No. 12 Baker Claims Top-Eight Finish at NWCA National Duals
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Highlighted by its second victory over No. 5 William Penn this year, No. 12 Baker placed eighth at the 2025 NWCA National Duals this past weekend in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
The Wildcats went 2-1 on Friday's opening day of the tournament with a victory over (RV) Lourdes (39-9) setting up their top-five win against the Statesmen (22-20).
BU battled with a pair of top-10 teams on Saturday, coming up short against No. 9 Campbellsville (14-27) in the consolation semifinals before falling to No. 8 Indiana Tech (13-30) in the placement dual to finish with eighth-place honors.
Katherine Heath went undefeated through her run of the tournament, including wins over the two wrestlers ranked directly behind her in the national rankings at 117 pounds. She defeated Shammilka Miranda (No. 6) of the University of the Cumberlands on an intense 11-10 decision in her first dual and pinned the Tigers' Icart Galumette (No. 7) on Saturday.
The senior from Fairview, Texas completed a flawless 9-0 record at the illustrious event after winning all four of her matches last year.
Kylee Slyter (110) and Jannell Avila (180) each came away with a pair of victories with the two grapplers scoring alongside Heath in the tournament opener against the third-ranked Patriots.
Avila, who ranks fifth nationally, earned a pin over the Patriots' Saiheron Preciado-Meza who sits ahead of Avila in the rankings at No. 3. Slyter followed up her tech fall win in the opener with a 9-4 decision to put BU on the board against WPU.
Baker came out on top of all but two of its matchups against Lourdes in its second dual of the competition. Kadynce Axelson (124) and Nevaeh Wardlow (180) both pinned their opponents, while Zoey Freeman tacked on a tech fall in the 131-pound match.
Then, the Wildcats edged past fellow Heart of America team William Penn, 22-20 to knock them off for the second time this season and secure a top-eight finish.
With BU trailing 16-9, Avila, Hailee Crosland (145) and Jaclyn Daley (160) combined for three straight wins to trigger an 11-point swing. Wardlow came through with a hard-fought battle in the decisive match at 207 pounds where the freshman from Kansas City, Mo. fell short in the bout, but helped BU seal the two-point victory.
Daley and Freeman picked up their second wins of the tournament on Saturday with both wrestlers winning by decision. Audrey Darnell marked the final points for BU after she pinned her opponent in the 138-pound match against the Warriors.
Baker will jump back into tournament action with the Missouri Baptist Open on Friday, Jan. 17, starting at 9 a.m. in St. Louis.
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