Heidelberg Three-Peats at OAC's

The no. 6 Heidelberg College wrestling team, led by head coach Jason Miller, entered the final round of competition at the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament at John Carroll University in first place with seven out of 10 wrestlers in the championship matches at their respective weight classes, two more were competing for third. They walked away the team’s third OAC Tournament Championship in as many years, as well as with five of the seven headed for the NCAA Division III National Tournament in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on March 7-8.

One of the biggest surprises of the day came from Heidelberg’s own Jerrad Hoxie (Grand Rapids, Mich. / Forest Hills Northern). The 125-pound freshman pinned his first two opponents and then defeated no. 7 David Penny from Ohio Northern 7-3 in the finals to earn his first trip to the national tournament.

Heidelberg ended up taking three of the first four weight classes of the finals. No. 6 Nick Sanchez (Lima, Ohio / Bath) will be making his third appearance at nationals for the Berg at 141, while Zach Mizer (Canton, Ohio / Perry) will be making his first at 149 after winning his match in triple overtime. Boomer Fechko (Brunswick, Ohio / Brunswick) lost his final match at 133 in the finals seconds of the third period, resulting in a second place finish.

Bryan Massong (Cincinnati, Ohio / Oak Hills) came in third at 157 for the Student Princes after filling in for an injured Joe Pflug (Maple Heights, Ohio / Maple Heights), who is currently ranked second in the nation. He was followed by Aaron Jonhenry (Berea, Ohio / Berea) at 165, who lost to top-seeded Gino Russo from Baldwin-Wallace in the finals for a second place finish.

The lone non-placer for Heidelberg came at the 174-pound weight class. Dan Jonhenry (Berea, Ohio / Berea) injury defaulted after losing in the quarterfinals.

Ed Bizorik (Bellevue, Ohio / Bellevue) was the Berg’s only fourth-place finisher of the day. He wrestled 184 in the tournament. Meanwhile, no. 5 Ryan Fogliano (Maple Heights, Ohio / Maple Heights) and no. 8 Ryan Bowers (Lima, Ohio / Elida) handed John Carroll a one-two punch in the finals. Fogliano won his match 12-6 against the Blue Streaks’ Jim Nemunaitis to earn his first trip to nationals, while Bowers handed senior no. 5 Derrick Bendau his second loss of his entire college career. Bowers’ win not only gave him his second straight trip to the national tournament, but his first outright one. Bowers went last year as an alternate.

To cap off the evening, Miller received his third OAC Coach of the Year award in a row.
 
The tournament will be replayed tomorrow, Sunday, February 24, on the Sports Time Ohio cable network starting at 1:30 p.m. Check your local listings for correct station number.