Baker Wrestling Splits Doubleheader Duals at Saint Mary
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. - The Baker men's and women's wrestling teams competed in their final duals of the regular season, splitting a doubleheader at Saint Mary on Saturday night where the BU women won their dual, 26-18, while the men came up short in their dual.
In the women's dual, the Wildcats used a couple of tech falls, a hard-fought win from McKenna Haltom and three forfeits to earn their non-conference victory.
The Spires opened up the night with back-to-back tech falls from their ranked wrestlers at 103 and 110 pounds before a forfeit at 117 pounds gave BU its first points.
Katherine Heath came through with the first tech fall from the Wildcats' side, racking up a 10-0 count in the 124-pound match to put BU in front, 9-8.
After another forfeit and a USM tech fall at 138 pounds, Haltom battled to a 4-2 decision in the 145-pound bout to make it a 17-13 lead for the Wildcats with three matches left.
Saint Mary reclaimed the lead with a pin at 160 pounds before Jannell Avila launched Baker back ahead with a tech fall in the 180-pound match. One last USM forfeit settled the final score with the Wildcats coming out on top, 26-18 in the first dual of the night.
In the men's dual, the Wildcats picked up wins from Saoul Prado (125) and Nikolas Slatoff (149), while Braden Thompson earned a forfeit in the 197-pound match, but the 12th-ranked Spires were able to come away with a 38-17 victory.
The nightcap started with a top-25 matchup at 125 pounds with No. 23 Prado squaring off against USM's Clemente Delgado, who ranks 21st nationally. Prado battled to earn a pin in the third period to put Baker in front initially, 6-0.
After back-to-back pins from the Spires, Slatoff racked up a 20-3 tech fall in the 149-pound bout to bring BU within one in the dual at 12-11.
USM claimed the next four weight classes and was able to finish off with the non-conference win with each side adding a forfeit in the heavyweight matches.
Up next, the Baker women will play host to the inaugural Jimmy May Open with the single-day tournament set for 9 a.m. on Saturday, February 15 inside the Collins Center.
Meanwhile, the BU men will prepare for the 2024-25 Heart of America Conference Championships which are scheduled for Feb. 21-22 in Oskaloosa, Iowa.
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