California Baptist University
Big 12 Session I
Leake Stamps His Ticket to NCAA's with Impressive Day One Performance
3/8/2025 10:23:00 PM | Wrestling
TULSA, OK--- Hunter Leake made history again for California Baptist University wrestling as they opened up day one of the 2025 BIG 12 Wrestling Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Leake became the first Lancer to make it to the semifinals and subsequently became the first 2x NCAA qualifier in school history after securing placement on day one. Leake pulled off a pair of upsets to earn the distinction, besting third-seeded Julian Farber of Northern Iowa and 2x NCAA qualifier Cleveland Belton of Oklahoma to stamp his ticket to Philadelphia. Leake scored an early takedown on Farber, which would be the difference as he would engage in a tactical battle against the UNI wrestler. Leake would then face off against Belton in the quarterfinals and secure a critical second-period takedown that would lead to his semifinal berth. In the semis, Leake competed well against #2 Dominick Serrano of Northern Colorado but would ultimately come up short 10-3.
CBU would get five other wrestlers on the board with wins in the first round of wrestlebacks. Elijah Griffin started off the string of victories with a pin of North Dakota State's Peyton Moore before he lost in a hotly-contested battle against #8 Julia Tagg of South Dakota State. Drayden Morton would not leave Tulsa empty-handed as he would defeat Bryce Shelton of Air Force via decision 5-1 before a sudden victory defeat at the hands of Mizzou's James Conway. David Berkovich, Eli Sheeren, and Carter Schmidt would also come away victorious in the first round of wrestlebacks but could not advance beyond that point.
CBU will have an NCAA qualifier for the second consecutive season, with Leake moving on to the next day of competition and looking to become the highest placer in program history on day two. Leake will get a rematch with Julian Farber of Northern Iowa, who he bested to reach the 133lb quarterfinals. A second win over Farber would guarantee Leake a top-four spot in the bracket, and he would face the winner of Derrick Cardinal and Kade Moore on the opposite side of the bracket. A loss would send him to battle for fifth place.
Session III of the BIG 12 Championships will begin at 10 AM PT on ESPN+ at the BOK Center in Tulsa, OK.
Players Mentioned
