BEREA, Ohio – Eleven Baldwin Wallace University winter student-athletes have earned the right to continue their seasons by qualifying for their respective 2018 NCAA Division III National Championships.
The BW wrestling team is sending a program-record nine athletes to the National Tournament, hosted by Baldwin Wallace and the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission March 9-10 at Cleveland's historic Public Auditorium. Those who qualified include senior All-Ohio Athletic Conference 125-pounder Chris Doyle (Akron/Green), sophomore All-OAC and Academic All-OAC 133-pounder Dante Ginnetti (Poland/Seminary), sophomore Academic All-OAC 141-pounder Charlie Nash (Norwalk), freshman All-OAC 149-pounder Stanley Bleich (North Ridgeville/Elyria Catholic), junior All-American and All-OAC 165-pounder Anthony Arroyo (Maumee), junior All-OAC 174-pounder Justin Ransom (Madison), junior All-OAC 184-pounder Zeckary Lehman (Akron/Revere), senior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC 197-pounder Tyler Maclellan (Medina/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy) and senior All-OAC 285-pounder Gabe Mahaney (Akron/Green).
Men's swimming and diving and men's indoor track and field each has one athlete scheduled to compete in the National Championships. Senior All-American stroker Tyler Thompson (Broadview Heights/Brecksville-Broadview Heights) will compete in the 100-yard breaststroke at the 2018 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving National Championships March 21-24 at the Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis, Indiana, while senior All-OAC thrower Zak Dysert (McDonald, Pa./Fort Cherry) will compete in the weight throw event on March 9 at the 2018 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Birmingham Crossplex in Birmingham, Alabama.
Doyle, who was the 125-pound champion at the NCAA Central Regional, currently holds a 24-6 record with three pins and five technical falls as he enters his second national tournament. He has a career record of 95-50, which tied for eighth in all-time wins in school history; is a two-time All-Region selection; and has one All-OAC selection from his sophomore season.
Ginnetti continues his stellar sophomore campaign with a trip to his first national tournament after a third-place finish at the NCAA Central Regional. Leading the Yellow Jackets with 35 wins and 18 pins this season, he received his first OAC Wrestler of the Week honor, his first individual title at the Trine (Ind.) Invitational, his first All-OAC honor, his first Academic All-OAC honor and his first All-Central Region honor. Ginnetti currently holds a 59-8 career record with 30 pins and five technical falls in just two seasons.
Nash moves on to his first national tournament after just barely missing out on last year's tournament. He improved on his fourth place finish a year ago to come in third at the 2018 Central Regional and earned his first All-Region honor. This season, Nash holds a 26-12 record with nine pins and two technical falls and he has a 52-24 career record. Academically, he is a National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Scholar All-American and an Academic All-OAC selection.
Bleich is making a statement in his first collegiate season as he placed third at the Central Regional to qualify for the tournament. Tied with Arroyo for the third-most wins on the team this year, Bleich looks to build on a 31-9 record that includes five pins, one technical fall, a second-team All-OAC selection and an All-Central Region honor.
Arroyo returns to the national tournament where he earned his first All-American honor with a fifth place finish as a sophomore in 2017. His junior season has included a 31-1 record with nine pins and a team-high seven technical falls, three separate OAC Wrestler of the Week honors, two individual titles, a first-team All-OAC selection, the title of OAC Wrestler of the Year and his second All-Region honors. For his career, Arroyo holds an 87-16 record and has 42 pins and 11 technical falls.
Ransom qualifies for his first national tournament in just his second season in the Brown and Gold. In his junior season, he placed third at the NCAA Central Regional to earn his first All-Region honor while compiling a 26-10 record with four pins and one technical fall. He also earned his first career All-OAC honor. Ransom currently holds a 46-17 career record with nine pins and two technical falls.
Lehman moves into the national tournament after an individual title and an All-Region honor at the 2018 NCAA Central Regional. This season, he has notched a mark of 29-8 with 11 pins and has a career record of 59-17 with 20 total pins. Lehman is also a two-time All-OAC selection.
Maclellan returns to his second national tournament after also qualifying as a sophomore. The 197-pound champion at the NCAA Central Regional currently holds a 29-10 record in his final season with four pins and two technical falls. In his career, Maclellan has earned four All-OAC selections, three individual titles, three Academic All-OAC and two NWCA Scholar All-American selections, two All-Region honors and one OAC Wrestler of the Week honor. His career record stands at 95-46, which ties with Doyle for the eighth most wins in school history.
Mahaney is also a two-time national qualifier after a third-place finish at the 2018 Central Region tournament. His senior season includes a record of 33-8 and his first All-OAC selection. For his career, Mahaney has a 78-31 record with 24 pins and four technical falls along with two All-Region selections.
Turning to the pool, Thompson returns to the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving National Championships for the third consecutive year. As a sophomore in 2015-16, he earned his first All-American honor with a ninth-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke, the same event he will be swimming in his final collegiate meet. Thompson became just the third male swimmer in OAC history to win three straight 100 breast titles when he swam a season-best time of 55.00 seconds. He currently holds five school records as a member of the 200-yard and 400-yard medley relay teams and in the 200-yard individual medley, the 100-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard breaststroke.
On the track, Dysert has qualified for his first NCAA National Championship meet in either the indoor or the outdoor season. As a senior, he had a career indoor season as he won the weight throw event at five separate meets, including the 2018 OAC Indoor Track and Field Championships. He comes into the national meet with a mark of 60 feet, 2 inches, which currently ranks as the 13th-longest throw in Division III. Dysert also earned his second career United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Indoor All-Great Lakes Region honor in the weight throw and his first OAC Field Athlete of the Week honor.
