ADRIAN, Mich. -- For the second time, Adrian College will serve as host of the NCAA DIII Wrestling Central Regional this weekend as 20 teams come to town. The 20 teams in the region for wrestling are Adrian, Albion, Alma, Baldwin Wallace, Case Western Reserve, Defiance, Heidelberg, Hiram, John Carroll, Manchester, Mount St. Joseph, Mount Union, Muskingum, Ohio Northern, Ohio Wesleyan, Olivet, Otterbein, Trine, Wabash, and Wilmington. Each team is allowed to submit one wrestler per weight class with the top-3 placers at each weight class qualifying for the National Tournament in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The National Wrestling Coaches Association announced its newest tournament team rankings on February 18, 2022. Out of the teams appearing at the central regional, Wabash College leads the pack with a No. 3 ranking followed by a No. 4 ranking from Baldwin Wallace and a No. 8 ranking from Mount Union. Mount St. Joseph and Olivet College appear in the rankings as well sitting at No. 14 and No. 15. In the most recent NWCA Dual rankings, Wabash (#4), Baldwin Wallace (#5), John Carroll (#22), Ohio Northern (#23), Olivet (#27), and Adrian (#28) all appear in the top-30 nationally.

Due to COVID-19, the 2021 NCAA DIII Wrestling Regionals and National Championships were canceled.

The central region is represented well in the NWCA Individual Rankings too. At 125, Jacob Decatur from Baldwin Wallace ranks No. 1 in the country followed by No, 8 from Jack Stanley of Mount Union, and No. 14 from Carlos Champagne of Wabash. In the 2020 NCAA Regional, Stanley qualified for Nationals with a second place finish while Champagne fell just short with a fourth place finish. Mount Union appears again at 133 as David Massey sits fourth in the country while Andrew Perelka of John Carroll ranks eighth. Perelka moved up a weight class since the 2020 regional where he was the Regioanl Champion at 125 to move on the Nationals.

The Regional Champion at 141 from 2020 returns as Jordin James of Mount Union ranks No. 1 in the country in his weight class. Jacob Reed from Ohio Northern ranks 11th while 2020 second place finisher Jarrod Brezovec from John Carroll ranks 12th. At 149, Michael Petrella comes in with a No. 4 rankings in the country from Baldwin Wallace followed by Hunter Murphy at sixth from Olivet. Chase Sumner returns with a No. 12 ranking from Ohio Northen after falling one place short in the 2020 Regional to move on. Only one wrestler appears in the rankings at 157 as Stanley Bleich sits in the No. 15 spot after moving up a weight class from 2020 where he was the Regional Champion at 149.

Regional Champion from 2020 Kyle Hatch from Wabash returns and sits No. 1 in the rankings as he looks for another National qualifying bid. Dylan Briggs from Olivet ranks 7th followed by Patrick McGraw ranks 12th after moving up a pair of weight classes when he finished fifth at 149 in 2020. Jordan Hardrick from Ohio Northern rounds out the top-15 at 165 with the final spot. Another Regional Champion from 2020 returns at 174 as Cornell Beachem sits No. 1 from Mount St. Joseph. Dan Devera from John Carroll finds himself in the top-15 with a No. 14 ranking in the weight class.

Antonio McCloud from Mount St. Joseph looks to come away with a Regional Championships as he was the runner-up in 2020 and currently ranks sixth in the country at 184. Lucas Salmon from Baldwin Wallace moved up a weight class and sits seventh in the rankings after finishing fourth in 2020 at 174 to fall short of a National qualifying spot. Doug Bryne from Baldwin Wallace and Jack Heldt from Wabash sit near the top of the 197 rankings at No. 3 and No. 4. Heldt competed in the 2020 regional finishing in seventh. Adrian College finds its first ranked wrestler as Dylan Wellbaum sits No. 15 in country at 197.

The heavyweight class of 285 sees 2020 runner-up Max Bishop from Wabash ranking No. 1 in the country where he will look to win the region this weekend. From Olivet, Donovan King sits fourth in the country followed by Isaiah Espinoza from Adrian sitting at No. 11.

Tickets for the weekend are available at the door of the Merillat Sport and Fitness Center on the campus of Adrian College. Spectators can by a weekend pass for the price of $25 for adults, and $15 for students, seniors, and children. Single day passes are also available for purchase for $15 for adults and $10 for students, seniors, and children. All kids ages 5 and under are free. Fans will be given a wristband at the gate and are required to present the wristband for re-entry into the facility.

Adrian College is following all state and local guidelines when it comes to COVID-19 as they recommend spectators to wear a mask and social distance during the event. Information regarding parking and directions can be found of the NCAA DIII Wrestling Central Regional Page by clicking HERE.

All brackets, results, and video will be available on Track Wrestling.

The regional will be a two-day event starting on Friday, February 25 and will finish on the 26th. Wrestling for both days are scheduled to begin at 11:00 AM witch the doors opening at 9:30 AM each day per NCAA Rules.