CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Baldwin Wallace University senior 133-pound wrestler Jesse Gunter (Akron/ Coventry) placed fifth and the Yellow Jackets scored 10 points and finished 31st of 53 teams at the 2016 NCAA Division III National Wrestling Championship Tournament at the U.S. Cellular Center to earn his third straight Div. III All-America award. During his career, Gunter placed third (2014), fourth (2015) and fifth (2016) to become BW's first-ever three-time All-American in wrestling.
Gunter, who also earned his third straight NWCA (National Wrestling Coaches Association Scholar All-American award and carries a 3.43 grade point average, entered the tournament as the fourth seed. He won his first two matches to advance to the semifinals. He earned his first win in sudden victory, 3-1 against Dustin Weinmann of Wisconsin Lacrosse. He advanced to the semifinals with his second triumph, a 2-1 victory over ffth-seeded Tyler Keane of Springfield (Mass.) College.
In the semifinals, Gunter lost to Dennis Broukal of Wabash (Ind.) College, 6-4 in sudden victory one. In his first consolation match, the consolation semifinals, he faced Weinmann again and lost 6-5. In the fifth-sixth place match, Gunter beat Cornell (Iowa) College's Phillip Opelt 4-2 in sudden victory to end his career in a high note. Gunter ends his season at 36-4 and ends his outstanding career with a 122-15 record to rank second all-time in school history in terms of victories.
On the first day of competition, senior Div. III All-American 174-pounder Garrett Chase (Erie, Pa./ Cathedral Prep) and sophomore 197-pounder Tyler Maclellan (Medina/ Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy) also competed but were eliminated from the competition.
Chase entered the tourney seeded sixth at 174 pounds. The two-time first-team All-OAC selection won his first match 5-4 against Garrett Beaman of St. Olaf (Minn.) College with a reversal in the final 10 seconds of his first match. Unfortunately, Chase lost his second match 3-2 to third-seed Tyler Schneider of Wisconsin LaCrosse drop into the consolation bracket. He then lost to Doug Hamann of the College of New Jersey and was eliminated and ended his Yellow Jacket career. Chase ends this season with a 33-7 mark and his career as BW's all-time leader in victories with 129 and a 129-37 overall record.
Maclellan made his first NCAA national trip. He lost both of his matches and was eliminated. Maclellan lost his first match, 7-3, to No.8-seed Dennis Melendez of Hunter (N.Y.) College and was eliminated 2-1 by Luke Fernandez of Elizabethtown (Pa.) College. The two-time first-team All-OAC selection ended his season 27-16 this season and 43-23 mark for his career.
In 2015-2016, the BW wrestling team set a school-record for dual match victories with 18, finished 18-8 overall with a perfect 5-0 mark versus OAC competition to claim its first OAC title since 1973. The Yellow Jackets also placed an all-time best second at the NCAA Div. III Mideast Regional Tournament two weeks ago.
