YORK, Pa. – The ninth-nationally ranked wrestling team finished second for the second consecutive year at the two-day NCAA Division III Mideast Regional hosted by No. 18-nationally ranked York (Pa.) College in the M&T Bank Fieldhouse inside the Grumbacher Sport & Fitness Center.
BW finished second of 19 teams with 98.5 points. Eighth-nationally ranked Messiah (Pa.) College won the regional with 141 points. Assistant Coach Mason True was named the Mideast Region Assistant Coach of the Year and senior All-OAC 141-pounder Josh Decatur (Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy) was named the Mideast Region Wrestler of the Year.
Decatur, junior All-OAC 125-pounder Chris Doyle (Akron/Green), sophomore All-OAC 165-pounder Anthony Arroyo (Maumee) and junior 285-pounder Gabe Mahaney (Green) earned top-three finishes to qualify for the NCAA Division III National Championships.
Decatur, who will make his second trip to the NCAA National Championships, won the 141-pound title with a 5-0 record. He won all five of his matches by decision highlighted by victories against the No. two and four-nationally ranked 141-pound wrestlers.
Doyle, Arroyo and Mahaney each placed third to earn their first trip to nationals. Doyle went 6-1 as he won by technical fall, lost to the No. 10th-nationally ranked 125 pounder by decision and tallied five straight victories in the consolation bracket to earn a third place finish. After a bye and a medical forfeit, Arroyo went 3-1 as he won by fall, lost to the No. seven-nationally ranked 165-pounder, defeated the No. 10-nationally ranked wrestler and won the third place match by decision. Mahaney finished the weekend with a 4-1 record as he won two matches by decision, lost, won a bout by decision and won the third place match by decision.
In addition to the national qualifiers, freshman 133-pounder Charlie Nash (Norwalk) and sophomore 174-pounder Justin Ransom (Madison) finished fourth in their respective weight classes with 3-2 records. Nash earned two victories by decision, lost by decision, won by decision and lost in the third place match. Ransom had a bye, won by major decision, won by decision, lost to the No. one-nationally ranked 174-pounder, won by decision and lost to No. 4-nationally ranked wrestler in the third place match. Sophomore 184-pounder Zeckary Lehman (Akron/Revere) finished fifth as he had a bye, won twice by decision, lost to the No. 4-nationally ranked 184-pounder, lost in the consolation bracket and won the fifth place match by medical forfeit.
The Yellow Jackets are back in action on March 10 and 11 when they travel to Lacrosse, Wisconsin for the NCAA Division III Championships hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse in the La Crosse Center.