No. 12 Wrestling claims fifth OAC Regular Season title with 19-16 win at Heidelberg
By Darren Miller
TIFFIN - With its 19-16 win at Heidelberg on Friday evening, the No. 12-ranked Ohio Northern wrestling team claimed sole possession the Ohio Athletic Conference Regular Season title.
The championship is the second for the Polar Bears in the past three years and their fifth overall.
Ohio Northern wraps up their regular season with a record of 12-4 overall and perfect in OAC duals, going 5-0 for the year. Heidelberg drops to 4-8 overall and 2-3 in the OAC.
The Polar Bears trailed 16-15 heading into the final match, when senior Billy Painter sealed the victory for Ohio Northern with an 11-0 win in the 165-pound weight class. Painter is now 24-7 on the year.
The dual was tightly contested throughout, with both squads winning an equal five matches on the evening.
Junior Kyle Kwiat began the evening with a win by technical fall in the 174-pound weight class. It was the 14th technical fall for the two-time All-American on the year.
A 10-4 decision by freshman Dennis Recknagel at 184 pounds put the Polar Bears up 8-0 early in the dual.
Heidelberg responded with decisions at 197 and 285 pounds and a major decision at 125 to put the Student Princes up 10-8 through five matches.
Junior Jeremy Jones picked up his 19th victory of the season at 133 to put the Bears back on top at 11-10.
With two decisions at 141 and 149 pounds, the Student Princes jumped out to a 16-11 lead with two matches remaining.
At 157 pounds, senior Mick Letcher extended his record to 28-6 on the year with a 15-4 major decision to pull the Bears to within one, with one match remaining. Painter's win sealed the dual victory and the OAC title for the Polar Bears.
Ohio Northern will return to Tiffin next Friday for the OAC Championships, hosted by Heidelberg.
No. 12 Ohio Northern 19, Heidelberg 16
125 - Delian Schneider (Heidelberg) maj. dec. Cole Cochran (Ohio Northern) 11-3
133 - Jeremy Jones (Ohio Northern) dec. Jake Weisman (Heidelberg) 9-3
141 - Chris Osborne (Heidelberg) dec. Nick Pataro (Ohio Northern) 9-3
149 - Andrew Johnson (Heidelberg) dec. Brandon Howes (Ohio Northern) 11-6
157 - Michael Letcher (Ohio Northern) maj. dec. Ian Gillespie (Heidelberg) 15-4
165 - William Painter (Ohio Northern) won by maj. dec. Justin Wharton (Heidelberg) 11-0
174 - Kyle Kwiat (Ohio Northern) tech fall Jeremy Stepp (Heidelberg) 3:44 16-0
184 - Dennis Recknagel (Ohio Northern) dec. Jake Cochran (Heidelberg) 10-4
197 - Andrew Lovins (Heidelberg) dec. Michael Pawlitz (Ohio Northern) 7-2
285 - Jerry Knapp (Heidelberg) dec. Cody Lovejoy (Ohio Northern) 5-2