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It was an amazing accomplishment and a Yellow Jacket proud moment for Michael Petrella '25, who won his third consecutive NCAA Division III national championship.
Petrella, an All-American from Reynoldsburg, Ohio, has had an incredible wrestling career at BW. The digital marketing major has accrued countless accolades. Among them, he has been undefeated for three consecutive seasons, winning 116 straight matches, and has a four-year record of 155-4, ranking him first on the BW All-Time Wins list.
But Petrella was not the only standout for the Yellow Jackets at nationals. Jaden Hinton '25, Andrew Supers '27 and Joey Petrella '25 earned All-American honors, which is a BW record for a single season. All three excelled on the mat — with Hinton placing third, Joey Petrella placing fourth and Supers securing a fifth-place finish.
As a team, BW finished in the top 10 for the fourth straight season, including top five in two of the last three years.
BW coaching once again received high honors at nationals. Head Coach Jamie Gibbs was named NCAA Division III Region 4 Head Coach of the Year, and Coach Jason Zastrow received an NCAA Division III Region 4 Assistant Coach of the Year accolade.
Petrella's achievement continues a proud legacy for the Petrella family. Joey, a senior majoring in exercise science, has earned honors on the mat since transferring to BW in fall 2023.
Michael and his father, Paul Petrella, are the first father-son duo in BW history to both win national wrestling titles.
Paul, an alumnus from the Class of 1979, was BW's first national champion in wrestling and a starter on the university's 1978 NCAA Division III National Championship-winning football team.
"I had wonderful coaches at Baldwin Wallace who shaped the person, coach and teacher I am today," said Paul, a 1990 BW Athletics Alumni Hall of Fame recipient who played under renowned football coach Lee Tressel '49. "My BW experience was just exceptional!"
