Four major decisions and two pins secured the Baker University wrestling team’s victory Tuesday against Concordia University at Collins Center. The dual was the second of the season for the Wildcats who now sit with a dual record of 2-0.
Losing only two matches on the night, the ‘Cats racked up 37 points against the Bulldogs’ six.
“Winning always feels good,” head coach Jimmy May said. “It was an interesting dual meet because we had two teams that were both brand new programs with a bunch of young kids all out there fighting against each other and putting on a good performance.”
Baker’s Alan Callahan, of Baldwin City, opened the dual at 125 pounds against Concordia’s Logan Shanks. Callahan won the match with a major decision 15-2.
“It felt really good to wrestle well and get a win in front of my home crowd,” he said. “It was pretty exciting.”
After losing a match at 141 pounds, the Wildcats went on a winning streak until the last match of the dual when 285-pound Michael Faison lost to Concordia’s Barry Hubbard 4-2.
Jakob Price, 165 pounds, grabbed Baker’s first pin of the night over Keith Polsen with a fall time of 5:38.
Brandon Gebhardt, 197 pounds, quickly took his opponent, Brooks Bowthorpe, to the mat before sealing the deal with a pin 1:08 into the first period.
“It was a pretty good feeling, especially since he was pretty tough competition” Gebhardt said. “He was a pretty solid kid.”
May was pleased Gebhardt was able to pickup the pin against a strong competition.
“(Gebhardt’s) a strong boy, the other kid was strong too, we had two strong kids out there locking up on each other so something was going to happen and it happened to be Brandon ending up on top and he ended up getting the pin,” May said.
Robb Waters, 133 pounds, Nathan Sommer, 157 pounds, and Clarence Jordan, 174 pounds, each took down their opponents with a major decision, while 149-pound Brett Delich won over Brandon Starkey 7-6. Jacob Nowak, 184 pounds, won by forfeit.
Next up Baker will battle in the University of Missouri Open at 9 a.m. Sunday in Columbia, Mo.
