MANHEIM, Pa. – A school-record 10 Baldwin Wallace University wrestlers have been selected as National Wrestling Coaches Association Scholar All-Americans.
This season, due to COVID-19 protocols that kept many conferences and their teams sidelined, the Division III Leadership Group was moved to make changes to this year's awards program. Most notably, the team component has been suspended until next season with recognition going to individuals only. It was also decided that athletes unable to compete this season would be eligible for nomination and could receive All-America status.
The 10 BW wrestlers recognized were seniors Stanley Bleich (North Ridgeville/Elyria Catholic), Dante Ginnetti (Poland/Seminary), Kevin Kelly (North Olmsted), Tanner McHugh (New Ringgold, Pa./Tamaqua), sophomores Drew Levis (Elyria), Griffin Rathburn (New Albany/Bishop Hartley)and Matthew Werts (Buffalo, N.Y. / Saint Joseph's Collegiate Institute) and freshmen Hunter Kupniewski (North Royalton), David Panda (Columbia, Md./Atholton) and Michael Petrella (Reynoldsburg/Bishop Hartley).
Bleich, who garners his fourth accolade, is an English and religion double major. He ended his illustrious career with perfect 6-0 in 2021. Bleich tallied 15 takedowns, four escapes and two major decisions. For his career, Bleich is a four-time All-Ohio Athletic Conference selection, two-time NCAA Division III National Championships qualifier and a National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) All-American. He ranks ninth on the all-time wins list with 105 victories and a 105-20 record. Off the mat, Bleich is a two-time Academic All-OAC performer, the 2021 BW Kenneth Steingass Most Outstanding Male Student-Athlete Award recipient, a College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-American, Dean's List student, a Jacket scholar and a member of the Chi Alpha Sigma Honor Society.
Ginetti, who earns his first career honor, is an accounting and finance double major. He finished his career with a record of 4-2 with eight reversals, four takedowns, two pins and one technical fall. For his career, Ginetti, ranks 20th on the all-time wins list with 89 and a record of 89-32. He is a two-time All-Ohio Athletic Conference selection, a two-time NCAA Division III National Championships qualifier and the 2019 NCAA Central Region Most Valuable Wrestler. Off the mat, Ginetti is a two-time Academic All-OAC performer, a NWCA All-Academic team selection, a College Sports Information Directors of America All-District 7 At-Large selection, Dean's List student, Jacket Scholar and a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta and Chi Sigma honoraries.
Kelley, who garners his first accolade, is a finance and marketing double. This season, Kelly was undefeated at 7-0 with five takedowns, two pins, one major decision and one technical fall. For his career, Kelly posted a record of 33-21 with 38 takedowns, nine major decisions, five pins and four technical falls.
McHugh, who earns his first accolade, is an accounting major. This season, McHugh was 2-0 with 15 takedowns, one pin and one technical fall. For his career, McHugh ranks tied for 38th on the all-time wins list with 65 victories and a record of 65-32. He is a two-time All-Ohio Athletic Conference selection. Off the mat, McHugh is a two-time NWCA Scholar All-American team selection, two-time All-Academic All-OAC performer, Dean's list student, Jacket Scholar and member of the Chi Alpha Sigma Honor Society.
Levis, who garners his first honor, is an engineering major. He finished the 2021 season with a record of 4-1 to earn his first All-Ohio Athletic Conference accolade. Levis recorded three escapes, two takedowns and one pin. For his career, Levis has a record of 12-4 with 13 escapes, eight takedowns and two pins.
Rathburn, who earns his second accolade, is adolescent and young adult education major. He was a perfect 5-0 in 2021 with three pins, one technical fall and seven takedowns. For his career, Rathburn has a record of 28-11 with 42 takedowns, eight pins, three technical falls and three major decisions.
Werts, who earns his first honor, is a physics and computer science major. This season, he was 2-2 with two takedowns. For his career, Werts has a record of 17-18 with 42 takedowns, four pins and one major decision.
Kupniewski, who garners his first accolade, is a pre-physical therapy and pre-allied health major. In his first season, Kupniewski was 4-1 with three technical falls, one pin and six takedowns.
Panda, who earns his first honor, is a cybersecurity analyst major. In his rookie campaign, Panda was undefeated at 5-0 with 14 takedowns, one pin and one major decision.
Petrella, who garners his first accolade, is an accounting major. In his first season, Petrella was 2-1 with three takedowns, one pin and one major decision.
BW finished the abbreviated 2021 season with an undefeated record of 6-0 and a perfect mark of 6-0 in the OAC. The Yellow Jackets captured their fifth OAC title in the last six seasons. BW finished the season ranked sixth in NCAA Division III.
