Baker Powder Valley Falls To Nampa Christian, 37 to 34

Baker Powder Valley opened its season on Thursday at home against Nampa Christian and came away with a closely contested 37 to 34 defeat. The margin reflected a string of decisive individual outcomes, including multiple wins by fall for both teams, and left the Tigers with clear targets for development as they prepare for a full slate of duals and tournaments.

Standout results for Baker included Wyatt Valentine winning at 126 pounds by fall, Braiden Whitebread winning at 150 pounds by fall, Roman Zickgraf at 157 pounds securing a major decision 11 to 2, and Daniel Maldonado at 165 pounds winning by fall. The team also recorded forfeit victories at 138 pounds for Gerik Orszulak and at 144 pounds for Jude Crader. Nampa Christian secured key wins at 113, 175, 215 and 285 pounds, closing out the dual.

Full varsity results from the dual read as follows. At 113 pounds Colton Ammann of Nampa Christian defeated Hunter Pierce of Baker, 7 to 3. At 126 Wyatt Valentine of Baker won by fall over Landon Holloway Filler of Nampa Christian. At 138 Gerik Orszulak of Baker won by forfeit. At 144 Jude Crader of Baker won by forfeit. At 150 Braiden Whitebread of Baker won by fall over Judah Crane of Nampa Christian. At 157 Roman Zickgraf of Baker won by major decision, 11 to 2, over Tucker Henne of Nampa Christian. At 165 Daniel Maldonado of Baker won by fall over Peter Hilty of Nampa Christian. At 175 Kaiser Henne of Nampa Christian defeated Bowen McGuire of Baker by fall. At 215 Hollister Yadon of Nampa Christian won by major decision, 17 to 5, over Conner Niday of Baker. At 285 Quade Hartley of Nampa Christian defeated Isaac Berry of Baker by fall.

Coaches also used extra matches to gain mat time and assess depth. In the additional bouts Hunter Pierce of Baker beat Mikhail Fishell of Nampa Christian by technical fall, 15 to 0. Thomas Dean of Nampa Christian defeated Luis Rosales of Baker by fall at 138 pounds in extra action. Joel Anderson of Baker defeated Seth Walter of Nampa Christian by fall at 175 pounds, and in a follow up match Seth Walter of Nampa Christian defeated Dallin Brown of Baker by fall.

The opener highlighted weight classes where Baker shows immediate strength and others where lineups and conditioning will likely be adjusted. For local athletes and families the dual offered early evidence that the program has competitive pieces and that coaching decisions in the coming weeks will shape how the team competes in regional meets.