Season Review: Wrestling has ‘outstanding’ 2021-22 season both on the mat and in the classroom

By Wes Mayberry

ADA — Led by All-American freshman Jacob Reed (Canal Winchester/Lancaster), the Ohio Northern wrestling team put together an impressive campaign in 2021-22 under 34th-year head coach Ron Beaschler.

The Polar Bears won 12 straight dual matches at one point during the season and finished the year at 13-5, including a 4-2 mark in duals against Ohio Athletic Conference foes.

"We had an outstanding season," Beaschler said. "We had a team of guys who were all on the same page, and we had great talent and great depth. The guys have bought in to what we're doing, and they're motivated, and they believe in each other."

The end of the season saw three Polar Bears qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships, as Reed, fifth-year senior Schuyler Caprella (Bluffton/Allen East) and junior Chase Sumner (Ada) posted top-three finishes at the Adrian (Mich.) Regionals.

Caprella won the 157-pound weight class championship, and Sumner and Reed posted second-place finishes at 149 and 141 pounds, respectively, to punch their tickets to the national meet in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Reed went 5-1 at the Division III Championships, placing third in his weight class to become ONU's 20th All-American and just the second freshman to earn the honor for the Polar Bears. The third-place finish marked the best in school history by a freshman, and he was the only freshman to place in the top five in his weight class at the national meet.

Reed, the d3wrestle.com Freshman of the Year and an All-OAC honoree, finished the season with a record of 43-5, recording 13 falls and eight major decisions. He posted the sixth 40-plus win season in program history and was the 141-pound champion at the Wilkes (Pa.) Invitational, ONU Invitational and Mount Union Invitational this year.

"Jacob's maturity on the mat is way beyond his status as a freshman," Beaschler said. "He's a very intelligent wrestler who never panics on the mat. If you can get a senior doing that, you feel good as a coach, and he is a freshman who is always calm, cool and collected no matter the situation."

Caprella and Sumner, meanwhile, fell just one victory shy of a top-eight finish and All-American status at nationals.

Caprella closed the year with a record of 36-14 with six falls, 12 technical falls and three major decisions. He closes his career with an impressive record of 115-67, which marks the eighth-most victories in program history.

"Schuyler came back for his fifth year, and he wrestled very relaxed this season," Beaschler said. "He really stepped up for the team in multiple ways, and he had a marquee win in the regional semifinals."

Sumner finished the season with a record of 17-6, improving his career mark to 58-12 while posting nine falls and four major decisions.

"Chase is extremely talented, but he battled injuries all year long, and we wrestled him sparingly to get him through the season," Beaschler said. "He has high national placement potential, and finishing where he did was great."

Reed and Caprella led a group of 10 Polar Bear wrestlers who posted at least 20 wins in 2021-22.

They were joined by senior Jordan Hardrick (Dayton/Wayne) with a 34-10 record at 165 pounds, freshman Dylan Le (Powell/Dublin Scioto) with a 26-17 record at 133 pounds, freshman Teagan Hendricks (Jamestown/Greenview) with a 24-13 record at 157 pounds, sophomore Jadon Brownlee (Powell/Olentangy Liberty) with a 24-16 record at 285 pounds, freshman Gavin Layman (Chesterton, Ind.) with a 24-24 record at 184 pounds, junior Ben DePrest (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) with a 23-10 record at 285 pounds, freshman Cael Vanderhorst (Covington) with a 22-6 record at 141 pounds and fifth-year senior Cash Thompson (Lake Odessa, Mich./Lakewood) with a 20-8 record at 197 pounds.

"Our guys had so much success not only because they're talented but also because we have great team camaraderie, and they feed off of each other," Beaschler said. "They want to do well for themselves, but they're all about the team."

Hardrick and DePrest headlined that group as All-OAC selections, and Thompson came just one win away from qualifying for nationals.

Hardrick placed fifth at regionals to go with seventh-place finishes from DePrest and Le.

The Polar Bears also had several champions during regular-season meets. In addition to Reed's three individual titles, Hardrick and junior Logan Painter (Marysville/Early College), who finished 19-5 at 285 pounds, won championships in their respective weight classes at the Wilkes (Pa.) Invitational. Painter was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler at the Lycoming (Pa.) Duals, and Caprella and Vanderhorst added championships in the Manchester (Ind.) Classic and Mid-States Invitational, respectively.

As a whole, the team posted a 507-375 mark in individual matches with 152 falls, 48 technical falls and 64 major decisions.

As if the accomplishments on the mat weren't impressive enough, the Polar Bears also shined in the classroom and were recognized for their academic achievements.

Ohio Northern ranked No. 13 on the National Wrestling Coaches Association's list of the top 30 team GPAs in the country among Division III teams. Boasting a team GPA of 3.64, the Polar Bears had a program-record seven NWCA Scholar All-Americans in 2021-22, including DePrest, Hardrick, Hendricks, Reed, Sumner, Vanderhorst and freshman Adam Myers (Springfield/STEM Academy). Additionally, DePrest and senior Connor Kwiat (Bloomville/Tiffin Calvert) were named Academic All-OAC.

"Our guys are getting results in the classroom and on the mat. In the fall semester, we had five guys on the team who had a 4.0 GPA in some tough majors," Beaschler said. "Being a Scholar All-American is a big deal because you have to perform at a high level as both a wrestler and a student, so those guys are the true definition of student-athletes. To have seven of those is outstanding."

With so much success from 2021-22 to build on, the Polar Bears are excited to see what next season has in store for them.

"We had a couple weak spots this season, but hopefully through recruiting we can shore those up, and we'll be ready to go next year," Beaschler said. "The guys are working hard and are excited, and I'm excited to see what we can do next year."