No.13 BW Wrestlers Drop OAC First Place Battle to No.7 Mount Union

Tyler Maclellan

Posted: Feb 03, 2015

BEREA, Ohio – The No. 13-nationally-ranked Baldwin Wallace University wrestling team lost to No. 7-ranked University of Mount Union, 27-6, in a match of Ohio Athletic Conference heavyweights in the Rudolph Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center. Despite the score of the match, it was much closer than the score indicates. Every match came down to the third period before it was decided.

BW (15-6, 2-1 OAC) snapped a nine-match winning streak while Mount Union (12-3, 3-0 OAC) has won five straight matches. The Purple Raiders had a pin and eght close decisions while the Yellow Jackets won a pair of close decisions.

The Yellow Jackets were led by junior 174-pounder Garrett Chase (Erie, Pa. / Cathedral Prep) and freshman 197-pounder Tyler Maclellan (Medina / Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy) as each grappler won by decision. Chase defeated Mt. Union's Nick Miller, 6-4, and Maclellan posted a 2-1 victory.

BW junior 125-pound All-American Jesse Gunter (Akron/ Coventry), ranked third in Division III, wrestled for just the second time since early December due to an illness and was beaten by Mt. Union freshman Nick Mancini, 3-1 in the first period of sudden victory. Mancini is ranked eighth in Div. III.

At 133 pounds, BW freshman Markus Cruz (Lorain/ Clearview) had a 1-0 lead early in the third period on the Division III's No.1-ranked 133-pounder Jeremy Border, but the experience Border turned Cruz and pinned him in 5:26 for a 9-0 Purple Raider lead. The lead grew to 12-0 when BW sophomore 141-pounder Josh Decatur (Akron/ CVCA) lost 3-2 in the third period of sudden victory. A 2-0 win at 149 pounds, an 8-3 decision at 157 and a 3-2 win by Mt. Union's Nich Hendershot over BW's No.9-ranked 165-pounder David Shapiro (Beachwood) gave Mt. Union a 21-0 advantage.

After Chase's win at 174, Mt. Union won a 6-3 decision at 184. That was followed by Maclellan's win at 197 and a 7-3 Mt. Union victory at 285 pounds.

BW is back in action this Saturday, February 7 when it hosts the 29th Annual John Summa Memorial Tournament in the Lou Higgins Center Fieldhouse. Action starts at 10 a.m.

If you are interested in volunteering to help at this year's Summa Tournament, please contact BW Head Coach Jamie Gibbs at 440-826-3258, e-mail him at jgibbs@bw.edu or contact the BW Athletics Department at 440-826-2184 or 2140.