Athletics Headlines: Three Spartan Wrestlers Place At Coe Invitational

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November 20, 2006

Three Spartan Wrestlers Place At Coe Invitational

(CEDAR RAPIDS, IA) - Three members of the Missouri Baptist wrestling team place in the top four of their respective weight classes at the Coe College Invitational, which was held this past Saturday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Freshman Shay Lauderdale (Azle, TX) secured a third-place finish in the 141-pound weight class by posting a 4-1 record at the tournament. Also placing third respectfully in their weight classes were junior Chas Skelly (Azle, TX) at 157, and senior Jared Bonnell (Farmington, MO) at 285. By finishing in the top three, Lauderdale, Skelly, and Bonnell met the requirements for qualifying for the NAIA Wrestling Nationals, held in early March of 2007. Bonnell had already met the qualifying requirements with his second place finish at the Lindenwood Open earlier this season.

Also doing well for the Spartans was freshman Gerald Harris (St. Louis, MO) at 157. Harris recorded 12 takedowns throughout the tournament and was one win away from placing. Overall the Spartans looked impressive and Coach Brian Jackson had this to say about their performance “Our Goal is to get better each time we get on the mat. I was most impressed with freshman Shay Lauderdale. Shay was able to soundly defeat an opponent that beat him earlier in the tournament. Lauderdale is positioning himself well for a starting role at 149lbs.” The freshman is currently has an impressive 8-3 record on the year.

Up next for the Spartans is a tri-match with Northwestern College and William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa on the campus of William Penn. Wrestling starts at 6 PM.