The Men’s Wrestling team hosted the fourteenth annual Dan Harris Open, consisting of twenty teams, of which only five appeared in the Open along with some individual wrestlers on Nov. 5, 2023.
Baker had twenty wrestlers competing in various weight classes and nearly half of them had taken a step up on the podium placing fourth or higher.
Sophomore Saoul Prado represented Baker in the 125 lbs. division and went 3-0 the whole tournament but fell short by decision (5-3) placing second. Junior Joeseph Triscornia received a first-round bye and like Prado went undefeated into the final match before falling short (16-5) placing second.
In the 149 lbs. division, two Baker wrestlers earned their spot in the top three. Sophomore Nikolas Slatoff won by tech fall (17-2) and fall (4:24) before losing to Senior, Dallas Koelzer in a tiebreaker which would lead to Slatoff taking third by another tech fall (16-1). Koelzer went 4-0 on the day with a major decision (14-1) and a fall (3:34) before winning the tiebreaker against Slatoff which would eventually lead to his first-place finish by decision (5-2)
Junior Jakob Stovall received a first-round bye in the 157 lbs. division but would be forced to climb the ladder after losing in the Quarterfinals. During that climb, Stovall had to face both Sophomores, Kale Slater and Jonah Muhammad, for a chance at a third-place finish and was able to defeat both as well as winning by major decision (14-4) earning that third-place finish.
Senior Joey Hancock went undefeated in the 165 lbs. division including two falls with one of them being in the first-place match and scoring seventeen points for Baker.
Baker dominated the 184 lbs. division with Senior, Brett Bober winning the weight class after a tech fall (15-0) and Freshman Kevin Lund taking third after a win by injury against Junior, Roman Bushek. The three altogether competed to score a fourth of the team’s points for the tournament.
Senior Malachi Karibo took care of business in the 197 lbs. division with a fall in just under three minutes, a tech fall (20-3) in the semifinals and a major decision win (13-3) to claim that first-place spot on the podium.
Men’s Wrestling looks to keep the momentum rolling in Grimes, Iowa where they will compete in the Grand View Open on Nov. 11, 2023.
