DES MOINES, IOWA—Missouri Baptist men's wrestling traveled to Iowa's capital city this weekend to compete in one of the toughest NAIA in-season tournaments, the Grand View Open, hosted by Grand View University. The Spartans were lead by two placers, freshmen
Brayden Eikermann and
Noah Richardson.
Brayden Eikermann, the freshman from O'Fallon, Mo., competed in the Freshman/Sophomore division at 149 this weekend, where he picked up five victories en route to his fourth-place finish. Eikerman collected a fall in his opening-round match via fall in the second period before he fell in his second-round match. The young gun would have to move his way through several rounds on the back side of the bracket, which aided him in another win via fall and four decision victories. Eikerman's consolation run stopped because he hit his match limit and claimed 4th.
The Spartans had another standout in the freshman/sophomore division in the form of
Noah Richardson, the freshman from Eureka, Mo., who placed fifth at 157. Richardson was a scoring machine. His first win in the opening round was a 20-3 technical fall, and his second-round win was by major decision 22-8 before he captured a fall to push him into the quarterfinals. Richardson's front side trek was stopped there, but he moved through a couple of backside rounds, which included another major decision.
Other standout performances from the Spartans included
Avelino Mota, who went 4-2 on the day and collected two wins via fall, a technical fall, and a major decision in the freshman/ sophomore division at 125;
Daryl Mills went 3-2 in the Open Division at 133, made it to the quarterfinals and claimed a ranked win over the 8th ranked wrestler from Missouri Valley.
Geno Cardenas also had a quarterfinal appearance in the freshman/sophomore 141 with two pins and a technical fall; he went 3-2 on the day.
John Davis also went 3-2, where he collected two pins, and
Nicholas Keimwent 3-2, where he collected a fall.
The Spartans hit the road to take on conference rival William Woods in a dual in Fulton, Mo., on Wednesday, Nov. 20th, 2024. This double-header features the women's wrestling squad from both schools, with the men's match slated for 7:00 p.m.
