BW scored 147 points as a team and was led by a trio of sophomores, 141-pounder Joe Schmidt (Hinckley/Brunswick), 165-pounder David Shapiro (Beachwood) and 174-pounder Ben LeBrun (Strongsville), who each posted an undefeated record and won an individual title. BW also had four other place finishers.

"Our performance shows that our wrestling program is taking positive steps in the right direction," said third-year Head Coach Jamie Gibbs.  "After a tough week of practice, I am proud of the way our kids responded.  They stepped up to the challenge and were rewarded by becoming champions in a very tough tournament."

Schmidt now has a record of 15-7 this season. On his way to the finals, he pinned his first two opponents, Gage Burt of Wheaton (Ill.) College in 1:40, and teammate and freshman Seamus Bermingham (Orchard, Park, N.Y.) in 1:10, before defeating Andrew Rodawold of North Central (Ill.) in the finals by a 10-1 decision.

Shapiro reached the finals by way of a pin at 2:45 over Anthony Smith of Wheeling Jesuit (W.Va.) University and pin in 1:15 over Ben Bard of North Central (Ill.) College. He then defeated Stephen Aiello of Wheaton in a 13-6 decision the the finals to claim his first individual title this season. With his unblemished mark of 3-0, Shapiro is 21-7 overall this winter.

LeBrun improved to 19-4 overall as he posted a 4-0 slate. He defeated Nicholas Affricano of Olivet (Mich.) College in a 12-2 major decision in his first match. He defeated Mark Maldonado of Wabash (Ind.) College, 4-0, in his second match and triumphed over Sawyer Leppla of Wheeling Jesuit by a 10-2 major decision in the semifinals. In the finals, LeBrun defeated Matt McCrary of Wheaton by a 6-2 decision.

In addition, sophomore 125-pounder Jesse Gunter (Akron / Coventry), sophomore 157-pounder Garrett Chase (Erie, Pa. / Cathedral Prep) and freshman 174-pounder Andrew Shackelford (Worthington / Thomas Worthington) placed second.  Freshman 149-pounder Graham Montague (Independence) finished in fourth.

Gunter finished 2-1 at the tourney. He defeated Justin Agee of Indiana Tech by a 6-0 decision, beat Grant Burkhatter of the University of Cumberlands (Ky.), 8-4, to move into the championship match.  In the finals, he lost to Javier Carbajal of the University of Cumberlands, 7-5.  Gunter is now 13-2 this season and 42-4 during his career.

Montague finished 3-2 at the tourney.  He pinned Kevin Papak of Olivet in 1:36 and Luis Godines of the College of Mount St. Joseph in 2:26 in his first two matches.  He moved into the consolation bracket when he was pinned by Dominick Nania of Wheeling Jesuit. In the consolation bracket, he defeated Jeff Mucha of Wabash, 13-7, but lost to William Byrd of Wheaton, 11-7, in the third place match.  He is now 13-10 overall.

Chase finished second with a 3-1 record at the tournament.  He pinned Joe Kammerer of Mount St. Joseph in 0:55 in his first match, defeated John Gershon of Wheeling Jesuit, 4-0, in his second and pinned Cody Eggers of Wheeling Jesuit at 4:50 to advance to the finals.  In the finals, Chase lost to Isaac King of the University of Cumberlands in a 7-5 decision.  He is now 16-2 this season and 48-8 in his career.

Shackelford made his way to the final by defeating Eddie Bernal of the University of Cumberlands in a 2-1 decision and Justin Johnson of Olivet by a 4-0 count.  In the final, he lost a close, 2-1 decision to Brandon Rogers of the University of Cumberlands. Shackelford is 13-6 overall.

The Yellow Jackets are back in action on Tuesday, January 21 when they open Ohio Athletic Conference dual match action against OAC-rival Heidelberg University in the Rudolph Ursprung Gymnasium in the Lou Higgins Center at 7:30 p.m.

Fans are also reminded that the 28th Annual John Summa Memorial Tournament is on Saturday, February 8 in the Lou Higgins Center Fieldhouse.  If you are interested in volunteering to help, please call Coach Gibbs at 440-826-3258 or e-mail him at jgibbs@bw.edu.

FOR MORE BW SPORTS INFORMATION, please contact Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327 and e-mail at kruple@bw.edu or Assistant SID Jeff Miller by phone at 440-826-2780 and email at jefmille@bw.edu. Fans can access the latest BW athletics information at www.bwyellowjackets.comand we invite you to join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bwyellowjackets and Twitter at http://twitter.com/bwathletics.