Decatur National Champion and Petrella National Runner-Up, Wrestling Finishes Eighth at NCAA Division III National Championships

Jacob Decatur (Photo Courtesy of Rob Becker '04)

Posted: Mar 12, 2022

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Junior All-Ohio Athletic Conference 125-pounder Jacob Decatur (Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy) claims the NCAA Division III National Championship and sophomore All-OAC 149-pounder Michael Petrella (Reynoldsburg/Bishop Hartley) was the National Runner-Up as the OAC Champion Baldwin Wallace University wrestling team finished in eighth place at the NCAA Division III National Championships hosted by the American Rivers Conference at the U.S. Cellular Arena.

BW placed eighth with 36 points. Wartburg (Iowa) College was the National Champion with 79 points

Decatur – National Champion & All-American

Won a 10-4 decision over Brandon Murphy of the University Wisconsin at LaCrosse in the first round
Won a 7-3 decision over Riley Parker of Washington & Lee (Va.) University in the second round
Won a 5-4 decision over Brady Kyner of Wartburg (Iowa) College in the semifinals
Won a 6-3 decision over Carlos Champagne of Wabash (Ind.) College in the finals
Finished season with a record of 35-1

Petrella -- National Runner-Up & All-American

Won a 3-1 extra time decision over Hai Siu of Greensboro (N.C.) College in the first round
Won a 5-0 decision over Alex Villar of North Central (Ill.) College in the second round
Won a 4-3 decision over Kristian Rumph of Wartburg (Iowa) College in the semifinals
Lost a 4-2 decision over Brett Kaliner of Stevens Institute of Technology (N.J.) in the finals.
Finished season with a record of 37-3

Other Yellow Jacket Qualifiers

Sophomore 133-pounder Jaden Hinton (Glassboro, N.J.)

Lost a 14-2 major decision to Matt Berlin of the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point in the first round
Lost an 8-7 decision to Gabriel Leo-Esparolini of Johnson and Wales (R.I.) University in the second round
Finished season with a record of 25-11

Senior All-American Stanley Bleich (North Ridgeville/Elyria Catholic)

Won a 6-4 decision over Zeke Smith of Loras (Iowa) College in the first round
Lost by pinfall in 6:36 of Kaidon Winters of Rochester Institute of Technology (N.Y.) in the second round
Lost a 3-2 tie breaker decision to Luke Reicosky of John Carroll University in the third round
Finished season with a record of 31-9
Ended his career as the school's all-time wins leader with 136 victories

Senior All-American 165-pounder Dalton Leightner (Ravenna/Rootstown)

Lost by pinfall in 6:42 to Bradan Birt of Millikin (Ill.) University in the first round
Lost a 4-2 extra time decision to Preston Morgan of the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh in the second round
Finished season with a record of 27-10
Ended his career ranked 10th with 105 victories

Freshman 174-pounder Donovan Palmer (North Ridgeville/Lutheran West)

Lost a 16-0 technical fall to Michael Ross of Johnson & Wales (R.I.) University in the first round
Lost a 5-2 decision to Cooper Fleming of Castleton (Vt.) University in the second round
Finished season with a record of 23-13

Junior All-OAC 184-pounder Luke Salmon (Sandusky/Perkins)

Won a 13-9 decision over Colton Babcock of Wilkes (Pa.) University in the first round
Lost a 3-0 decision to Kyle Briggs of Wartburg (Iowa) College in the second round
Lost a 5-4 decision to Daniel Surich of The College of New Jersey in the third round
Finished season with a record of 25-5