FINAL RESULTS
PHOTO GALLERY

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – For the first time in 21 months, the Cardinal wrestling team took their own mat and played host Tuesday evening inside the Rike Center.

Unfortunately for Otterbein, the team on the opposite side of the gym for this Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) dual was national powerhouse and No. 5-ranked Baldwin Wallace. The Yellow Jackets, having finished first or second at each of the last five NCAA Central Regionals, pulled away to win by a final team score of 37-6.

BW took the early momentum and never looked back, winning the first four matches with bonus points to build a 21-0 lead. Three narrow decisions followed, albeit Otterbein ending on the low side each time…

A titanic clash at 157 pounds between Stanley Bleich (former All-American at 149) and Ryan Whitten (national qualifier in 2019) didn't feature a ton of action either way. By the end, Bleichdid just enough to emerge 3-1.

The match of the night ended up taking place at 165, where promising Otterbein freshman Cale Callahan went toe-to-toe with No. 3-ranked Dalton Leightner of BW. Callahan delivered a pair of takedowns in the first period and held a lead throughout. Leightner battled back at the wire, starting down in the third and ultimately using a riding-time point to force an extra session…

Neither wrestler broke through in the initial two minutes of that extra session. Leightner eventually escaped literally and figuratively, getting off the mat in the closing seconds and using another point (via penalty) to prevail 7-5 in "sudden victory."

Kyle De Moss battled well over the course of seven minutes at 174, but settled with a 7-3 loss. Senior Joey Bradberry, a recent OAC Wrestler of the Week, came up with Otterbein's lone victory of the night at 184 pounds. He dominated his counterpart throughout, building a comfortable lead before securing a third-period pin (6:01) as the clock reached the final minute. He now stands 9-2 overall this season.

Jarrod Setliff (197) lost a tough major decision with No. 10-ranked All-American Doug Byrne, and heavyweight Billy Reed-Bodey came up short in the culminating bout. His opponent, Jarod Miller, had late takedowns in the first/second periods en route to a 7-0 final.

Otterbein will finish out the week at the Ohio Northern Invitational, set to begin Saturday morning at 9 p.m.