Baker Wrestling Sweeps Season-Opening Duals over William Penn

BALDWIN CITY - Baker men's and women's wrestling each came out on top of their first duals of the 2024-25 season, sweeping William Penn in a wrestling doubleheader Thursday night in the Collins Center.

The BU women, who came in at No. 15 in the latest top-25 poll, knocked off No. 5 William Penn in the first dual of the night with a big 29-14 win over the Statesmen.

Veronica Greene started things off with a pin at 103 pounds over WPU's Teya Garner, who is ranked 11th in the NAIA, while Kylee Slyter followed with a tech fall in the 110-pound match. Kylie Robledo picked up a win at 124 pounds, defeating Catherine Steinkamp, who ranks No. 15 nationally at 117 pounds.

Leading the match, 13-12, Baker claimed the final four bouts with McKenna Haltom kickstarting the run on a last-second takedown against a top-15 opponent in Naida Abdijanovic (13th) in the 145-pound match.

Sophia Yorko earned a pin at 160 pounds, Jaclyn Daley added another BU victory at 180 and Nevaeh Wardlow capped the dual with the third and final pin to give the Wildcats both a conference and top-25 win in their first dual of the fall.

In the men's dual, Saoul Prado opened with a tech fall in the 125-pound match, using a riding time bonus to give Baker a 5-0 lead.

Nikolas Slatoff tacked on a second tech fall for BU at 149 pounds and Jonah Muhammad came through with a 10-7 decision at 157 pounds, but the Statesmen would win the next two matches to take a 19-13 lead in the dual.

After a WPU forfeit at 184, the Wildcats reeled off back-to-back pins with Kevin Lund making quick work of his opponent in the 197-pound match, while Elijah Eslinger punctuated the night with a pin at 285 pounds to complete the BU sweep with a 31-19 victory.

Up next, the Baker women will return to Collins for a set home of duals against non-conference opponents No. 12 Ottawa and (RV) Avila on Nov. 15 at 6 p.m. in Baldwin City. Meanwhile, the BU men will jump back into tournament action with next weekend's Grand View Open on Nov. 16, starting at 9 a.m. in Des Moines, Iowa.

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