Wrestlers peaking at the right time

OTTAWA, Kan. – With the season dwindling, the Wayland Baptist wrestling program continues to improve as it has all year, putting the Pioneers right where head coach Aaron Meister want them. The Pioneer women defeated No. 8 Missouri Baptist, 30-18, and Ottawa University (Kan.), 34-15, in their final competition before the WCWA Nationals next weekend. The Wayland men defeated Ottawa, 45-9, and fell to Missouri Baptist, 22-21, two weeks before the Pioneers head to the NAIA Central Qualifier.

"We're looking good at the right time of year," Meister said. "We've been steadily improving all year and I like where we're headed."

In the women's dual with Ottawa, the Pioneers opened with five-straight wins, getting a pin from Vanessa Smith in the 101s, a 10-1 decision from Daysha Woods in the 109s, a technical fall from Tarkyia Mensah in the 123s, and forfeit wins from Kristin Navarrete and Rizpah Umi.

The Braves took three of the next four bouts, but Nehiela Magee won the 170-pound weight class to give Wayland a 34-15 win.
Saturday's matchup between Missouri Baptist and WBU marked the third time the two schools faced off this season. Saturday also ended up being the third win for Wayland over MBU.

The opening matches were key once again for Wayland, as Smith, Woods, Navarrete, and Mensah opened with wins to put the Pioneers out front. Smith and Navarrete pinned their opponents, Woods picked up a forfeit, and Mensah earned a 10-0 major decision over Montana Dunn, the No. 3 ranked wrestler in the 123-pound weight class.

"The highlight of the night was when Tarkyia got a major decision over the third-ranked girl in the country," Meister said. "She was outstanding today."

Missouri Baptist won the next four matches, including two forfeits, but Magee and Kierra Boyce ended the dual with a technical fall and a pin in the final two divisions, giving WBU a 30-18 win.

"I was very proud of the way the girls performed today," Meister said. "They dictated the tempo of the each individual match as well as the tempo of the dual.

"We've had two close duals with Missouri Baptist already this year, and it's hard to beat a team like that three times in one year. I was impressed with that, and I thought it was a more dominating performance than our past wins over them."

In addition to pointing out Mensah's impressive win, Meister bragged on Navarrete and Boyce as well.

"Kristen hasn't seen much time this year, but she made the most of her opportunity today and got a pin," he said. "Kierra lost to a girl who is ranked pretty high, but she keeps making great strides and I was happy with what I saw from her.

"It was an overall team performance today with the women. It was nice to have us wrestle as a team and have everyone step up and contribute."

The men split Saturday, but the Pioneers were down a man in Arkansas which gave their opponents six points.

Against Ottawa, the Pioneers jumped out to a big, 27-0 lead after Jacob Campa and Victor Thomas got a pin in the 125 and 149-pound weight class, Christ Hart earned a decision in the 141s, and Andrew Porras and Kane Lovvorn gave Wayland six points apiece due to forfeit wins.

The Pioneers forfeited the 165-pound match, but Mich Napier pinned his man in the 184s and a forfeit win from Jerimiah McCutcheon sealed the deal for Wayland, giving WBU a 45-9 victory.

The dual against Missouri Baptist was a tougher match for Wayland, and the empty slot in the 165s proved to be the difference maker.

Missouri Baptist opened with a pin in the 125s, but Porras, Hart, Thomas, and Lovvorn teamed up to give Wayland some momentum. Porras earned a 6-4 decision, Hart pinned his man, and Thomas and Lovvorn picked up decisions to give WBU the lead.

The Pioneers forfeited the 165-pound match and dropped the 174-pound bout, but Napier stopped the bleeding with a 4-1 decision in the 184s.

That was Wayland's last win, however, as the Spartans won the final two divisions, coming from behind to defeat the Pioneers, 22-21.

"We lost to Missouri Baptist by one point, but we won five of the ten matches, so I thought we wrestled strong," Meister said. "I thought we wrestled great today in general, and I was pleased with our effort."

Meister said that he was impressed with Porras, Hart, Thomas, Lovvorn, and Napier, who all had wins Saturday, but he was also pleased with Wattenberger who picked up his first collegiate win .

