BATESVILLE, Ark. – Six Missouri Baptist University wrestlers placed and made their way to the podium Saturday at the 2019 American Midwest Conference (AMC) Championships. However, no one had a bigger day at Lyon College's James C. Becknell Gymnasium than junior Sedrak Sheppard, who brought home gold at 197 pounds.
 
As a team, the Spartans finished 4^th out of 8 teams with 93 points. Affiliate member Marian University (Ind.) won the team title with 175.5 points, followed by Williams Baptist (163.5) and Lindenwood-Belleville (111.5).
 
With his first-place finish, Sedrak Sheppard punched a ticket to the NAIA National Championships, while 149-pounder Bryce Bachowski was awarded one of the three at-large bids for the AMC and will join Sheppard in Des Moines, Iowa on March 1-2.  
 
Sheppard, who was recently ranked 19^th in the latest NAIA Men's Wrestling Individual Rankings, went 4-0 on the day and did so in dominating fashion. The transfer from North Iowa Area CC won by major decision, tech fall and wrapped up the afternoon with back-to-back pins. The final pin came over No. 9-ranked Benjamin Turnbough of Williams Baptist in the third period with 45 seconds remaining.
 
The next highest finisher for the Spartans was No. 12-ranked Bryce Bachowski, who finished as runner-up at the 149-pound weight class. Bachowski received a bye to advance to the semifinals and defeated Lyon's Carlos Cuevas to move on to the first-place match. No. 13-ranked Bailey Moore edged the junior, 8-4, for gold.
 
Other MBU wrestlers that advanced to the tournament semifinals included Nick Olejnik (165), Jake Mattson (174) and Cody Donnell (184). All three suffered semifinal losses, but Mattson and Donnell both went the distance with eventual champions in their respective weight classes.
 
Mattson worked his way through the consolation bracket to secure bronze at 174. The senior wrapped up his career with a 3-1 record at the AMC Championships. Donnell went 2-2 on the day with both losses coming to ranked opponents – No. 3 and No. 8. The freshman from Azle, Texas finished fourth place overall.
 
The Spartans had a trio of wrestlers with fifth-place finishes. Ben Leach won his fifth-place match over Central Baptist's Jeff Williams in a close 6-4 decision. Nick Olejnik went 2-2 on the weekend and won by major decision, 14-6, in his fifth-place bout. Similarly, junior Cory Flemming won two and lost two on Saturday, but finished out with a win for fifth place.
 
Junior Bryce Bachowski was the Spartans' lone representative to be named to the 12-man AMC All-Conference team. During the regular season, Bachowski was 3-0 when facing AMC opponents, winning by forfeit vs. Hannibal-LaGrange and pinning Lyon's Carlos Cuevas (1:40) and Lindenwood-Belleville's Harold Johnson (1:52).
 
The AMC Academic All-Conference awards were also handed out on Saturday with 44 athletes being named to the list. Six Spartans were represented on the list including freshmen Jonathan Cochrum, Trenton Dickens, Cody Donnell and Cameron Steinhoff, along with junior Rhiley Smith and senior Jake Mattson. To be eligible for Academic All-Conference honors, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.0 GPA and finish the year on the team.