ST. LOUIS – For the third time this season, a Central Baptist College Mustang wrestler has been selected as American Midwest Conference Athlete of the Week. Christian Richer was the recipient of that honor this week, join Alejandro Mas (FR/Tampa, FL), who was selected twice earlier this season.

Richer won the only match he competed in this week, defeat Omar Gausmann of Lyon College by a 15-0 technical fall last Thursday. He improved his overall record this season to 5-2 since joining the squad in January.

The post CBC’s Christian Richer named AMC Wrestler of the Week appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.

CONWAY – When the Central Baptist College wrestling season resumes on Jan. 8, 2021, three new faces will join the Mustangs as announced by head coach Ken Prophete. Anthony Temes, Tico Ferrer and Christian Richer will all be joining the Mustangs in the Spring.

Temes and Ferrer are joining the Mustangs from St. Thomas University in Florida while Richer is coming to CBC from Lassen Community College in California. Temes and Ferrer are both natives of Florida while Richer grew up in Sparks, Nev.

Temes will wrestle at 125 pounds and was a Florida National Team member, a two-time district champion, three-time state qualifier and a Florida High School Athletic Association state finalist. He chose CBC because of the environment and the opportunity that was presented to him and he wants to thank CBC Assistant Coach Cater, who introduced him to the sport of wrestling as a seventh grader and many others.

Ferrer will wrestle at 133 pounds. He was a fourth-place finisher in Fla., a Calif., district champion, an NCS Qualifier, a Fla., district champion and an AAU All-American. He chose CBC because of the people that are part of the wrestling program and he believes that Coach Prophete’s family atmosphere will make this team historic. He wants to thank his #1 supporter, his mother.

Richer will wrestle at 157 pounds. He was an Academic All-American at Lassen and chose CBC for the culture both in the wrestling room and on campus. He wanted to thank his parents and his wrestling coaches from Reno and Lassen. Join us in welcoming these three to the Mustang family!

The post CBC wrestling adds three at semester appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Lyon College women’s wrestling team continues to impress this season as the Scots just garnered the No. 8 ranking in the final edition of the NAIA Women’s Wrestling Coaches’ Poll, which was released by the national office this morning.

Campbellsville University and Menlo College maintained their No. 1 and No. 2 ranking, respectively. Southern Oregon University jumped Life University for the third position, while the University of Jamestown moved up to the No. 5 spot. The University of the Cumberlands holds the sixth position, while Wayland Baptist University sits just ahead of Lyon College for the No. 7 ranking. The University of Providence fell to ninth in the poll, while Oklahoma City University stayed in the No. 10 spot.

The Scots placed 12 wrestlers in the individual standings as well. Jasmine Hernandez led Lyon as she earned the No. 2 ranking in the 123-pound weight class. Kelani Corbett recorded a No. 4 ranking in the 170-pound weight division, while Brianna Ribucan-Leong and Ashley Whetzal each jumped into the No. 5 spot in their respective weight classes. Elissa Douglass and Emma De Brum kept the top-10 rankings coming for the Scots as Douglass notched the No. 7 ranking in the 143-pound weight division, and De Brum earned the No. 10 spot in the 116-pound weight class. Six additional Scots registered a spot in the individual rankings – Alexandrea Banag (No. 12), Mariah Spix (No. 13), Jessienna Burkett-Erice (No. 17), Skye Williams (No. 17), Sierra Alfonso (No. 18), and Ashley Cook (No. 24).

Last time the Scots were on the mat, Lyon battled No. 7 University of the Cumberlands inside Becknell Gymnasium for the Scots’ senior day match. Lyon and UC exchanged leads throughout the entire dual as both teams wrestled tremendously. The dual was so tight that it ended in a draw, 23-23. Brianna Ribucan-Leong, Ashley Whetzal, Jasmine Hernandez, Elissa Douglass, and Kelani Corbett all notched impressive victories against the University of the Cumberlands.

The eighth-ranked Lyon College women’s wrestling team will travel to Texas to compete in the Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) Championships this weekend. The competition will begin on Saturday at 9:00 a.m. on the campus of Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, Texas.

The post Lyon women’s wrestling moves up to No. 8 in Coaches’ Poll appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – As the Lyon College women’s wrestling team gets set for their first competition of the new year, the Scots are ranked No. 10 in the NAIA Women’s Wrestling Coaches’ Poll as the conference office released the rankings today. Lyon’s No. 10 ranking means that the Scots have earned a spot in the top ten for all four editions of the NAIA Women’s Wrestling Coaches’ Poll this season.

