KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The 2023 portion of the Missouri Baptist Men's Wrestling schedule wound down this past Saturday at the Spartans picked up two impressive wins and suffered two defeats at the Eagle Duals hosted by Avila University on Saturday.
 
(RV) William Penn 43, (RV) MBU 6
The weekend got off with a thud for the Spartans as they were soundly beaten by William Penn University. Freshman John Davis and sophomore Daryl Mills got MBU off to a promising start with decision wins at 125 and 133 to put MoBap up 6-0. Unfortunately it was all downhill from there as the Statesmen would rattle off 43 unanswered points, which included five falls, two tech falls, and a decision in the dual's final eight matches.
 
(RV) MBU 50, Waldorf 4
Following the loss to WPU, Spartan Head Coach Caleb McElfresh delivered an inspired "pep talk" to his team. It worked. MBU dominated Waldorf University in their next dual of the day. Davis took a forfeit at 125 before nationally ranked Dillon Witt made his debut on the day at 133 with a resounding 17-0 tech fall. Mills kept the momentum and gained his second victory of the day by bumping up to 141 to record a 22-6 tech fall. Junior ET Rodgers Jr. followed with a quick pin in 58 seconds at 149. Then it was Joel Campbells turn as he shutout his opponent 8-0 for a major decision. Tony Connor one-upped Rodgers by pinning his opponent in a mere 43 seconds. After dropping a major decision at 174, freshman Blake Johnson and sophomore Logan Neumann earned back-to-back falls at 184 and 197. The Spartans huge win was punctuated by a forfeit win for freshman Spencer Fleming at 285. The 46-point margin eclipses the 43-point win earlier this season over William Woods University as the largest spread in a victory in the McElfresh's two-year stint as head coach.
 
(RV) MBU 45, Friends 8
MoBap kept the momentum rolling into its most impressive win of the day over Friends University (Kan.) who is also receiving votes in the last NAIA Coach's Top 20 Poll. Davis suffered his only loss of the day to open the dual at 125. Witt matched the effort of Connor in the earlier dual by securing a fall in 43 seconds at 133. Mills again bumped to 141 and scored a major decision at 141, while Rodgers turned in a 22-4 tech fall at 149 and Campbell got a pin earlier in the third period at 157. The Spartans lead 21-4 at the halfway mark of the dual. The Falcons got it to 21-8 at 165, but MoBap closed the show after that. A forfeit win at 174 for Nick Keim preceded a pin-fest the rest of the way. Johnson, Neumann, and Fleming all stuck their opponents with none of the matches lasting longer than 4:24.
 
(11) Missouri Valley 34, MBU 12
The toughest matchup of the day awaited the Spartans in their final dual, as they faced the 11^th-ranked Missouri Valley College Vikings. MBU took the early lead at 6-0 as Davis gained his second  forfeit win of the day at 125. That brought about the marquee individual matchup of the afternoon for the Spartans as 11^th- ranked Witt took the mat against 10^th-ranked Haden Hernandez of MVC at 133 pounds. As is often the case with ranked opponents squaring off, the match was tight throughout. Witt gained a take down and gave up an escape in the first period. Hernandez took bottom position to start period two and gained a quick escape and then a take down in the first minute. That would be all the scoring in the match as Hernandez won a 5-3 decision. Campbell at 157 and Connor at 165 both gained decisions for the Spartans' final points of the dual. Around those victories for MBU, the Vikings were able to secure five tech falls and a pin by sending three Top-10 and two more Top-20 wrestlers to the mat against the Spartans.
 
The trajectory of the Spartans Men's Wrestling program was on display as they finished 2-2 against some challenging opposition after an 0-4 experience last year in the same tournament. MoBap is now 4-3 in dual meets this season. Individually, Davis, Mills, and Campbell were 3-1 on the day, while Witt finished 2-1.
 
The Spartans will take a break over the Christmas and New Year's holiday before returning to face Fontbonne University on January 10.