BW No. 6 Men's Wrestling Qualifies Eight for Nationals, Wins NCAA Central Regional Championship

Per the BW communications team member Jeff Miller

ADA, Ohio – The No. 6 nationally ranked Baldwin Wallace men’s wrestlering team qualified eight wrestlers for the 2024 NCAA Division III Championships as the Ohio Athletic Conference Champion Yellow Jackets won the NCAA Division III Central Regional Championship hosted by Ohio Northern University inside the ONU Sports Center.

BW was the champion for the second straight year with 193 points. The Yellow Jackets have now won the regional championship in four of the last six years and have finished in the top two in eight straight seasons.

The top three wrestlers in each weight class earn All-Central Region honors and qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships.

The eight BW qualifiers included four champions, two runner-up wrestlers and two third places finishers.

Senior All-American and No. 5 nationally ranked 125-pounder Jacob Decatur (Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy) – Champion

Bye in first round
Won by pinfall in 1:03 over Noah Houchins of Otterbein
Won a 4-1 decision over Nasir Christion of Manchester (Ind.)
Won a 10-3 decision over Zach Phifer of Adrian (Mich.)
Won a 4-1 sudden victory decision over Jack Stanley of Mount Union

Senior All-American and No. 5 nationally ranked 133-pounder Jaden Hinton (Glassboro, N.J.) – Champion

Bye in first round
Won by pinfall in 2:29 over Hunter Newell of Mount Union
Won by pinfall in 2:55 over Jimmy Baumann of Ohio Wesleyan
Won a 13-1 major decision over Michael Kallimani of Manchester (Ind.) – 100th career victory
Won an 18-2 technical fall over Desmond Diggs of Mount St. Joseph

Senior All-American, OAC Wrestler of the Year and No. 1 nationally ranked Michael Petrella (Reynoldsburg/Bishop Hartley) – Champion

Bye in the first round
Won by pinfall in 4:12 over Andrew Magness of Mount St. Joseph
Won by pinfall in 3:53 over Sam Ross of Adrian (Mich.)
Won an 18-2 technical fall over No. 10 nationally ranked Daniel Uribe of Wabash (Ind.)
Won an 18-1 technical fall over Max Honiss of Albion (Mich.)

Senior All-American and No. 6 nationally ranked 285-pounder Doug Byrne (Wickliffe) – Champion

Won by pinfall in 1:20 over Keith Heineman of Case Western Reserve
Won by pinfall in 52 seconds over Kyler Bills of Trine (Ind.)
Won by pinfall in 36 seconds over Robert Garrett of Manchester (Ind.)
Won a 2-0 decision over Christopher Krum of Albion (Mich.)
Won a 3-0 decision over No. 5 nationally ranked Donovan King of Olivet (Mich.)

Junior All-OAC 157-pounder Tommy West (Avon Lake/St. Edward) – Second Place

Bye in first round
Won by pinfall in 2:06 over Jason Rooney of Manchester (Ind.)
Won a 5-0 decision over Thomas Wagner of Case Western Reserve
Won by pinfall in 6:37 over Jayden Jones of Ohio Northern
Loss by pinfall in 2:13 to Tim Smith of Wabash (Ind.)

Senior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC 197-pounder Luke Hopkins (Cuyahoga Heights) – Second Place

Bye in the first round
Won a 16-4 major decision over Ethan Skinner of Manchester (Ind.)
Won an 8-6 decision over Jackson Beck-Calvert of Adrian (Mich.)
Won an 8-5 sudden victory decision over Neil Johnson of Wabash (Ind.)
Loss a 5-4 decision to Demond Harrison of Albion (Mich.)

Freshman All-OAC and No. 15 nationally ranked 165-pounder Andrew Supers (Medina) – Third Place

Bye in the first round
Won a 16-0 technical fall over Trenton DiGenova of Adrian (Mich.)
Won a 15-0 technical fall over Roger Deck of Mount St. Joseph
Lost an 8-6 decision to Teagan Hendricks of Ohio Northern
Won an 11-0 major decision over Tyler Bodovetz of Ohio Wesleyan
Won a 5-0 decision over Cale Callahan of Otterbein

Junior All-OAC 174-pounder Carter Lloyd (Brecksville/Brecksville-Broadview Heights) – Third Place

Bye in the first round
Won a 5-1 decision over Simon Bishop of Case Western Reserve
Won a 5-2 decision over Mitchell Reynolds of Olivet (Mich.)
Loss a 10-2 major decision to Blake Williams of Adrian (Mich.)
Won a18-7 major decision over Eddie Williams of Alma (Mich.)
Won an 8-7 decision over TJ Rhamy of Heidelberg

Other Yellow Jacket Wrestlers

Sophomore 184-pounder Remington Bauer (Norwalk/Edison) – Fifth Place

Bye in the first round
Won by pinfall in 3:41 over Desmon Perry of Ohio Wesleyan
Lost a 5-1 decision over Gavin Layman of Ohio Northern
Won an 8-5 sudden victory decision over Matthew Gummere of Case Western Reserve
Won a 7-4 decision over Ethan Risner of Manchester (Ind.)
Lost by pinfall in 1:13 to Bear Horgan of John Carroll
Won a 15-9 decision over Adam Medeiros of Heidelberg

Senior All-Ohio Athletic Conference and Academic All-OAC 141-pounder Robby Palmieri (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) – Seventh Place

Bye in the first round
Won a 17-16 decision over Jorden Zigo of Mount St. Joseph
Loss an 11-1 major decision to Dylan Phelps of Olivet (Mich.)
Won a 20-3 technical fall over Aiden Johnson of Muskingum
Loss a 16-1 technical fall to Austin Matheney of Albion (Mich.)
Won by pinfall in 1:03 over Zigo of Mount St. Joseph

The NCAA Division III Championships hosted by the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse will be contested on Friday and Saturday, March 15 and 16 at the La Crosse Center.