Baylor’s Weston Jarnagin wrestles McCalli’s Stanton Davis in the 106-pound weight class at the Blue Tornado’s home gym on Friday.In old-school fashion with a good measure of rough-and-tumble like that taught for years by Luke Worsham and Dave Spencer, Baylor and McCallie went toe-to-toe in wresling Friday night.
Before hundreds who flocked to McCallie’s standing-room-only gym, favored Baylor rallied by winning five of the last six matches for a 31-30 victory and extended its win streak over the Blue Tornado to double digits. In taking their 10th consecutive victory, the Red Raiders rebounded from a deficit that reached 19 points.
“The atmosphere, the enthusiam — there are very few wrestling events like this in the country, and we’re very fortunate to be a part of it,” Baylor coach Ben Nelson said.
“It was an exciting match and that’s what you want — like the state duals last year when we’d score and then they’d score,” McCallie coach Mike Newman added.
The crown jewel in the victory came from Baylor sophomore Ryan Parker, a defending state champion whose 3-2 decision avenged a McCallie Invitational loss to defending state champion Nathan Hoodenpyle. The victory came on a penalty point, awarded to Parker when Hoodenpyle was penalized for fleeing the mat to avoid a takedown.