OKLAHOMA CITY – The Wayland Baptist men's wrestling team traveled to Oklahoma City to compete in its final tune up before the NAIA Regional Tournament on Feb. 22. The Pioneers won their first dual against Bacone College, 35-6, but fell to No. 12 Oklahoma City University, 26-15, Wednesday evening.
In its dual against Bacone, Wayland dominated the Warriors, winning seven of the 10 matches, including four pins.
Andrew Porras (133),
Victor Thomas (149),
Mich Napier (174), and
Markese Christian (285) all picked up pins for WBU.
Justin Williamson (125) and
John Mark Avila (165) won by decision in their matches, while
Chris Hart (141) got a technical fall for the Pioneers.
Having to turn right around and compete against a tough Oklahoma City squad, Wayland fell to the Stars for the second time this season, 26-15.
Head coach
Johnny Cobb was a bit disappointed that his team didn't get a win against OCU, but was still pleased with the overall performance of his squad.
"We did really well against Bacone, but dropped a couple of matches that we might should have won against Oklahoma City," Cobb said. "But overall I still think we did really well today.
"We had three duals in two days so we'll look forward to taking a day off, but then get right back to work for regionals."
Porras, Hart, Napier and Christian were the winners for WBU in the nightcap. Porras won a barn-burner, 17-12, while Hart and Napier also won by decision, 13-6 and 5-2, respectively. Christian won by forfeit in the heavyweight division.
Cobb was quick to praise two of his wrestlers, Porras and Hart, who he said looked really good in their matches on Wednesday.
"Porras really looked good both of his matches," he said. "He came back and won in his match against OCU against a good wrestler. Hart looked really good, too, scoring 25 points on his opponent from Bacone. We had some pretty good individual performances for sure, but I want to make sure and give those two a personal shoutout."
The Pioneers will next compete in the regional tournament on Feb. 22 in Marshall, Mo. Wrestlers will compete individually in their respective weight classes, and those that finish in the top four will qualify for the NAIA National Tournament on March 5 in Topeka, Kan.
WAYLAND BAPTIST 35, BACONE 9125: Justin Williamson, WBU, dec. Antoine Green, 5-3
133: Andrew Porras, WBU, pinned Ian Ortega, 6:48
141: Chris Hart, WBU, tech. fall Chris Youngblood, 25-9
149: Victor Thomas, WBU, pinned Preston Steen, 2:32
157: Josue Terrones, BC, dec.
Bernie Gonzalez, 6-5
165: John-Mark Avila, WBU, dec. Andres Perez, 3-2
174: Michael Napier, WBU, pinned Thomas Pegues, 3:29
184: Vincent Opuiyo, BC, dec.
Manuel Rocha, 6-5
197: Jose Hernandez, BC, dec.
Nik Gates, 6-2
285: Markese Christian, WBU, pinned Miguel Perez, 6:52
OKLAHOMA CITY 26, WAYLAND BAPTIST 15125: Adrian Gaines, OCU, maj. dec.
Justin Williamson, 17-9
133: Andrew Porras, WBU, dec. Alvie Killingsworth, 17-12
141: Chris Hart, WBU, dec. James Landoll, 13-6
149: Ricky McCarty, OCU, dec.
Victor Thomas, 5-0
157: Zach Skates, OCU, maj. dec.
Bernie Gonzalez, 17-6
165: Hunter Muskrat, OCU, dec. John-Mark Avila, 9-4
174: Michael Napier, WBU, dec, Jared Bass, 5-2
184: Cody Sivertsen, OCU, pinned
Manuel Rocha, 3:24
197: Tegan Franco, OCU, pinned
Nik Gates, 2:10
285: Markese Christian, WBU, by forfeit
