At Baker University there are eight BHS wrestlers: Audrey Darnell, Willow Dubois, Jayden Westgate, Nakos Benton, Nora Prather, Joshua Broyles, Madi Hargett and Dylan Williams.
“I chose Baker for quite a few reasons after leaving Baldwin to go to Concordia.” Broyles said. “I transferred to Baker after realizing how great of a town Baldwin really was.”
Having BHS wrestlers continue at Baker for their wrestling career is a big opportunity. Baker is known for their successful wrestling environment, and great coaches. The previous Baldwin wrestling head coach Kit Harris is now the head coach for women’s wrestling at Baker.
“I didn’t originally want to wrestle in college, but I just couldn’t turn down Kit being my coach for another 4 years,” Dubois said.
Getting to wrestle in your hometown for college is a huge privilege and experience.
Wrestlers have some of their best and most memories in their high school years.
“I love it when Baldwin kids pursue higher opportunities and chase down their dreams and goals,” Harris said. “Baldwin is a school full of a lot of very hard-working kids in many different areas.”
“My favorite memory is from the State tournament of 2024,” Prather said. “Two of my teammates and I won our matches that ensured us being on the podium almost all at the same time, so we all came together with the rest of our team and hugged and cried. That was also the same match that I got my 100th pin in my wrestling career.”
Some of these students have been wrestling most of their lives and get to continue in this great wrestling environment. For others, they are just starting their wrestling career and get the privilege to wrestle at Baker University.
“One of my influencers would be RBY,” Benton said. “Another would be the one and only Kit Harris.”
With Harris as the new women’s wrestling coach at Baker, the BHS students who are now wrestling at Baker get to have one of their biggest influences coaching them for another few years.
“Having coached at Baldwin for so long, I love to see former Bulldogs taking advantage of a great university in our hometown and now helping the BU programs be successful, just like they did for BHS,” Harris said. “And most importantly to me, they are all great people, and a perfect Baker fit.”
“My entire high school wrestling experience is such a good memory,” Hargett said. “No matter where we were; practice, bus rides to meets, or the state champion meet, we always had fun together.”