WALNUT RIDGE – Williams Baptist College’s Demetrius Thomas continues to show why he is the top-ranked and defending NAIA national champion wrestler. Saturday, he beat four NCAA Division I wrestlers on his way to becoming the the Lindenwood Open champion of the 285 lb. class.

Thomas received an opening round bye before competing against the University of Iowa’s Aaron Costello in the second round. The sophomore beat Costello by decision, 10-3. He followed that up with a 7-3 decision over Trent Hillger of the University of Wisconsin.

In the semifinals, Thomas beat Oklahoma State University’s Blake Andrews by a 6-2 decision. In the finals, the Ferguson, Mo., native met NCAA national qualifier Austin Myers from the University of Missouri. Thomas won the match 7-1 to win his second consecutive open championship. His season record now sits at a perfect 9-0.

“Demetrius continues to surpass my expectations,” Head Coach Todd Allen said. “He had a great tournament.  We raise the stakes for him each week and he rises to every occasion. We are very proud of his successes thus far.”

Thomas was not the only Eagles wrestler honored on the day. Kyle Lee began last week learning that he had entered the NAIA ranking for the first time in his career. The 13th ranked wrestler finished in second place at the open, losing in the 149 lb. championship to University of Missouri’s Lane Stigall by an 8-2 decision.

Tristan Meador finished on the podium in 5th place. The 149 lb. wrestler finished 4-1 on the day, winning the fifth place match by a 10-9 decision.

Next up, the ninth ranked Eagles will head to Arkadelphia, Ark., to compete at the Hatcher Invite on December 2.  WBC is the defending champions of the invite hosted by Ouachita Baptist University.

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TOPEKA, Kan. – Demetrius Thomas brought home Williams Baptist College’s first ever NAIA National Championship with a 10-2 major victory by decision on Saturday evening. Thomas, who came in as the five seed, beat third seeded Ceron Francisco convincingly.

“I am at a loss for words. Demetrius is exactly what we want in a wrestler and student-athlete. I cannot sell him short on how hard of a worker he is. He shows up and works incredibly hard every day. He glorifies God with his actions, and always is the first to encourage and help out his teammates,” head coach Kerry Regner said.

The Ferguson, Mo., native opened up the bout strong, with a takedown and near fall in the first period, getting an early 6-1 lead. The second period was fairly uneventful, as Francisco earned the only point on escape. This set up the final frame with Thomas leading 6-2. He had also accumulated over a minute’s riding time, which if maintained would give him an extra point.

Thomas used that advantage in the third period by scoring three points. One escape and one take down would be plenty. Adding the riding time, he finished with a 10-2 major decision victory.

He becomes the first National Champion at Williams since the 1992-93 women’s basketball team won the NCCAA National Championship. It is the first NAIA National Championship in school history.

“This is an incredible honor. All glory has to go to God. I could not be here without the impact he has had on my life. It blows my mind to be a National Champion. I am so honored to be able to wrestle at WBC, and I have the best teammates and coaches around,” said Thomas.

You can find a complete recap of the tournament at our TOURNAMENT CENTRAL page.

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