Life University claimed the top spot this week, while Campbellsville University trails by just one point for the second position. The University of Jamestown and Menlo College follow closely behind in the No. 3 and No. 4 rankings, respectively. Southern Oregon University edged Wayland Baptist University for the fifth spot. The University of the Cumberlands and the University of Providence maintained their spot at No. 7 and No. 8 in the poll, while Oklahoma City University jumped Lyon College for the No. 9 position.

The Scots placed 12 wrestlers in the individual standings as well. Elissa Douglass jumped into the top five in the 143 pound weight class, while Brianna Ribucan-Leong and Jasmine Hernandez both earned the No. 6 ranking in their respective weight divisions. Mariah Spix and Logan Mize also notched spots in the top ten of their weight classes as the wrestlers claimed the No. 7 and No. 8 positions, respectively. Seven additional Scots registered a spot in the individual rankings – Ashley Whetzal (No. 13), Jessienna Burkett-Erice (No. 14), Kelani Corbett (No. 15), Alexandrea Banag (No. 15), Rebekah Garcia (No. 16), Ashley Cook (No. 16), and Sierra Alfonso (No. 16).

Last time the Scots were in action, the Lyon College women’s wrestling team dominated the Wayland Baptist University Invitational as the Scots had four wrestlers – Ashley Whetzal, Jasmine Hernandez, Alexandrea Banag, and Kelani Corbett – claim first place in their respective weight classes.

Lyon returns to the mat on Jan. 10-11 for the NWCA National Duals. The two-day tournament will take place in Louisville, Kentucky.

The post Lyon women’s wrestling ranked 10th in latest coaches’ poll appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.

WALNUT RIDGE – Kole Meador (JR/Hillsboro, Mo.) and Jonathan Stewart (SR/Blaine, Wash.) won individual American Midwest Conference championships on Saturday, while team finished runner up at the AMC Championships. The tournament was hosted by Lyon College in Batesville, Ark.

Kole Meador won his first AMC Championship, sweeping through the 165 lb. weight division. He received an opening round bye before winning a 9-2 decision in the quarterfinals. Looking to make the conference championship, he won by a 58 second fall in the semifinals. In the championship, he faced Jose Intriago from Lindenwood University-Belleville. The junior beat Intriago by a 14-8 decision to win his first individual title. With the title, Meador earns an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships.

Jonathan Stewart won his first conference title after storming through the 174 lb. weight class. He won his quarterfinal match by a 14-2 major decision before winning the semifinals with a 4:31 fall. In the final, he won by an 8-3 decision over Jack Serview of Marian University. Stewart will return for his second straight trip to the NAIA National Championship. The senior is currently ranked nine in the 174 lb. division.

The team finished as runner-up in the tournament. WBU finished with 163.5 points, 12 points behind first place Marian University. In the four year history of AMC wrestling, the Eagles have never finished lower than second. The team is currently ranked 19th in the NAIA.

“We have had a year full of adversity. The guys we took to conference fought extremely hard and I am proud of them. I know some guys did not finish as high as they would like and it burns, but we will go back to the drawing board and make adjustments so the pain does not return next year,” said Head Coach Todd Allen.

After the tournament, the conference released its 2018-19 season awards. The Eagles were well represented among the honors. They had five members receive All-Conference, one AMC Freshman of the Year and nine Academic All-Conference.

Ben Turnbough (FR/Irondale, Mo.) received All-Conference honors as well as AMC Freshman of the Year. The freshman has a record of 16-7, and finished runner-up at the AMC Championships. He received an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships at the 197 lb. weight division after his second place finish. Turnbough also was named Academic All-Conference.

Other wrestlers receiving All-Conference honors are Tanner Irwin (JR/Nixa, Mo.), Kole Meador, Jonathan Stewart and Jeffrey Haley (SR/Quincy, Ill.).

Tanner Irwin earns the honor for the third straight season. His record sits at 17-2 and he finished runner-up at the AMC Championships. He is ranked sixth in the 133 lb. weight division. He earned a bid to the NAIA Championships with his second place finish.. It will be the junior’s third trip to the finals.

Kole Meador earns all-conference honors for the first time in his career. He has a record of 16-11, and competes in the 165 lb. weight class. The junior earned an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships by winning the AMC Championship.

