IOWA CITY - Brenden Baker needs to give up gymnastics as a hobby and stick with wrestling.
It's a lot safer.
Baker broke four toes on his left foot trying to do a flip at the gymnastics academy where he works and was sidelined for three months, but he returned to the wrestling mat in fine form Thursday night to help the third-ranked Jefferson J-Hawks beat two ranked teams in a double-dual meet in Iowa City.
Baker, ranked No. 2 at 113 pounds, collected two pins in his first action of the season as Jefferson defeated seventh-ranked Linn-Mar, 45-17, and topped fifth-ranked Iowa City West, 44-27, in the Mississippi Valley Conference affairs.
It was the second straight year that the vastly improved J-Hawks have defeated the two traditional MVC powers.
"This is the night I wanted to be back, for sure," said Baker. "We wanted it. Like Coach (Matt) Orton was saying, we like beating them, but it's even sweeter beating them on the same night."
Baker pinned Kyle Tupper of Linn-Mar in 2:21, then stuck Hunter Davis of Iowa City West in 38 seconds.
"I thought he looked great. Typical Brenden," said Jefferson co-coach Dick Briggs, who shares the head coaching duties with Orton.
"He's just a pinner," said Briggs. "When he gets on the mat, he's so explosive."
Baker, a junior, enjoys gymnastics as a hobby, but broke his toes when he tried a flip and had a bad landing. He needed surgery and had pins inserted in his foot to keep things in place.
"I couldn't walk for eight weeks," he said. "I couldn't put any weight on it. When they removed the pins, I could start functioning on it."
Baker missed a good deal of conditioning for the wrestling season, but he looks good Thursday night.
"It's getting back to normal. It feels good," he said. "It's taken a little bit of time, but I felt really good tonight.
"I can't be as explosive, because I can't push off as well, but I'm working through it. The coaches are helping me figure out a new style."
Baker placed third at the Class 3A state meet last season and is ranked No. 2 this year behind Jack Wagner of Bettendorf.
In addition to the broken toes, Baker had a minor problem with a small amount of blood in his urine recently. That contributed to him missing the first week of the season last week.
"It went away in three hours," he said. "Everything was fine. We were just worried about it. I'm fine now. It didn't affect me at all."
Jefferson (4-0) won nine of 14 matches against Linn-Mar and claimed eight of 14 bouts against Iowa City West. Kyle Briggs (132), Kelly May (182), Erik Hovey (195/220) and Dalton Kuehl (285) were double-winners for the J-Hawks.
Hovey climbed a weight class and pinned Kevin Dowell of Iowa City West in 5:25 at 220 pounds in a pivotal match against the Trojans. Dowell had a 12-4 lead against Hovey, but ran out of gas and got stuck.
Iowa City West trimmed Linn-Mar, 35-30, in the third meet Thursday.
JEFFERSON 45, LINN-MAR 17
170 - Nick Dreckman (J) dec. Manny Jeffery, 3-0
182 - Kelly May (J) won by forfeit
195 - Erik Hovey (J) pinned Logan Hagmeier, 3:46
220 - Tylor Newhouse (LM) major dec. Richard Moomey, 11-3
285 - Dalton Kuehl (J) won by forfeit
106 - Zach Main (J) pinned Joey Sullivan, 0:42
113 - Brenden Baker (J) pinned Kyle Tupper, 2:21
120 - Joseph Sibomana (J) pinned CJ Garnett, 3:21
126 - Tyler Unkel (J) dec. Zach Youngwirth, 9-5
132 - Kyle Briggs (J) dec. Noah Ajram, 3-1
138 - Johnny Clymer (LM) dec. Dylon Pappas, 6-3
145 - AJ Geers (LM) def. Matt Culver, 14-10
152 - Toby Northrup (LM) major dec. Tavian Rashed, 20-8
160 - Shea Hartzler (LM) dec. Luke Sedlacek, 5-2
JEFFERSON 44, IOWA CITY WEST 27
182 - Kelly May (J) pinned Karl Ratner, 0:55
195 - Donovan Doyle (ICW) pinned Richard Moomey, 0:55
220 - Erik Hovey (J) pinned Kevin Dowell, 5:25
285 - Dalton Kuehl (J) pinned Blake Moser, 1:29
106 - Alex Aguirre (ICW) dec. Zach Main, 7-2
113 - Brenden Baker (J) pinned Hunter Davis, 0:38
120 - Tanner Rohweder (ICW) dec. Joseph Sibomana, 6-0
126 - Nelson Brands (ICW) pinned Tyler Unkel, 3:12
132 - Kyle Briggs (132) major dec. Jakeb Bakken, 14-2
138 - Carter Rohweder (ICW) pinned Dylon Pappas, 1:10
145 - Matt Culver (CRJ) major dec. Tyler Yoerger, 16-3
152 - Tavian Rashed (J) pinned Ben Bertell, 0:57
160 - Luke Sedlacek (J) pinned Samy Cayler, 1:27
170 - Nate Kelsay (ICW) dec. Dick Dreckman, 7-2
IOWA CITY WEST 35, LINN-MAR 30
195 - Khalloe Jordan (ICW) won by forfeit
220 - Donovan Doyle (ICW) won by forfeit
285 - Blake Moser (ICW) pinned Tylor Newhouse, 1:30
106 - Alex Aguirre (ICW) major dec. Joey Sullivan, 11-2
113 - Kyle Tupper (LM) dec. Hunter Davis, 5-3
120 - Tanner Rohweder (ICW) pinned CJ Garnett, 2:55
126 - Nelson Brands (ICW) major dec. Zach Youngwirth, 17-6
132 - Noah Ajram (LM) dec. Jakeb Bakken, 7-0
138 - Carter Rohweder (ICW) dec. Johnny Clymer, 6-2
145 - AJ Geers (LM) dec. Tyler Yoerger, 9-2
152 - Toby Northrup (LM) pinned Ben Bertell, 1:26
160 - Manny Jeffery (LM) pinned Sam Cayler, 1:08
170 - Shea Hartzler (LM) dec. Nate Kelsay, 11-8
182 - Logan Hagmeier (LM) won by forfeit
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