"Taylor came in at the semester after playing football at Southwestern Oklahoma State this fall," Meister said. "He had a good, college win in his first opportunity today. He's
slowly getting into shape, but we're going to get him ready to make a run at regionals."

The NAIA Central Regional Qualifier is on Feb. 21 in Des Moines, Iowa, but Wayland hosts Northwest Technical College at 6 p.m. on Tuesday and New Mexico Highlands at 7 p.m. Feb. 9 before making the trip.  

WOMEN'S RESULTS:
Wayland Baptist University 34 vs. Ottawa University 15
101: Vanessa Smith (WBU) def. Lisa Anderson (OU) Fall
109: Daysha Woods (WBU) def. Tabitha Sparks (OU) Decision 10-1
116: Kristin Navarrete (WBU) def. Forfeit
123: Tarkyia Mensah (WBU) def. Sarah Rocker (OU) TF 10-0
130: Rizpah Umi (WBU) def. Forfeit
136: Addie Lanning (OU) def. Kelsey Baker (WBU) Fall
143: Marisol Arredondo (OU) def. Forfeit
155: No Athletes
170: Nahiela Magee (WBU) def. Nicola Newton (OU) TF 10-0
191: Brandy Lowe (OU) def. Kierra Boyce (WBU) TF 11-1
 
Wayland Baptist 30 vs. Missouri Baptist 18
101: Vanessa Smith (WBU) def. Anissa Rodriguez (MBU) Fall
109: Daysha Woods (WBU) def. Forfeit
116: Kristin Navarrete (WBU) def. Marylou Martinez (MBU) Fall
123: Tarkyia Mensah (WBU) def. Montana Dunn (MBU) MD 10-0
130: Mihalca (MBU) def. Rizpah Umi (WBU) MD 14-4
136: Sarah Bollinger (MBU) def. Kelsey Baker (WBU) MD 12-2
143: Lindsay Villarmia (MBU) def. Forfeit
155: Cheyenne Youngblood (MBU) def. Forfeit
170: Nahiela Magee (WBU) def. Kassandra Castruita (MBU) TF 12-0
191: Kierra Boyce (WBU) def. Aylin Hernandez (MBU Fall
 
MEN'S RESULTS:
 
Missouri Baptist 22 vs. Wayland Baptist 21
125: Demarcus Gurlly (MBU) def. Jacob Campa (WBU) Fall
133: Andrew Porras (WBU) def. Aaron Hane (MBU) Decision 6-4
141: Chris Hart (WBU) def. Andrew Wallace (MBU) Fall
149: Victor Thomas (WBU) def. William Upson (MBU) Decision 3-1
157: Kane Lovvorn (WBU) def. Matthew Behr (MBU) Decision 4-3
165: Elmer Francisco (MBU) def. Forfeit
174: Windsor Eaves (MBU) def. Taylor Wattenbarger (WBU) MD 14-6
184: Michael Naiper (WBU) def. Estaban Rua (MBU) Decision 4-1
197: Andrew Mohone (MBU) def. Nik Gates (WBU) Decision 10-4
285: Luis Contreras (MBU) def. Jermiah McCutcheon (WBU) MD 16-5
 
Wayland Baptist 45 vs. Ottawa 9
125: Jacob Campa (Wayland Baptist (Texas)) over Calvin Sheperd (Ottawa) (Fall 0:00)
133: Andrew Porras (Wayland Baptist (Texas)) over Unknown (For.)
141: Chris Hart (Wayland Baptist (Texas)) over Tyler Hinton (Ottawa) (Dec 4-3)
149: Victor Thomas (Wayland Baptist (Texas)) over John Pacha (Ottawa) (Fall 0:00)
157: Kane Lovvorn (Wayland Baptist (Texas)) over Unknown (Def.)
165: Elias Parenti (Ottawa) over Unknown (Def.)
174: Taylor Wattenbarger (Wayland Baptist (Texas)) over Todd Debato (Ottawa) (MD 17-3)
184: Michael Naiper (Wayland Baptist (Texas)) over Brandon Ott (Ottawa) (Fall 0:00)
197: Kasey Crump (Ottawa) over Nik Gates (Wayland Baptist (Texas)) (Dec 6-0)
285: Jermiah McCutcheon (Wayland Baptist (Texas)) over Unknown (For.)