Jonathan Stewart earned all-conference after posting a 15-5 record this season. He will make his second appearance at the NAIA National Championships after winning his first AMC title this year. He competes in the 174 lb. weight class.

Jeffrey Haley is a former All-American who returned this season after redshirting a year ago. He finished the season with an 8-3 record and earned a bid to the NAIA National Championships after finishing in third at the AMC Championships. He is the eighth ranked wrestler in the 184 lb. class. He was also named Academic All-Conference.

All five All-Conference athletes earned bids to compete at the NAIA National Championships.

“It is exciting to have five national qualifiers, and I am expecting them to make noise at the NAIA National Championships. I am excited to see them work towards earning All-American status,” said Allen.

Braden Zini (SR/Little Rock, Ark.), Daryus Webb (FR/St. Louis, Mo.), Gavin Wells (SO/Poplar Bluff, Mo.), Maleek Caton (JR/Maumelle, Ark.), Sean Sesnan, Willie Wright (SR/Maumelle, Ark.) and Zachary Haley (FR/Quincy, Ill.) join Ben Turnbough and Jeffrey Haley on the Academic All-Conference Team.

The championships will take place in Des Moines, Iowa, on March 1-2. Stay tuned to www.wbueagles.com for tournament updates!

The post Eagles finish second at AMC wrestling championship, take two individual titles appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.

WALNUT RIDGE – The Williams Baptist University wrestling team enters the 2018-19 season tied for the 10th in the national rankings. The NAIA released its Coaches’ Preseason Top 20 Poll on Wednesday.

The Eagles finished in third place nationally in 2017-18 season.

“We have a lot of hard work to put in. We lost a lot of talent last season and have holes to fill, but I am confident in our process and training. I know we will have guys step up by the end of the year,” head coach Todd Allen said.

Williams has now been ranked in the top 20 for twenty straight polls. The last time WBU was outside the top 20 was Dec. 9, 2015. The team’s highest ever ranking was three, which they have reached on six occasions.

Seven individuals are ranked in their respective weight divisions.

All-American Nicholas Drendel is the highest ranked Eagle, coming in at fourth in the 157 lb. weight class. The 133 lb. weight division has two WBU representatives. Tanner Irwin is ranked seventh, followed by Jaitlan Pitts at eight.

Another All-American comes in ranked ninth in the 184 lb. division. Jeff Haley enters the year ranked after redshirting in 2017-18.

Kyle Lee joins Drendel in the 157 lb. division, ranking 11th. Meanwhile, Maleek Canton enters his first year of competition at WBU ranked 17th in the 197 lb. weight class, while Tyler Giorgini holds the 20th ranking in the 285 lb. division.

“I have seen a tremendous amount of growth off the wrestling mat this year. Typically that progress off the mat translates directly into success on the mat. Our guys want to prove that it is not one person or one success that make up this team, but that we are fighters and we will meet a challenge head on,” Allen added.

The Eagles were picked by the American Midwest Conference coaches to finish first in the AMC this season. WBU has won the championship in all three seasons the conference has sponsored the sport.

Individually, two Williams wrestlers are picked to win their respective weight classes in the conference. Drendel and Irwin are favored in their divisions.

“I am excited to see outside competition this year. We have a lot of guys that need to prove themselves this year and I believe they will. It will be another exciting year,” Allen concluded.

Williams opens its season on November 3 at the Patriot Open in Williamsburg, Ky. The event will begin at 7 a.m.

The post WBU wrestling begin year ranked 10th appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.

ARKADELPHIA – Head Coach Todd Allen enjoyed his return to Arkadelphia, as he led the Williams Baptist College wrestling team to the championship at the Hatcher Invitational. The invite is hosted by Ouachita Baptist University.

Williams massed 193 points to finish in first place at the tournament. The event features all Arkansas colleges that sponsor the sport of wrestling. The next highest team was University of the Ozarks with 166.5 points.

“This is a big tournament for our program. It is in honor of a very respected member of the Arkansas wrestling community, Greg Hatcher. He is the reason there are high school and college wrestling programs in the state. All Arkansas collegiate programs are represented and it is a great showing of the strength of wrestling in our state,” Allen said.

Individually, the Eagles had five athletes win championships, four finish runner-up, and three third place finishers.

“That was a great showing for us. We are not 100 percent right now, but we had a lot of guys that have not wrestled much because of injuries, and they really needed matches. It was great to see them back on the mat,” added Allen.

