Wrestlers win weekly conference honors

Story by Chad Mullens

The No. 14 ranked Baker University wrestling team went 2-1 at the HAAC quad on Saturday, defeating Graceland University and Benedictine College before losing to No. 3 Missouri Valley College.

Senior Jakob Price won the HAAC Wrestler of the Week award after going undefeated in the HAAC quad, the second time a Wildcat has won this award in three weeks. Freshman Bryant Guillen won the award on Nov. 11 after posting a 6-2 record for the week.

One other wrestler had a 3-0 record on Saturday, as freshman Bryce Shoemaker went undefeated in the 133-pound weight class.

The 157-pound class for Baker, which is made up of sophomore Connor Middleton, junior Nick Haugen and freshman Aaron Seybold, also swept the HAAC quad.

Guillen, Callahan and junior Beau Bennett each went 2-1.

The Wildcats swept the Graceland Yellowjackets, going 10-0 in their matches and scoring 49 points. Baker then took seven of the 10 matches against Benedictine, winning the dual 33-12.

Facing Missouri Valley, Baker went 3-for-10 in its matches, with Price, Shoemaker and Seybold all winning. The ‘Cats ultimately lost the dual 24-12.

The Wildcats will hit the road to Iowa City, Iowa, on Friday for a dual with the University of Iowa, a top five NCAA Division I program.

This will be the second time for Baker to participate in the Iowa City duals. Its first meeting came in 2011, when the Hawkeyes defeated the Wildcats 47-3.