Men’s Wrestling Splits Home Tri-Dual with No. 1 Grand View and Benedictine

BALDWIN CITY - After falling to top-ranked Grand View, the Baker men's wrestling team took down Benedictine, 33-16 to come away with a split of its Heart of America Conference tri-dual here Wednesday night in the Collins Center.

The Wildcats won their first seven matches in the final dual of the night against the Ravens, battling back after claiming just one bout in the opener against the Vikings.

Wrestling at both 133 and 141 pounds, Christian Nishi-Rivera earned a pin in each of his matches, including a takedown of Grand View's Jackson Cockrell who ranks third in the NAIA at 133 pounds.

Nishi-Rivera's pin was the only points for BU in its first dual, facing a slew of ranked Viking wrestlers.

Saoul Prado (125) and Nat'aani Prado (133) kicked off the dual against the Ravens with back-to-back major decisions to give Baker a quick 8-0 lead.

After Nishi-Rivera added his second pin of the night, Nikolas Slatoff (149) and Jonah Muhammad (157) each followed with a tech fall to make it a 24-0 lead for BU.

Jakob Stovall battled to an 11-6 decision in the 165-pound match and Noah Sample punctuated the win with a pin at 174 pounds.

Winning two of their first three conference duals of the season, the Wildcats will have a quick turnaround to compete in the Doane Open this weekend. Wrestling begins at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 7 in Crete, Neb.

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