LINCOLN, Neb. – Nebraska Wesleyan opened the 2025–26 wrestling season in front of a lively home crowd inside Snyder Arena Wednesday night, but Central College's nationally respected lineup proved too much to overcome as the Dutch earned a 47–0 victory in the dual opener for both programs.

The Prairie Wolves showed fight early, particularly through a pair of gritty performances from Robbie Fisher and Emilio Chavez, but the Dutch capitalized on a string of early bonus-point victories to pull away. Four of Central's 10 wins came by fall, and four more by major decision or tech fall.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Central's 4th-ranked regionally Dominick Marre struck first, scoring three takedowns in the opening period against NWU's Julian Long to build a 9–2 lead. Marre added two more takedowns in the second frame before finishing the bout with a fall at 4:23 to give the Dutch an early 6–0 advantage.

#6 regionally ranked Carter West extended the Dutch lead with another fall, pinning Isaiah Graves in 2:27 after controlling the tempo from the opening whistle.

One of the night's best matches came at 141, where NWU's Robbie Fisher squared off with 3rd-ranked Pierre Baldwin. Fisher opened strong with a takedown, but Baldwin countered late in the period to lead 4–3. Fisher clawed back to make it 9–8 after forcing two stalling calls, before Baldwin sealed the 12–8 decision with a takedown in the final 15 seconds.

Central's 5th-ranked regionally Cade Siebrech showcased his offense against Nathan Rowden, building an 11–5 lead before recording a fall in 3:26 to make it 21–0.

Cy Peterson earned his lone point in his matchup with Christian Stanek with a first period escape. Stanek used a steady attack and third-period rideout to secure a 10–1 major decision.

Freshman Trev Halsey made his Snyder Arena debut at 165. Halsey battled through a pair of escapes, but Central's relentless pace led to a tech fall in 2:48.

At 174, veteran Emilio Chavez gave NWU one of its more competitive bouts of the night. Chavez  escaped three times from Abe Bushong and trailed just 3–2 entering the third period before Bushong finished strong for an 8–3 win.

Casey Kinnell fought through a full seven minutes, dropping an 11–2 major decision to Cole Martin despite showing solid defense in the second period.

The Dutch added another fall at 197 as 2nd-ranked regionally Samuel West used an early takedown to set up a pin against NWU's Habeeb Raji in 1:38.

Closing out the night, sophomore heavyweight Donovan Mann took on Hayden Hearne. Mann escaped early but couldn't slow Hearne's pace, falling by major decision, 17–4.

RESULTS

125: Dominick Marre (CENT) over Julian Long (NWU) (Fall 4:23)
133: Carter West (CENT) over Isaiah Graves (NWU) (Fall 2:27)
141: Pierre Baldwin (CENT) over Robbie Fisher (NWU) (Dec 12-8)
149: Cade Siebrecht (CENT) over Nathan Rowden (NWU) (Fall 3:26)
157: Christian Stanek (CENT) over Cy Peterson (NWU) (MD 10-1)
165: Max Haws (CENT) over Trev Halsey (NWU) (TF 17-2 2:48)
174: Abe Bushong (CENT) over Emilio Chavez (NWU) (Dec 8-3)
184: Cole Martin (CENT) over Casey Kinnell (NWU) (MD 11-2)
197: Samuel West (CENT) over Habeeb Raji (NWU) (Fall 1:38)
285: Hayden Hearne (CENT) over Donovan Mann (NWU) (MD 17-4)
 

UP NEXT

Nebraska Wesleyan (0–1) will hit the road for its next test, traveling north to face St. John's (Minn.) on Friday, Nov. 7.