No. 10 Baker set to face No. 5 Oklahoma City tonight

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – Just three days removed from the programs first-ever tournament title in the Kansas Cup, the Baker University wrestling team returns to the mat to face one of the top teams in the nation on Wednesday night in fifth ranked Oklahoma City.

The Stars enter competition with an 8-5 record in duals this season. Baker enters tonight’s matchup at 1-5 with losses to No. 1 University of Iowa (NCAA DI), No. 1 Central Iowa (NJCAA), No. 5 Cornell College (NCAA DII), No. 3 Campbellsville (Ky.), and No. 8 Midland (Neb.).

Just this past weekend, Baker finished ahead of No. 3 Labette County (NJCAA) and No. 15 Fort Hays State (NCAA DII) to win the Kansas Cup with 121 points.

Top ranked wrestlers will be on display tonight, as Oklahoma City will showcase two top-ranked grapplers in 157-pound Nik Turner and 165-pound Kevin Hardy. Other ranked wrestlers for the stars include, No. 6 Kidd Gomez at 125-pounds, No. 4 Derek Peperas at 174-pounds, No. 10 Mitchell Eichenauer at 197-pounds, and No. 9 Mike Brown wrestling at the heavyweight.

Baker will also showcase their top ranked wrestlers as No. 12 Brandon Gebhardt, the Kansas Cup’s Most Outstanding Wreslter will face Mike Brown in the heavyweight match. 149-pound Jarell Price checks in at No. 3 nationally, while No. 8 Bo Newport (125-pounds) and No. 8 Parker Owen (174-pounds) round out the ranked wrestlers in the Wildcats lineup.

“We’ll have our hands full tonight,” said Baker wrestling coach Jimmy May. “It’s going to be a tough dual, but I think our guys will be ready.”

Action is slated to begin at 6 p.m., in the George F. Collins Center on the campus of Baker University in Baldwin City, Kan.

View the full article at www.bakerwildcats.com

Live video of the action can be viewed Baker University Live Wrestling here

OCU 18 Baker 15! Each team won 5 matches but OCU had bonus points in 3 bouts!!

A few BU guys really were down after the matches, Newport and Nowak both were locked in tight battles but lost.

A decent crowd for this dual, not quite electric except for the match at heavy-weight when the Baker heavy almost put his foe on his back!! A pin who have tied the dual at 18!!

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – The Baker University wrestling team nearly pulled off its second biggest upset of the season Wednesday evening, but it wasn’t meant to be as Oklahoma City pulled away in the mid-matches to take an 18-15 victory.

AJ Gassman put the Wildcats on the board first in the 133-pound match with a 8-3 decision over Alvie Killingsworth. Phil Henes added a 6-0 victory in the 141-pound match and third-ranked Jarell Price rolled to a 6-0 victory in the 149-pound match.

184-pound Robert Shadrach claimed an 8-3 victory over Teagan Franco and No. 12 Brandon Gebhardt won a thrilling double overtime match at heavyweight with a 4-1 victory.

“Coming off an emotional victory in the Kansas Cup, I was very proud of the way the kids performed tonight,” said head Baker wrestling coach Jimmy May.

Baker returns to action this weekend at the Missouri Valley College Invitational.

NAIA Wrestling Final Team Score-
#10 Baker- 15 (1-6)
#5 Oklahoma City – 18 (9-5)

125 lb: No. 6 Kid Gomez, OCU, maj. dec. No. 8 Bo Newport, 11-3
133 lb: AJ Gassman, Baker dec. Alvie Killingsworth, 8-3
141 lb: Phil Henes, Baker dec. Eric Waggoner, 6-0
149 lb: No. 3 Jarell Price, Baker dec. Hunter Muskrat, 6-0
157 lb: No. 1 Nik Turner, OCU dec. Nathan Sommer, 7-3
165 lb: No. 1 Kevin Hardy, OCU maj. dec. Jakob Price, 11-1
174 lb: No. 4 Derek Peperas, OCU maj. dec. No. 8 Parker Owen, 11-1
184 lb: Robert Shadrach, Baker dec. Teagan Franco, 8-3
197 lb: No. 10 Mitchell Eichenauer, OCU dec. Jacob Nowak, 7-4
285 lb: No. 12 Brandon Gebhardt, Baker dec. 4-1 2OT

Jacob's match proved to be very critical to the ultimate team result. It was a very disappointing loss for him. We felt the match could have gone either way. The first takedown that Jacob lost his single leg attempt on and gave up two points to Mitchell on was a key to the match. Mitchell was ranked 10th in NAIA and we found out later that he must have taken some time off from wrestling because he placed twice in NAIA nationals at 184 6th in 2007 and 2nd in 2008. It was a very good dual meet between two very good NAIA teams but we wish the team result had been different.

Here is how Oklahoma City reported on the dual:

http://www.ocusports.com/news/2012/2/1/MWREST_0201123423.aspx?path=mwrestling

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – Mitchell Eichenauer's win proved the difference in Oklahoma City University's 18-15 victory Wednesday at the Collins Center in a matchup of top 10-ranked teams in NAIA wrestling.
Eichenauer, a junior from Lawton, Okla., nudged past Jacob Nowak 7-4 in the 197-pound match to put the Stars up 18-12. Fifth-ranked OCU improved to 9-5 in duals.
Brandon Gebhardt of 10th-ranked Baker defeated Michael Brown 3-1 in the second overtime in the 285-pound bout to finish the contest.
At 184, Robert Shadrach cut Baker's deficit to 15-12 with an 8-3 win over Teagan Franco.
Kidd Gomez of OCU took away an 11-3 victory over Bo Newport in a clash of top 10-ranked 125-pounders. Gomez, a junior from Noble, Okla., holds the No. 6 spot in the rankings, while Newport is ranked eighth.
Jarell Price put Baker ahead 9-4, but OCU answered with wins in the next three matches. Derek Peperas' 11-1 win at 174 provided the Stars a 15-9 advantage.
Nik Turner, the NAIA's top-ranked 157-pounder, beat Nathan Sommer 7-3. Kevin Hardy, No. 1 at 165, followed with an 11-1 triumph over Jakob Price.
OCU continues its season in the Campbellsville Duals on Saturday in Campbellsville, Ky.

OKLAHOMA CITY 18
BAKER 15
125: Kidd Gomez, OCU, maj. dec. Bo Newport, 11-3
133: A.J. Gassman, BU, dec. Alvie Killingsworth, 8-3
141: Phil Henes, BU, dec. Eric Waggoner, 6-0
149: Jarell Price, BU, dec. Hunter Muskrat, 6-0
157: Nik Turner, OCU, dec. Nathan Sommer, 7-3
165: Kevin Hardy, OCU, maj. dec. Jakob Price, 11-1
174: Derek Peperas, OCU, maj. dec. No. 8 Parker Owen, 11-1
184: Robert Shadrach, Baker, dec. Teagan Franco, 8-3
197: Mitchell Eichenauer, OCU, dec. Jacob Nowak, 7-4
285: Brandon Gebhardt, Baker, dec. Michael Brown, 3-1 (2OT)