The No. 11 Baker University wrestling team honored its first class of seniors who have been with the program since its inaugural season in 2009 and the senior Wildcats came through in a big way to defeat Bethany College 24-9 on senior night in Collins Center.
Seniors Alan Callahan, Nathan Sommer, Parker Owen, Jarid Price and Brandon Gebhardt all won their matches to score 18 of the team’s 24 points.
“It is going to be a great memory looking back,” Owen said. “We got a lot of work done and we kind of set a precedent for the seniors next year.”
Callahan led things off for the Wildcats despite not having to wrestle his 125-pound match since his opponent forfeited. The victory put the Wildcats in front 6-0, but the Swedes fought back to make things interesting.
Bethany won decisions at the 133-pound and 141-pound weight classes to tie the match at 6-6 to take momentum early on.
“We started off a little bit slow, but we haven’t had any (single) duals this year,” Price said. “It is kind of hard to come into this when we’ve been getting ready for regionals and nationals.”
Sophomore Nick Haugen stepped up for the Wildcats at 149-pounds and earned a 7-3 decision to put the Wildcats up 9-6. The lead did not last long, though, as Bethany tied it back up in the 159-pound matchup.
The nine points would be all the Swedes would get, however, as the senior Wildcats took over.
Sommer, Owen and Price earned back-to-back-to-back victories to ensure that the senior class would win its final home dual.
“The main thing for me was how many people that came out and showed support and how loud everybody got for like Gebhardt’s match and stuff,” Owen said. “It was great.”
After sophomore Robert Shadrach won the 197-pound match by a 9-3 decision, the No. 1 heavyweight Gebhardt ended the dual with a 2-0 victory.
As all of the seniors on the team were recognized Saturday. Head coach Jimmy May also attested that it was nice to wrestle at home for the first time since the Dan Harris Open at the beginning of the season.
“It is always nice not to travel,” head coach Jimmy May said. “We’ve been all over the country. We’ve been to Springfield, Ill., Las Vegas, Nev., Conway, Ark. You name it, we’ve been there.”
