In collegiate wrestling, the 125-pound weight class can be key in dual meets. The 125 pound wrestlers compete first in the series of 10 bouts and can often set the tone in a match between two schools.

For the Colonels, sophomore Nick Bauer has been the spark plug so far this season at 125 pounds. While a small sample size, the Colonels are 3-0 in dual meets when Bauer wins his individual match and 0-1 when Bauer drops the opening bout of the meet.

The Colonels moved to 3-1 with wins over MAC opponents Alvernia and Delaware Valley this past week, while also falling in non-conference action to York (Pa.) College.

In a 28-12 road victory at Alvernia, Bauer kicked off Wednesday night’s meet with a 7-1 decision over Louis LaRocca and exploded with an 18-2 technical fall victory over Delaware Valley’s John Richter on Saturday.

“I’ve come a long way,” Bauer said. “My technique and my strength has improved. I felt a lot more prepared in wrestling this season.”

In the Colonels’ 26-9 loss to York, Bauer dropped just his third match of the season, falling to Jared Kuhns in a 6-2 decision — Bauer’s second bout at Delaware Valley.

“I just go back into the wrestling room and watch a lot of film from my previous matches,” Bauer said. “You have to keep moving forward.”

While it can be difficult wrestling multiple matches in a day, that format is used in the postseason — making it important for wrestlers to have that preparation down.

“My mentality did not change heading from the single match to the duals,” Bauer said. “It’s still wrestling and the team is counting on me.”

The young Colonel team features just two seniors — Kyle Medrow (141 lbs.) and Cole Walters (165 lbs.). The inexperienced group will look to take advantage of any mat time possible as Medrow is the only Colonel with more than 100 total matches wrestled. The next closest in terms of mat time is junior Moustafa Almeky with a total of 66 matches.

For the 12 freshman on the roster, gaining experience will be key heading into the rest of the season.

“We have a strong team this year, but a young team as well,” Bauer said. “We have each other’s back to help everyone improve. There’s a strong bond in chemistry on this team this year.”