Baldwin Wallace Wrestling Picked to Finish First in Preseason Poll
Baldwin Wallace Wrestling Picked to Finish First in Preseason Poll
WESTERVILLE, Ohio - Baldwin Wallace has been tabbed as the favorite in preseason voting by the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) wrestling coaches for the sixth consecutive year.
Baldwin Wallace received 48 points and six first-place votes, followed by Ohio Northern with 44 points and two first-place votes. John Carroll and Mount Union received 33 and 32 points respectively, rounding out the top half of the conference.
The Yellow Jackets, under the guidance of 14th-year Head Coach Jamie Gibbs, won its fourth-straight OAC Championship, finished sixth at the NCAA Division III Championships and had an overall record of 15-2-0 (7-0 OAC) last season.
Baldwin Wallace returns the two-time defending NCAA Division III 149-pound champion Michael Petrella, two-time All-American and the 131-pound national runner-up Jaden Hinton, as well as seven All-OAC selections, four Academic All-OAC honorees and five National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Scholar All-Americans from last year's squad. The Yellow Jackets have been picked fifth in the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) season opening poll while five wrestlers have been ranked in the Top-12.
The team opens the 2024-25 campaign on Saturday, November 9 when they travel to Angola, Indiana to compete in the Trine University Invitational. BW opens OAC action on Tuesday, November 12 when it travels to Wilmington.
BW Season Preview | OAC Wrestling Homepage
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2024-25 OAC Wrestling Coaches Poll
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Rank
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School (1st Place Votes)
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Points
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1
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Baldwin Wallace (6)
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48
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2
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Ohio Northern (2)
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44
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3
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John Carroll
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33
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4
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Mount Union
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32
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5
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Heidelberg
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25
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6
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Otterbein
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18
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7
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Wilmington
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17
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8
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Muskingum
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7
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