MARSHALL, MO. – MBU men's wrestling competed at the Missouri Valley Open on Saturday. The Spartans battled right with the stout competition despite not having any top-6 finishes.
 
Last weeks AMC Wrestler of the week continued showing off his potential as Dillon Witt went 2-2 in a strong 125-pound bracket. Witt dropped his first match of the day, 5-2, but the match was even closer than the score. The freshman from Sullivan, Mo. earned an early escape point in the third period to bring the match within one point making the score 3-2 in Quinton Chavez's (Unattached Nebraska) favor. Pushing the pace trying to score the match winning takedown, Witt would give up one instead icing the match. The Spartan grapplers next match was a battle from start to finish as Witt used a third period rideout to secure the riding time point to win the low scoring affair 1-0 against Nadhelo Charles-Pierre (William Penn). Witt continued to terrorize William Penn grapplers as he dominated Brendan Nantz (William Penn) from start to finish earning the major decision victory 12-2 in the following round. In Witt's final match of the day, Taywone Mcnack (Graceland) would use some trickery to catch Witt on his back ending the bout early.
 
MBU freshman continued to show improvements as Zachary Achterberg also put together a 2-2 day. Achterberg won his first bout thanks to a 7-point third period. Achterberg was down 5-4 heading into the third before earning a reversal, two back points, two stall call penalty points, and a riding time point to take the match 11-7 against Kyle Stewart (Benedictine). The freshman from St. James, Mo. fell behind early in his second match against Daniel Camilo-Ferreira (Cowley College), trailing 4-1 after the first period, but decided not to wait as long as his previous match to gain momentum. The Spartan picked up an escape and a takedown of his own to tie the match 4-4 heading into the third period. During the third period Achterberg would pick up his second takedown of the match to take the lead 6-4 before his opponent was disqualified from the tournament. During Achterberg's final match of the day Central Missouri's Nolan Saale proved to be too much as he earned the major decision victory, 12-3, ending the Spartans day.
 
Other Spartans to win a match included senior Steven Weathers as he pinned Troy Mita (William Penn) and freshman Avante Williams as he also earned a pin in hist first bout against Quentin Reickard (Unattached Missouri Valley).
 
The Spartans will take a two week break from competition as they begin to gear up for the AMC Championships with hopes of qualifying for the national tournament high on Saturday, Feb. 19 in Lincoln, Ill.