CLEVELAND, Tenn. - Baylor survived a series of early punches from Bradley Central before rolling to a 49-15 road win in a meeting of wrestling state powers Thursday night.
Connor Duffy and Barrett Chambers dominated in back-to-back fashion for first-period pins at 182 and 220 pounds as the Red Raiders (6-0), the top-ranked team in Division II, closed out the victory against the Bears (5-2), the No. 3 team in Class AAA and winners against DII's McCallie last week.
However, Baylor's success Thursday came after Bradley Central brought the fight early and received a jolt of energy from freshman 120-pounder Luke Belcher, who drove reigning state champion Jackson Bond to the mat for a third-round pin. The Bears soon after built a 15-6 edge as Aaron Patterson won 7-4 against Micah Tisdale at 126 in the fifth match of the dual meet.
Things changed when Baylor's Noah Horst, another reigning state champ, overcame injury time and turned a neck-and-neck battle at 132 into the first of nine straight wins for his team as he caught fire in the third round to beat Gavin Hughes 10-3.
"We love wrestling these guys this early in the season because they are fighters," Baylor coach Ben Nelson said. "Bradley is going to come out and smack you. You have to wake up and wrestle. Chase Radpour and Luke Collins had two really big wins for us at 145 and 152 that I think helped us go on to win this match."
After tempers flared at 132, the Red Raiders locked in and allowed only two points to be scored on them in the final seven matches. Garrison Dendy (138), Luke Collins (152), Duffy and Chambers won via pins during that stretch, while Anthony Manella earned a major decision with a 9-0 victory at 160.
The Red Raiders know they can count on Duffy and Chambers to help lead the way as they take aim at sweeping the state team titles yet again this season.
"Connor and Barrett are great leaders," Nelson said. "Connor is the head of our honor council, and he is one of the best human beings I have ever been around. He has a big year ahead of him.
"Barrett has been putting in the time and helping us out for years. Now he is finally getting his year to shine. He was voted the team captain because he has worked so hard. Last year he was at 160, and now he is wrestling up a little to 220."
Nick Corday and Kade Hartline won three-point decisions for Baylor at 106 and 113, and Chase Radpour won 9-2 at 145 to give his team its first lead at 18-15.
Bradley Central opened the match with a second-round pin by heavyweight Austin McClure, who made it to the state tournament last season as a freshman.
"I told our team to enjoy matches like this because they will make us better when we are wrestling Cleveland and Science Hill, et cetera, for state titles in February," Bears coach Ben Smith said. "I want people to look at the heart and effort of this team and say, 'Dadgum it, Bradley is tough.'
"I think our guys wrestled scared in a positive manner against the best team in the state tonight."
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.