Kyle Lee and Demetrius Thomas  led the team, earning WBC 24 team points. Lee finished in first place in the 149 lb. weight class. He won two matches by fall, and one by decision. Thomas remained undefeated on the season, winning two matches by fall, and one by decision.

Daniel Rittell earned Williams 22 points with one win by fall and one win in sudden victory overtime. He won the 157 lb. division. Keion McVay scored 22 points with two major decision victories, and one by fall on his way to the 174 lb. championship.

Josh Chiles wrestled for the first time this season and finished with one win by decision and one by fall, earning 13 points on his way to the 184 lb. championship.

Second place finishers for the Eagles were Jonathan Stewart, Trey Smith, Tristan Meador, and Jaitlan Pitts. WBC’s three third place finishers were Nick Souder, Terrell Pampkin, and Braden Zini.

The Eagles will head back to the mat on Tuesday, Dec. 5, at the Hannibal-LaGrange University tri-duals. The wrestling will begin at 7 p.m., in Hannibal, Mo.

You can keep up with all Eagles athletics at www.wbceagles.com.

The post Eagles win Hatcher Invitational appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.

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.

The post Thomas wins second straight open championship appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.

MUSKOGEE, Okla. – The Central Baptist College wrestling team returned to the mat tonight as they matched up in a tri-dual hosted by Bacone College. CBC would end up defeating Kansas Wesleyan 24-18, before losing to the host school, Bacone, 51-3.

“Our guys are getting better each competition,” said head coach Ken Prophete. “Consistent growth is key and we are learning from our issues.”

Deqaylon Gray was the only wrestler to win both matches, pinning his Kansas Wesleyan opponent and beating his Bacone opponent in a 5-3 decision. Zach Kearney was the only other Mustang to receive a non-forfeit victory on the evening, pinning his opponent from Kansas Wesleyan.

CBC returns to the mat this weekend when they travel to Dallas, Texas, for the Richland Southwest Scuffle, hosted by Richland College. The Nov. 18 match gets underway at 9 a.m.

The post Mustangs split at tri-dual at Bacone appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.

WALNUT RIDGE – It has taken only three years for the Williams Baptist College wrestling program to transform from a new program into an NAIA powerhouse. Year three cemented the program’s place amongst the elite and culminated with a fourth place finish at the NAIA National Championships, three All-Americans, and an individual national champion, as well as many honors throughout  the historic season.

The Eagles traveled to Topeka, Kan., on March 3 and 4, to compete in the NAIA National Championships. WBC came in as the 11th ranked team in the country, and had seven wrestlers ranked in their respective weight classes.

Williams exceeded the expectations of the rankings and finished in fourth place at the National Championships, with a team score of 61.5 points.

Demetrius Thomas swept through the 285 lb. weight class, winning WBC’s first ever NAIA National Championship. In the process, Thomas earned 25 points for the team, and the redshirt freshman earned All-American honors.

The next highest point getter was Tyler Fraley at the 141 pound division. He secured 16.5 team points on his way to a third place finish. He wrestled his way to All-American honors for the second straight season.

Josh Chiles became the first Arkansas high school graduate in wrestling history to earn All-American honors at the collegiate level. The Little Rock, Ark., native captured fourth place on his way to earning 12.5 points for the Eagles.

Other point scorers for WBC were Ryan Whittle 3.00, Keion McVay 2.5, Tyler Dibert 1.00, and Jeffrey Haley 1.00.

The fourth place finish  is a remarkable accomplishment for the third year program. They were three points behind third place Campbellsville University and 13 points behind Lindsey Wilson College. Grand View University won the competition with a total of 234.5 points. There are 56 teams that compete in wrestling in the NAIA.

“It has been a season of ups and downs. We knew what we were capable of accomplishing all season. I think after National Duals we had a lot of teams start to doubt our ability. It took a lot of trust and faith in ourselves to rebound and end up with a fourth place finish. Regardless of our results, we give all the glory to God in all that we do. We have a team and staff that preaches this and succeeds in this. It means a lot and is fun to be a part of this process,” summed up head coach Kerry Regner.

Other accomplishments throughout the season include an NAIA National Player of the Week (Tyler Fraley), American Midwest Conference team championship, AMC Coach of the Year (Kerry Regner), AMC Wrestler of the Year (Tyler Fraley), and numerous AMC Wrestler of the Week honors.

The post Eagles wrestling paves historic trail in 2016-2017 appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.