OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla.  – The Missouri Baptist Spartans Men's Wrestling team made program history on Saturday, as they swept through three opponents at the combined American Midwest Conference and Sooner Athletic Conference wrestling duals. Two of their three victories came against teams which are receiving votes in the latest NAIA Men's Wrestling Coaches' Poll.
 
Dual #1 – Missouri Baptist 46, Williams Baptist 6
MBU opened their day with an dominating performance over the Williams Baptist University Eagles. They won the first eight of the nine contested matches, with seven of them coming by fall and the other two by tech fall. Winning by pin were John Davis (125), Joel Campbell (157) Tony Connor (165), Nicholas Keim (174), Blake Johnson (184), and Logan Neumann (197). Dillon Witt (133) and ET Rodgers Jr. (149) both won by tech fall. Both teams forfeited at 141 pounds. While almost all the matches swung heavily in the favor MBU, Johnson scored a victory by fall while trailing 9-2 to start the third period. Starting the period in top position, Johnson was successful in his technique and patience as he got the turn and the fall just 30 seconds into the final period.
 
Dual #2 – Missouri Baptist 54, Central Baptist 5
After a one dual break before they were back on the mat, the Spartans picked up where they left off, although the script was inverted. MBU lost the first match at 125, then ran the table after that by scoring six points in each of the next nine matches. Their efforts were decidedly aided by receiving forfeits in seven of those nine matches. In between, Rodgers and Campbell got their second victories of the day, both by fall at 149 and 157 respectively.
 
Dual #3 – Missouri Baptist 26, Oklahoma City 24
In the Spartans most anticipated dual of the day, the momentum swung back and forth before MBU got the win over the Stars, who are among the teams receiving votes in the Coaches' poll. After MBU got on the board via forfeit at 125, the Stars sent No. 24-ranked Cooper Mahaffey to the mat at 133 to face Daryl Mills. It is the second time the two have squared off this season, and it became the second time that Mills was victorious, this time by major decision 13-4, to give MBU a 10-0 lead in the dual. However, It would be the last highlight for the Spartans for a while. OCU won the next five matches, one by fall, two by tech fall, and the two by major decision. Going into the final three matches, MBU faced an almost insurmountable 24-10 deficit, needing at least 14 points from three matches. Not to worry though, Spartan fans! For the second time of the day, at 184 Johnson secured a pin while trailing. This time he was down 6-2 and got the fall a little less than a minute into the second period. Neumann made quick work of his opponent at 197 with a fall in just over a minute. Still, MBU was down 24-22 going to the final match at 285. Earlier in the day heavyweight Spencer Fleming suffered the only loss for MBU against WBU then had a forfeit win against CBC, meaning he was looking for his first victory on the mat in the day's final dual. He delivered huge, gaining a 10-2 major decision and securing four points, giving MBU the dual victory 26-24.
 
The Spartans finish with an 8-3 record in duals this season. The eight victories match the program high mark set back in the 2012-13 season when they finished 8-10. The .727 winning percentage is the highest in the 15-year history of the program.
 
Next up for MBU is the Missouri Valley Open hosted by Missouri Valley College next Saturday (Feb. 3).