QUINCY, Ill. – Going into the final three matches in the duel Tuesday night at Quincy University, the Missouri Baptist University Men's Wrestling team held a five-point lead on the Hawks, but QU was able to pull out the final three matches to down the Spartans 32-20, dropping their duel record to 1-1 on the season.
 
The evening started off with a forfeit victory at 125 pounds as the Hawks were unable to field a competitor. Spartans' sophomore Daryl Mills got things going in the right direction for MBU with a dominant 17-2 tech fall within the first period over Perry Lake at 133 pounds. The Hawks got on the board at 141 as Sabian Russell pinned MBU's Ricky Ortiz in the first period.
 
Freshman and reigning AMC Wrestler of the Week Dylan Alft continued his strong run of late with the tightest victory of the evening, winning a 6-5 victory at 149 pounds over Quincy's Hunter Vernon.
 
Sophomore Joel Campbell was leading his match at 157 by a score of 7-0 when he was caught and lost by fall. It was one of two matches that took a swing from one direction then the other which may have decided the duel. Still, through the first five matches, the Spartans led 14-12.
 
The Hawks would inch ahead for the first time at 165 when Raymond Fernandez of QU scored an 11-7 decision over MBU's Hunter Song. But the Spartans would strike right back when junior Tony Conner won by fall at 174 and pushed MBU back ahead 20-15. Unfortunately, it would be the final points scored by the Spartans.
 
Judah Yates of Quincy won by tech fall over Dominic Calvin at 184 pounds to even the match at 20, meaning the final two matches would determine the winner of the duel.
 
Spartans' 197-pounder Logan Neumann seemed to have the upper hand in his bout before getting taken down and pinned in the first period. Heavyweight Spencer Fleming was down 3-0 in his match but lost by injury forfeit on the advice of the trainers on site.
 
The result was a sign of progress within the Spartans wrestling program as last year when the two teams matched up at the Petty SRC, Quincy came away with a relatively convincing 39-9 win.
 
Next up for the Spartans is the Lindenwood Open on Saturday, which will feature some of the top programs in junior college, NAIA, NCAA Division II, and even NCAA Division I wrestling in the Midwest.