ADRIAN, Mich. – Seven Baldwin Wallace University wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships as the No. 4 nationally-ranked Yellow Jackets finished second at the NCAA Division III Central Regional Championships hosted by Adrian College inside the Merillat Sports & Fitness Center.
BW was second of 20 teams with 145.5 points. No. 3 nationally-ranked Wabash (Ind.) College was the Central Regional Champion with 168.5 points. The Yellow Jackets had two champions, two runner ups and three third place finishers. Associate Head Coach Jason Zastrow was named the Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year for the third time.
Junior All-Ohio Athletic Conference and No. 1 nationally-ranked Jacob Decatur (Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy) - Champion
- Won by pinfall in 4:06 over Donovan Ortiz of Ohio Wesleyan in the first round
- Won a 20-5 technical fall over Zach Phifer of Adrian (Mich.) in the second round
- Won an 8-3 decision over Kyle Murray of John Carroll in the third round
- Won a 3-1 decision over No. 14 nationally-ranked Carlos Champagne of Wabash (Ind.) in the fourth round
Sophomore All-OAC and No. 4 nationally-ranked 149-pounder Michael Petrella (Reynoldsburg/Bishop Hartley) -- Champion
- Won a 7-2 decision over Zach Berdysz of Mount Union in the first round
- Won a 3-0 decision over Wabash (Ind.) in the second round
- Won an 8-0 major decision over Kale Buckiso of John Carroll in the third round
- Won a 14-4 major decision over Chase Sumner of Ohio Northern in the fourth round
Senior All-American 165-pounder Dalton Leightner (Ravenna/Rootstown) – Second Place
- Won by pinfall in 35 seconds over Trey Williams of Wilmington in the first round
- Won a 4-2 extra time decision over Jordan Hardrick of Ohio Northern in the second round
- Won by pinfall in 4:15 over No. 1 nationally-ranked Kyle Hatch of Wabash (Ind.) in the third round
- Lost a 4-0 decision to No. 12 nationally-ranked Patrick McGraw of John Carroll in the fourth round
Junior All-OAC and No. 7 nationally-ranked 184-pounder Luke Salmon (Sandusky/Perkins) – Second Place
- Won a 9-3 decision over Luke McKeon of John Carroll in the first round
- Won a 13-2 major decision over Adam Medeiros of Heidelberg in the second round
- Won a 4-0 decision over Charles Baczek of Wabash (Ind.) College in the third round
- Lost a 15-6 major decision to No. 6 nationally-ranked Antonio McCloud of Mount St. Joseph in the fourth round
Sophomore 133-pounder Jaden Hinton (Glassboro, N.J.) – Third Place
- Won a 12-2 major decision over Josh Gibson of Heidelberg in the first round
- Won an 11-5 decision over Tanner Smith of Adrian (Mich.) in the second round
- Lost a 3-2 decision to No. 4 nationally-ranked David Massey of Mount Union in the third round
- Won an 11-3 major decision over Sean Majewski of Defiance in the fourth round
- Won an 11-3 major decision over Blake McGee of Wabash (Ind.) in the fifth round
Senior All-American and No. 15 nationally-ranked Stanley Bleich (North Ridgeville/Elyria Catholic) – Third Place
- Won 12-4 major decision over Cortez Bradley of Defiance in the first round
- Won an 8-6 decision over Jeff Dunfee of Mount Union in the second round
- Lost a 6-2 decision to Schuyler Caprella of Ohio Northern in the third round
- Won a 16-4 major decision over Ramiro Guerro of Olivet (Mich.) in the fourth round
- Won a 3-2 decision over Ryan Whitten of Otterbein in the fifth round
Freshman 174-pounder Donovan Palmer (North Ridgeville/Lutheran West) – Third Place
- Won a 10-2 major decision over Tyler Bodovetz of Ohio Wesleyan in the first round
- Won by pinfall in 6:12 over Owen Guilford of Olivet (Mich.) in the second round
- Lost a 5-3 decision to Daniel Devera of John Carroll in the third round
- Won a 3-1 extra time decision over Derrick Duvall of Adrian (Mich.) in the fourth round
- Won an 8-6 decision over Owen Guilford of Olivet (Mich.) in the fifth round
Senior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC 141-pounder Tanner McHugh (New Ringgold, Pa./Tamaqua) – Sixth Place
- Won a 16-3 major decision over Max Beard of Ohio Wesleyan in the first round
- Lost a 5-1 decision to No. 12 nationally-ranked Jarrod Brezovec of John Carroll in the second round
- Won an 8-0 major decision over Alex Savering of Hiram in the third round
- Won a 9-2 decision over Desmond Diggs of Mount St. Joseph in the fourth round
- Lost a 9-7 decision to Daniel Uribe of Wabash (Ind.) in the sixth round
- Lost a 4-3 extra time decision to Reese Wallis of Olivet (Mich.) in the seventh round
Senior 285-pounder Jarod Miller (Greenville, Pa./Reynolds) – Sixth Place
- Won a 9-0 major decision over Devan Welch of Hiram in the first round
- Lost a 5-0 decision to Jace Grossman of Heidelberg in the second round
- Won by pinfall in 1:09 over Cameron Sauerwein of Mount St. Joseph in the third round
- Won a 6-3 decision over Ben DePrest of Ohio Northern in the fourth round
- Lost a 3-1 extra time decision to Donald Moses of Albion (Mich.) in the fifth round
- Lost a 4-2 decision to Jace Grossman of Heidelberg in the sixth round
Senior Academic All-OAC 197-pounder Aidan Cardaman (Geneva)
- Lost a 12-6 decision to Jarrod Setliff of Otterbein in the first round
- Won a 9-1 decision over Dillon Stevenson of Alma (Mich.) in the second round
- Lost a 6-4 decision to Jesse Kanatzar of John Carroll in the third round
The NCAA Division III Championships will be contested on Friday and Saturday, March 11 and 12 at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.