Baker Wrestling Sweeps Owls in First Duals of 2026

FULTON, Mo. - Competing for the first time since the holiday break, the Baker men's and women's wrestling teams swept William Woods in a pair of conference duals last night in Fulton, Mo.

The Baker women posted a dominating win in the first dual of the night, rolling past the Owls, 35-6, while the men's dual featured much more drama as the Wildcats came out on top, 25-24 via a tiebreaker to complete BU's road sweep.

With three WWU forfeits and an open weight class at 103 pounds, the Wildcats claimed all but one of the six actual bouts in the competition to secure their first conference dual win of the season.

Anna Patz (138), McKenna Haltom (145), Hailee Crosland (160), Nevaeh Wardlow (180) and Madeleine Stone (207) strung together five straight wins, with Patz earning a pin, Crosland and Stone recording a couple of 15-0 tech falls, and Haltom and Wardlow winning by decision.

In the men's dual, Baker and William Woods battled neck-and-neck for most of the night, resulting in a 24-24 deadlock at the end of the dual, with the Wildcats ultimately earning the tiebreaker with the most match points scored.

With both sides benefiting from a couple of forfeits, BU split its six matches against the Owls, with Nat'aani Prado (133), Nakos Benton (149), and Noah Sample (165) picking up the victories. Prado won on a 9-4 decision to give Baker a 9-0 lead, Benton came through with an emphatic pin in the second period and Sample tacked on another decision win.

It was the fourth dual win of the season for the BU men with three of those victories coming against Heart teams - St. Ambrose, William Penn, and William Woods.

Both Baker wrestling teams will be back in action later this week, with the men's team competing at the Valley Duals in Marshall, Mo., on Friday, Jan. 9, at 9 a.m. Meanwhile, the Wildcat women will be at home on Sunday, Jan. 11, to host a non-conference dual with Avila, starting at 1 p.m. in the Collins Center.

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