ARKADELPHIA- In the first NCAA match in Arkansas history, Ouachita Baptist made its mark with a 46-7 victory over Central Baptist at Bill Vining Arena on Monday.
The Tigers recorded eight individual victories, including two win by falls and were aided by five forfeits for Central Baptist.
“I thought our first match at home went well,” Ouachita Baptist Head Coach Kevin Ward said. “It was a good win for our program, as our guys performed well in front of a nice home crowd in attendance.”
Ouachita freshman Seth Hutchison won the 125-pound weight class via forfeit, winning an exhibition round over Central Baptist wrestler Nate Waldrip, 9-1. Freshman Brantley Pyle put the Tigers up 12-0 with a victory in the 133-pound weight class due to a forfeit by the Mustangs.
Central Baptist picked up their first victory of the night when Dontavious Gardenhire took down Ouachita freshman John Grove in a major decision, 13-5. The victory cut the lead by the Tigers to 12-4.
Back-to-back forfeits produced victories in the 149 and 157-pound weight class for freshman Dallas Gracey and Tyler Graham, giving Ouachita a commanding 24-4 lead.
Ouachita freshman Jake Simpson highlighted perhaps the best individual performance of the night with a win by fall, taking down Brad Burnside with 24.6 seconds left in the second period. Butler’s victory came after producing a 15-1 lead and 13-1 advantage in the first period. Simpson recorded the first points of the match via a 2-point takedown, followed by back-to-back three-point near falls. The Tuttle, Oklahoma native closed out the first period with a two-point takedown and three-point near fall.
“Jake was dominant from the start,” Ward said. “You can’t ask for more. He finished the way he needed to with a pin in the victory.”
Junior Aaron Butler made things look easy in the home opener, taking a win by fall in the 174-pound weight class with 1:16 left in the first period. Butler defeated Central Baptist wrestler Jacob Smith, after totaling a 10-3 advantage. Among the highlights were four 2-point takedowns, accompanied by a two-point near fall.
“Aaron made it look easy against a scrappy opponent,” Ward said. “He kept his composure and did well overall. It was good to see us get pins when we needed to.”
In the 197-pound weight class, junior Gabe Musser took a win by forfeit, giving the Tigers a 46-4 lead heading into the final match of the evening.
John Lopez gave Central Baptist some confidence in the final match of match, winning the 285-pound weight class by defeating Ouachita freshman Taylor Poe, 8-2.
“It was a good performance. Now we have to get back to work after a break from Thanksgiving to face Bacone College.”
The victory over Central Baptist marked the only regular season home match of the season, as the Tigers travel to Conway on Tuesday, Nov. 30 to face Bacone College.
