Petrella National Champion and Decatur National Runner-Up, Men’s Wrestling Third at NCAA Division III Championships

National Champion Michael Petrella (pictured left), National Runner-Up Jacob Decatur (pictured right)

Posted: Mar 11, 2023

RONOAKE, Va. – Junior All-American 149-pounder Michael Petrella (New Albany/Bishop Hartley) won his first championship and senior All-American 125-pounder Jacob Decatur (Akron/Cuyahoga County Valley Christian Academy) was the National Runner-Up as the Ohio Athletic Conference Champion Baldwin Wallace University men's wrestling team placed third at the NCAA Division III Championships hosted by Ferrum College at the Berglund Center.

BW was a school-best third of 67 teams with 66.0 points. Augsburg (Minn.) University was the champion with 101.0 points.

The Yellow Jackets, who had eight wrestlers qualify, had four All-Americans, including one national champion, one second place finisher, one fourth place wrestler, and one fifth place finisher.

BW Placers

Petrella (New Albany/Bishop Hartley) – Champion & All-American

Won a 15-0 technical fall over Matthew Beyer of Ithaca (N.Y.)
Won a 19-3 technical fall over Chase Sumner of Ohio Northern
Won a 3-0 decision over Hunter Gutierrez of Stevens Institute of Technology (N.J.)
Won a 10-4 decision over Javen Estrada of North Central College (Ill.)
Finished season with a record of 33-0
Ranks tied for 37th on the all-time schools wins list with a record of 72-4
Becomes school's first father and son national champions as he joins Athletics Alumni Hall of Fame father Paul Petrella '79, who was the school's first national champion in 1978

Decatur (Akron/Cuyahoga County Valley Christian Academy) – Second Place & All-American

Won by pinfall in 1:57 over Gavin Bradley of Castleton (Vt.)
Won a 3-2 decision over Mason Barrett of Averett (Va.)
Won a 2-1 decision over Jake Craig of Southern Maine
Lost a 4-2 decision to Joziah Fry of Johnson & Wales (R.I.)
Finished season with a record of 27-2
Career-record of 62-3

Junior All-Ohio Athletic Conference 133-pounder Jaden Hinton (Glassboro, N.J.) – Fourth Place & All-American

Won a 7-6 decision over Daniel Haws of Centenary (N.J.)
Won a 13-6 decision over Joe Pins of Wartburg (Iowa)
Loss an 11-9 decision to Dalton Rohrbaugh of York (Pa.)
Won a 12-5 decision over Dylan Koontz of Dubuque (Iowa)
Loss a 4-2 decision to Tyler Fleetwood of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Finished season with a record of 36-4

Senior All-American 197-pounder Doug Byrne (Wickliffe) – Fifth Place & All-American

Won by pinfall in 5:00 over Jared Voss of Coe (Iowa)
Loss by pinfall in 6:12 to Tyler Hannah of Wisconsin-Platteville
Won by pinfall in 2:07 over James Cruz U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (N.Y.)
Lost by pinfall in 0:46 to Chibueze Chukwuezi of Ithaca (N.Y.)
Won a 4-2 decision over Hannah of Wisconsin-Platteville
Finished season with a record of 32-3
Ends his career ranked 24th on school's all-time wins list with 85

Other Yellow Jacket Wrestlers

Senior 141-pounder Zak Anderson (Elyria/Midview)

Loss by pinfall in 3:52 to Kyle Slendorn of Stevens Institute of Technology (N.J.)
Loss a 5-1 decision to Bradley Rosen of North Central College (Ill.)
Finished season with a record of 22-9

Sophomore All-OAC 157-pounder Tommy West (Avon Lake/St. Edward)

Won a major decision over Tommy Dell`Aera of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Mass.)
Loss an 8-6 decision to David Hollingsworth of Wartburg (Iowa)
Loss a 7-3 decision to Ryan Smith of Stevens Institute of Technology (N.J.)
Finished season with a record of 26-6

Senior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC 174-pounder Luke Hopkins (Cuyahoga Heights)

Loss an 8-2 decision to Stefan Major of Stevens Institute of Technology (N.J.)
Won a 7-4 decision over Reid Colella of The College Of New Jersey
Loss by pinfall in 2:54 to Seth Brossard of Wisconsin-La Crosse
Finished season with a record of 23-14

Senior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC 285-pounder Matthew Werts (Buffalo, N.Y./St. Joseph's Intercollegiate Institute)

Loss by pinfall in 4:49 to Carl DiGiorgio of U.S. Coast Guard Academy (Conn.)
Loss a 9-1 major decision to Darryl Aiello of Dubuque (Iowa)
Finished season with a record of 23-13

BW finished the 2022-23 season with a record of 18-2 and a mark of 7-0 in the OAC. The Yellow Jackets won their third straight OAC Championship, including its seventh title in the last eight years. BW was also the NCAA Division III Central Regional Champions for the second time in the last three years.