No. 12 Wrestlers look for eighth title in school history at 2012 OAC Tournament Saturday at Heidelberg
By: Tim Glon
ADA — No. 12-ranked Ohio Northern will be gunning for its eighth league title at the 2012 Ohio Athletic Conference Wrestling Championships Saturday at Heidelberg.
The meet begins at 10 am at Sieberling Gymnasium in Tiffin. Tickets are available at the door and are $7 for adults, $5 for seniors (62+), $2 for non-OAC students 18 years and under and free for an OAC student with a valid ID.
The Polar Bears won the OAC Regular Season title with a 5-0 record, marking their fifth crown since the OAC instituted the current round-robin format in 2000.
ONU has won seven OAC Tournament titles in its history, including six in seven years from 1975-81.
The Polar Bears appear strong at all 10 weight classes and hope to challenge for All-OAC honors with top-two finishes in each.
Senior Mick Letcher and junior Kyle Kwiat are Ohio Northern's returning OAC Champions from the 2010-11 season.
Letcher is 28-6 this season with a team-best 18 pins and posted a 3-1 record in OAC dual meet action at the 157-pound weight class.
He participated in the NCAA Championships a year ago and his 103 career wins ranks him ninth all-time at ONU.
Kwiat is a two-time OAC Champion and is ranked No. 3 nationally at 174 pounds.
He is an impressive 33-1 on the season with a team-best 14 technical falls and was a perfect 5-0 in OAC regular season dual meet action this year.
His 107-13 career record tied him for fifth all-time at ONU for victories.
Kwiat is also a two-time All-American, finishing fourth at the NCAA Championships in 2011 and fifth as a freshman in 2010.
Two other Polar Bears will return as previous All-Conference honorees in senior Billy Painter and junior Jeremy Jones.
Painter earned All-OAC kudos with a runner-up finish at 165 pounds as a sophomore in 2010.
This season, Painter is 24-7 on the season and went 4-1 in OAC regular season action.
Jones was runner-up as a freshman in 2010 at 133 pounds and is a solid 19-12 this season with a 3-1 OAC regular season mark.
The remainder of Northern's lineup is young but talented with four freshmen and two sophomores making up the group.
Freshman Cole Cochran (18-13, 3-1 OAC) will be at 125 pounds, sophomore Nick Pataro (8-9, 2-1) is at 141, freshman Brandon Howes (15-14, 1-3) is at 149, freshman D.J. Recknagel (12-14, 3-2) is at 184, sophomore Michael Pawlitz (29-7, 4-1) is at 197 and freshman Cody Lovejoy (24-15, 3-2) is at heavyweight.
The 10 OAC Champions and one at-large selection will compete at the 2012 NCAA Division III Championships March 9-10 at LaCrosse, Wis.