HANNIBAL, Mo. – Back in action for the first time since mid-December, the Missouri Baptist University men's wrestling team went 2-2 on the Saturday at the American Midwest Conference (AMC) Duals in Hannibal, Mo. The Spartans suffered losses to (RV) Williams Baptist University and affiliate AMC member Lincoln College, but grabbed their first two dual wins of the season over Lyon College and Central Baptist College.
This marked the final tuneup for the Spartans prior to the AMC Championship, which will be held in Conway, Arkansas on Saturday, February 13.
Missouri Baptist University 25, Lyon College 24
Following a bye to begin the morning, very little wrestling occurred in MBU's first dual with Lyon College as there was just one bout that took place at 165 pounds. Sophomore
Trentin Helton pinned Lyon's Raul Gonzalez right before the end of the first period buzzer to score MBU six team points and a key victory in the team race.
With Charles Russow (125),
Trace Timmons (174) and
Jermain Taylor (285) all receiving forfeit wins and the Spartans yielding points to the Scots at 133, 141, 149 and 157, the score for the dual ended at 24-24. In accordance to the 2020-21 NAIA & NCAA Rulebook, a tiebreaker is applied in dual meets to determine a winner. Helton's victory by fall gave the one-point tiebreaker to Missouri Baptist.
(RV) Williams Baptist University 48, Missouri Baptist University 5
All four Spartans had matches in the next dual against (RV) Williams Baptist. Russow and Taylor each were pinned in their respective bouts with Eagles ranked in the NAIA Top 20 – Robert Fairchild ranked 19
th at 125 LBS and Maleek Caton ranked 6
th at 285 LBS.
MBU's lone points against Williams Baptist were delivered by
Trace Timmons. The Augustana College (Ill.) transfer defeated WBU's Wlliam Gaither by tech fall, 16-1.
Missouri Baptist University 18, Central Baptist College 12
MBU's
Trentin Helton pinned his second opponent of the day taking down Mustangs' Christian Richer just 1:21 into the match at 165. The Spartans collected two more forfeits to snag an 18-12 win over Central Baptist.
Lincoln College 41, Missouri Baptist University 12
Three bouts were wrestled in the final dual with Lincoln claiming 24 points from forfeits and Missouri Baptist getting 6 at 174 pounds.
Lecester Taylor ended the AMC Duals on a high note with a pin just 33 seconds into his 285 matchup with Lincoln College's Jacob Adams.
