FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Facing some tough competition with a depleted lineup at the NWCA Nationals Duals, No. 4-ranked California Baptist University dropped three defeats to ranked opponents.
 
The Lancers lost to No. 18 Gannon 24-13 and battled to a tight 25-21 loss to No. 7 Colorado State Pueblo, before dropping a 27-14 loss to No. 3-ranked Ashland. CBU moves to 5-4 on the year, returning home to open Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action against San Francisco State on Jan. 19.
 
Nolan Kistler, the No. 2 wrestler at 174, went undefeated on the day. He first posted a 12-0 major decision in his bout against Gannon's Jake Stratton and then grabbed a win by forfeit in the CSUP dual. Kistler capped the day with a dominating 16-0 technical fall against Ashland's Christian Price, who ranks ninth among 174 grapplers.
 
Garrett Strang went undefeated in the first two duals, but dropped an overtime loss, 4-2, to Ashland's Luke Cramer, who is the top-ranked wrestler at 197, in the nightcap. Earlier in the day, Strang beat Gannon's Ethan Budd 6-1 and put CBU back in contention in the CSUP dual, grabbing a 10-5 victory over Donavon Rincon.
 
No. 4 Christian Smith (5-4 decision at 165), No. 1 Nick Feigener (184) and Garrett Strang (6-1 decision at 197) all picked up wins in the Lancers' loss to Gannon. Fiegener took down No. 9-ranked Nick Costa in a 4-2 decision.
 
Alex Nunez (125 pounds) and Peter Cunningham (157 pounds) each pinned their opponents in the second dual, despite Cunningham going up two weight classes. Nunez grabbed the fall in two minutes, 21 seconds and Cunningham followed with a 5:57 fall over the No. 9-ranked wrestler at 157.
 
In the final pairing on the day, CBU took on Ashland and Nunez got things started with a pin in 2:49 to finish with a 2-1 record on the day at 125. Kistler and Zach Schrader also grabbed wins in the final dual, with Schrader taking Deaken McCoy down 4-3 in overtime.
 
The Lancers take on the SF State Gators in the Van Dyne Gym at 7:00 p.m. on the 19^th.
 
RESULTS
CBU vs. Gannon (L, 13-24)
125 – Jacob Dunlap over Alex Nunez, dec. 8-5
133 – Austin Hertel win by forfeit
141 – Carmine Ciotti over Trent Smith, fall 7:00
149 – George McGuire over Daxton Gordon, dec. 9-7
157 – Eric Lewandowski over Peter Cunningham, dec. 6-4
165 – Christian Smith over Nate Ross, dec. 5-4
174 –  Nolan Kistler over Jake Stratton, maj. 12-0
184 – Nick Fiegener over Nick Costa, dec. 4-2
197 – Garrett Strang over Ethan Budd, dec. 6-1
HWT – Nick Budd over Zach Schrader, dec. 7-4
 
CBU vs. Colorado State-Pueblo (L, 21-25)
125 –Alex Nunez over Tanner Kuketz, fall 2:21
133 – Josiah Seaton win by forfeit
141 – Jared Mestas over Trent Smith, maj. 13-3
149 – Gevin Melendez win by forfeit
157 – Peter Cunningham over Kyle Fantin, fall 5:57
165 – JaCobi Jones over Christian Smith, dec. 3-2
174 – Nolan Kistler win by forfeit
184 – JaVaughn Perkins over Nick Fiegener, dec. 4-1
197 – Garrett Strang over Donavon Rincon, dec. 10-5
HWT – Cody Johnson over Zach Schrader, dec. 3-0
 
CBU vs. Ashland (L, 14-27)
125 –Alex Nunez over Sebastian Vidika, fall 2:49
133 – Jerry Fenner III win by forfeit
141 – Robert Mason over Trent Smith, dec. 7-1
149 – JJ Diven win by forfeit
157 – Garrett Hall over Peter Cunningham, dec. 6-4
165 – Brett Romanzak over Christian Smith, dec. 3-2
174 – Nolan Kistler over Christian Price, tech fall 16-0
184 – Jordan Murphy over Nick Fiegener, dec. 11-8
197 – Luke Cramer over Garrett Strang, SV-1 4-2
HWT – Zach Schrader over Deaken McCoy, TB-1 4-3