ST.LOUIS, Mo.- The Missouri Baptist men's wrestling team fell in a back-and-forth thriller dual against conference opponent and No. 13 in the latest NAIA poll, the Central Methodist University Eagles, 27-20. 

No. 8 Geno Cardenas started the match off hot for the Spartans at 125 lbs. Cardenas pushed the pace in the second period to issue two stall warnings on his opponent, giving himself the first point of the match. After he picked bottom in the second choice, he rallied to collect eight more points to lock up a major decision and put four on the board for MBU. 

The Eagles did not take that lightly as the second bout at 133 was very much in favor of CMU as they collected the technical fall.

The 141-pound match was the only ranked match of the night, as it pitted No. 10 Daryl Mills against No. 20 Arojae Hart. A slow start to the match resulted in a scoreless first period. Mills chose the bottom position and quickly escaped, but Hart got in on a leg and looked to finish. Mills gave up a "fleeing the mat" penalty point to tie the bout at one apiece as they headed into the final period of action. Hart elected to choose the bottom position himself and escaped.
Then Mills found a takedown and Hart quickly escaped, the match score at 4-3. 

Mills went on the defensive but gave up two stall warnings to tie the match up 4-4 as the regulation ended. Both wrestlers went on the offensive as the overtime period commenced. Hart came out hot, as he rattled off a few shot attempts, but poor positioning allowed Mills to grab the ankle and shelf the leg before he closed in on the overtime victory. The team score is now back in favor of the Spartans. 

Brayden Eikermann handled the 149-pound weight class for MBU as he captured an early takedown, which set the tone for the match. Eikermann went on to find and escape, and later in the bout, he took down his opponent to secure a riding time point, finishing out the major decision 8-0 as he successfully shut out his opponent. 

At 157, the match was close early, with a few exchanges that led to lead swaps, but eventually Brayden Foreman gained control and secured the technical fall for CMU. Then, 165 allowed the Eagles to capture the fall and the lead, which made it 16-10. 

CJ Bauer showed up for MBU at 174, and despite a stall warning to start the match, Bauer found a take down for the 3-1 lead as they headed into the second. Bauer was dominant on top in the second and went to the opposite side half-nelson to flip his opponent on his shoulders to capture the fall at the 4:03 mark. 

184 and 197 sealed the Spartans' fate in the team score, as the Eagles went back-to-back on falls, which placed the score at 27-17.

That fact did not affect No. 23 Amad Soufi, as the redshirt-sophomore from Kurdistan battled a tough heavyweight bout. Soufi kept the pressure high, as he garnered a stall warning against his opponent in the first. His opponent got a choice, selected the bottom position, and escaped. Soufi maintained control in neutral and garnered an additional stall warning, which tied the bout at 1-1 in the second period. Soufi escaped quickly in the third to give himself the lead. Soufi would find a takedown late in the period, which iced the match, and the team score for the dual finished 27-20 in favor of the Eagles. 

The Spartans host the William Woods University Owls in a home dual next Thursday, November 13, 2025. Wrestling to start at 6 p.m.