A home non-conference dual just before Thanksgiving Break versus Avila (Kansas City) was an opportunity to build some momentum before heading into a week-long break. The Avila Eagles traveled to Fulton and into Anderson Arena to take on the William Woods Owls. Avila entered the evening 0-1 in duals this season after losing their season opener to Embry Riddle. The Owls are also 0-1 on the year in duals (0-1 in Conference) after losing to Heart of America opponent Missouri Baptist last week. Both teams were looking to earn their first dual win of the season and gain some momentum heading into the month of December.
Avila has 1 #1 ranked wrestler in the KCAC as of the latest conference rankings (November 18, 2025) and that’s at 285 lbs. The have several other wrestlers ranked in the top 4 in that conference and are currently the second highest rated team behind Friends University (who are also ranked #24 in the NAIA). William Woods is ranked 9th in the Heart of America who is currently led by Grand View University. Individually at the conference level William Woods has four near the top of their conference rankings at 149 lbs., 184 lbs., 197 lbs., and 285 lbs.
Recap:
On paper this was going to be a closely contested dual and the home crowd in Anderson Arena got exactly that. During the first 4 bouts of the evening the teams split the matches at 2 wins a piece with Avila holding a narrow 12-10 lead. Missouri Baptist got on the scoreboard first at 125 with Raul Romero scoring a pin. Werdenhausen of William Woods, fresh off a very solid performance at the Drury Open, scored on several opportunities and was able to counter whatever his opponent tried to do and scored another bonus-point win on the season via major decision with a 9-0 win. At 141 lbs. Tyler Johnson (Avila) took advantage of his quick takedown near the start of the match and pinned Michael Moore-Foundren in just over a minute. At 149 lbs, Jake Hall of William woods scored early and often and was ahead of his opponent by a score of 9-1 after one period of wrestling. After exchanging reversals points in the 2nd, Hall found a way to get his opponent to his back and pinned him with less than 25 seconds in the period.
The turning point for William Woods was at the 157 lb. weight class. Sophomore, Whit Nichols didn’t appear initially to be on his game after giving up an early takedown. However, after scoring an escape, he would score 11 more points before the end of the first period and take a substantial 12-5 lead into the second. Nichols picked up right back where he left off and scored another eleven points while giving up just a single escape on his way to a 23-6 techfall. This gave William Woods a 3-point lead, 15-12. They didn’t relinquish the lead for the rest of the dual despite the best efforts of Avila.
William Woods only won 2 of the remaining five matches but both wins were bonus point wins (1 tech fall and 1 pin),bringing their point total to 26. Things got interesting at the 197 lb match as returning national qualifier Austen Wetzel would be hit for two stall calls despite taking a narrow 8-6 lead into the 3rd period. Along with an escape earned by his opponent, Rodney Trotter, and the riding time bonus point Trotter snuck out a 9-8 decision. Avila would need a pin or a tech fall to win the dual. Despite Gavin Howes (Avila’s 285 lb. wrestler) best efforts late in the third period, he couldn’t pin Ian Nelson. He would have to settle for a 3-point decision win after winning the match by a score of 8-1.
This is the first dual win for William Woods this season (and the first under new head coach Tony Eierman) as they head into the Thanksgiving Break.
Below are the individual match-by-match results of the dual between Avila and William Woods.
Avila 24 vs. William Woods 26
| 125 | Raul Romero (Avila) over Kelley Brown (William Woods University ) (Fall 0:00) | ||
| 133 | Braden Werdenhausen (William Woods University ) over Aiden Pina (Avila) (MD 9-0) | ||
| 141 | Tyler Johnson (Avila) over Michael Moore-Fondren (William Woods University ) (Fall 1:04) | ||
| 149 | Jake Hall (William Woods University ) over Dru Thomas (Avila) (Fall 4:34) | ||
| 157 | Whit Nichols (William Woods University ) over Kristjan Marshall (Avila) (TF 23-6 3:51) | ||
| 165 | Alexander Sederburg (William Woods University ) over Bobby Thomas (Avila) (Fall 2:35) | ||
| 174 | Jase Motlagh (Avila) over Unknown (For.) | ||
| 184 | Elijah Brocksmith (William Woods University ) over Caleb Sharp (Avila) (TF 19-3 2:49) | ||
| 197 | Rodney Trotter (Avila) over Austen Wetzel (William Woods University ) (Dec 9-8) | ||
| 285 | Gavin Howes (Avila) over Ian Nelson (William Woods University ) (Dec 8-1) | ||
Up Next:
The William Woods Owls like most other teams across the country are off next week from competition to celebrate Thanksgiving. The next opportunity to see the Owls in action will be December 13th in Davenport, Iowa as they will take part in the Heart of America Duals tournament hosted by St. Ambrose University. There are 10 teams scheduled to attend this tournament (including the Owls). The current list of teams and their rankings as of 11/19/25 are as follows: Baker Univ. (Kansas)-#23 in NAIA, Benedictine College (Kansas), Central Methodist (Fayette, MO)-#13 in NAIA, Graceland Univ. (Iowa), Grand View Univ. (Iowa)-#1 in NAIA, Missouri Baptist Univ. (St. Louis, MO)-#22 in NAIA, Missouri Valley College (Marshall, MO)-#11 in NAIA, St. Ambrose Univ. (Iowa), and William Penn (Iowa).
This will be a great early season barometer check for the Owls to see how they stack up against their conference opponents. After this event, the Owls are off from competition until after New Year’s where they will host Heart of America conference opponent, Baker University.
