference campaign with a dual at Coe November 19.

Central will host seven duals after the holidays and the Central College Under Armour Invitational on January 9.

“When people see our schedule, they’re going to see a lot of home events during the second semester,” Van Kley said. “We think the extra home events will be fun both for our guys and our fans.”

The Dutch will host one of two Iowa Conference Dual tournaments when Wartburg, Dubuque, Buena Vista visit Pella January 23 for one of the most important dates of the league season.

“It’s going to be huge,” Van Kley said. “We’re going to host some of the best teams from not only our region, but also some of the best teams in the country. We’re very excited to be hosting it.”

The NCAA Division III Central Regional returns to Dubuque February 28 as wrestlers from across the region vie for spots at the national meet. The lone newcomer to the region, Millikin (Ill.), is bringing back its wrestling program after six-year absence. All eight Iowa Conference schools, as well as Cornell, Augustana (Ill.), Ozarks (Ark.), and Huntingdon (Ala.) return to the field this year.

“Last year our regional had five more All-Americans than the next closest regional,” Van Kley said.  “It’s definitely the toughest regional and our guys embrace that. They know that if they have success at regional, they’ll have a lot of confidence to be successful nationally.

Any Dutch wrestlers who qualify for the national meet will have the luxury of a short trip as it is slated to take place in Cedar Rapids, March 11-12.

Story provided by Joe Flaherty