FINAL RESULTS

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Otterbein faced a stiff challenge Tuesday night inside the Clements Recreation Center, battling throughout some competitive decisions but ultimately dropping an Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) dual with 3x defending league champ Baldwin Wallace.

The Yellow Jackets, off a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships last year, emerged in a 40-3 final to pick up their tenth dual win of the season. BW is currently ranked fifth (tournament) and 11th (dual) in the respective NWCA national polls.

Otterbein slips back to 4-6 overall (1-2 against the OAC) in head-to-head matchups this winter.

HOW IT PLAYED OUT:

The Cards fell behind early after forfeiting the initial 125-pound contest, and BW snagged the next bout with bonus points.

Sophomore Andrew Sas battled the full distance admirably at 141, facing a steep climb back after a tough first period before notching a pair of takedowns late. The time expired with him shrinking the gap to 13-8.

Nathan Leko (149) took on defending national champion Michael Petrella, who remained undefeated this year at 21-0.

Cale Callahan went the full seven minutes in his 165-pound bout, spending a long stretch attempting to escape from bottom position before resting with an eventual 8-1 decision loss. Logan Cormell endured a similar, yet closer, path in the next bout at 174 pounds. He and his opponent were scoreless into the second period until a few scarce points went to the visitor for a 6-0 outcome.

Gary Steele put forth Otterbein's closest effort to victory, trailing just 3-2 approaching the final period and then almost deadlocking the score at 5-5 with a takedown near the edge of the mat. Unfortunately, his opponent weathered that sequence and then created separation with a few extra points at the horn.

Heavyweight Billy Reed-Bodey secured Otterbein's lone team points to culminate the night, jumping ahead 1-0 midway through via an escape point until his opponent tied things the same way early in the third. But five extra seconds of riding time for Reed-Bodey, keeping him just over the minute threshold, helped earn the difference-making point (2-1) after the final buzzer.

UP NEXT:

Just as they did last weekend, the Cardinals will hit the road for a trio of duals. This time, Otterbein will take on the OAC Quad in Tiffin with showdowns against Ohio Northern, Wilmington and host Heidelberg on the slate.