Wrestlers Finish Fourth at the Ohio Athletic Conference Championships in Ada

Posted: Feb 25, 2011

ADA, OHIO -- The Baldwin Wallace University wrestling team finished fourth of seven teams competing today (Saturday, February 26, 2011) at the Ohio Athletic Conference Championship Tournament, hosted by Ohio Northern University in the ONU Sports Center in Ada.

The Yellow Jackets had 49 total points and were led by senior 174-pounder Andrew Scavuzzo (Cuyahoga Falls/ Woodridge), senior 133-pounder Phil Payne (Woodmere/ Orange) and junior 197-pounder Tristan Stoll (Milan/ Edison) who all advanced to the championship match in their respective weight classes. The University of Mount Union had 95.5 points and won the OAC title. Each of the 10 weight class champions and one "wild card" wrestler earned berths at next weekend's NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse in LaCrosse, Wisconisn.

In addition to Scavuzzo, Payne and Stoll, senior 165-pounder Korey Leonhard (Kinsman/ Pymatuning Valley) had a 3-1 record to place third and earn All-OAC accolades.

Scavuzzo was seeded second at 174 pounds and advanced to the championship match against No.1-seeded Kyle Kwiat, who also is ranked No.1 nationally in Division III in the NWCA (National Wrestling Coaches Association) Brute-adidas poll. Scavuzzo, the 2009 OAC 174-pound champ, lost to Kwiat, 4-3, to make his overall record of 34-3. The 34 wins rank third all-time in a single season in school history. He advanced to the championship match by pinning his first opponent, Michael Frasure of Muskingum University, in 6:33 and then defeating No.3-seed Todd Gaydosh of John Carroll University, 10-1. His second place finish marked the third straight time that Scavuzzo earned All-OAC honors.

Payne was seeded third at 133 pounds and lost to top-seeded Tom D'Alessandro of Heidelberg University, 10-2, in the championship match to place second and earn All-OAC honors. He advanced to the championship match by beating No.6-seed Jeremy Jones of Ohio Northern University, 11-6, in his first match and then defeated No.2-seed Colin Dennis of Mt. Union, 5-4, in the semifinals. Payne ended his season at 16-9 overall.

Stoll was seeded second at 197 pounds and advanced to the championship match against top-seeded Mt. Union's Bill Schindel, the No.4-ranked wrestler in Division III. In the championship match, Schindel defeatedStoll 10-1. Stoll advanced to the championship match by earning a first round bye and then defeating No.3-seed Matthew Alexander of Ohio Northern, 9-3. Stoll ends his season with a 23-6 record.

Leonhard was seeded fourth at 157 pounds. He won his first match with a 7-3 decision over No.5-seed Connor Suba of John Carroll. After losing a close, 3-1 match to No.1-seed Joe Spooner of Mt. Union, he defeated Adam Freidt of Muskingum University, 9-5, and then beat No.3-seed Jason Barnett of Heidelberg, 1-0, in the third place match. Leonhard finishes his season with a 25-13 overall record.

Also competing for BW were junior 125-pounder Jeremy Dombrady (Copley), sophomore 141-pounder Grant Steward (Worthington/ Kilbourne), freshman 149-pounder Andrew Taylor (Worthington/ Kilbourne), sophomore 184-pounder Joe Georgian (Eastlake/ Villa Angela-St. Joseph) and junior 285-pounder Ryan Jones (Uniontown/ Lake). Dombrady placed fourth at 125 pounds and Jones placed fourth at 285. Dombrady had a 2-2 record and ended his season at 22-17 overall. Steward was 1-2 today and ended this season at 18-21 overall. Taylor also was 1-2 today and ended his initial collegiate campaign with a 20-19 mark. Georgian had a 1-2 mark today and ended the season at 19-13 overall. Jones was 2-2 today and finished 22-21 this season.

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.bw.edu/athletics and we invite you to join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bwyellowjackets and Twitter athttp://twitter.com/bwathletics