The No. 8 Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets returned home this past weekend from their first wrestling match in Ithaca (N.Y.).

After a few brief weeks of dedicated preparation in the preseason and hard work in off season, the Jackets were ready to compete and took home second place out of 14 teams.

Leading the team with first place finishes in their weight classes was senior All-American Zeckary Lehman, who led the team with four pins, and junior All-OAC Stanley Bleich.

Bleich was also named the Most Outstanding Wrestler in the invitational.

Head wrestling coach, Jamie Gibbs, said the team feels this is a good starting point to build on because now the team knows where to focus on individually and as a team.

“This following weekend provided a lot of feedback to the men individually in order to prepare them for success in the upcoming next three meets,” Gibbs said. “Each wrestling match takes a lot of physical and emotional preparation, to knowhow to perform technically and tactically.”

The wrestling squad has seen a lot of success in their wrestlers—3 being individually ranked who play strong roles for the team.

Despite this great accomplishment, each wrestler on the team takes on a leadership role and is capable of accomplishment.

The leadership is well-rounded, and each player is continuing to grow into leadership roles. Gibbs talked about how the team does not rely on captains or singly rely on seniors.

“Everyone in our program can and needs to lead for our program to grow and for everyone to reach their potential,” Gibbs said. “I feel our upperclassmen are some of the best leaders I have coached.” Gibbs also attested to the wrestling staff working tirelessly to recruit and develop high end talent, on and off the mat.

BW Wrestling was ranked No. 8 in the preseason polls, leaving fans excited and interested to follow the Jackets journey for another season.

For the team—the guys are hungry and are focused on their goals as an athlete and as a team.

Being ranked well won’t stop the Jackets from getting out on the mats and earning their success’s each weekend.

“The men know that nobody is just going to lay down for them,” said Gibbs. “Championship are not won overnight, and neither are championship habits, and these men are well aware of that.”

In the next few weeks, Coach Gibbs and coaching assistants are expecting the players to keep up that mentality and continue working hard each day at developing those championship habits, because long term goals are not built over night.

The next varsity meet is on Nov. 16, as BW will hit the road again and head to Angola, Indiana for the Trine Invitational at Trine University.

On Tuesday, Nov. 19, the Jackets will travel to Ohio Northern for an OAC matchup in the ONU Sports Center.