Wabash College opened the 2026-27 wrestling season Saturday with a 25-12 dual-meet victory over nationally ranked Baldwin Wallace University at the Ohio Showcase and a sixth-place finish behind two individual champions at the Adrian College Invitational in Adrian, Michigan.
The Little Giants, tied for 17th in the National Wrestling Coaches Association preseason rankings, won seven of 10 matches against Baldwin Wallace, which entered the season tied for eighth in the national poll. Wabash also scored 152 points at the Adrian Invitational, where freshmen Rex Moore and Xavior Palacios won individual titles and 15 Little Giants earned top-eight finishes.
Wabash opened the dual meet at Ohio University with consecutive victories from Andrew Punzalan and Isaac Ash. Punzalan defeated Chazz Tallarigo 6-3 at 125 pounds before Ash earned an 8-5 decision over Nathan Moser at 133 pounds to give the Little Giants an early 6-0 advantage.
Baldwin Wallace got on the scoreboard with a 7-2 decision by Dorian Hoffman over Quinten Schoeff at 141 pounds. Wabash sophomore Branson Weaver answered with a 25-10 technical fall over Zavier Stephens at 149 pounds, finishing the match in 6:01 to extend the Little Giants’ lead to 11-3.
The Yellow Jackets narrowed the deficit to 11-9 when Braeden Stallworth pinned Michael Cain in 2:43 at 157 pounds. Junior Cooper McCloy responded with a 5-4 decision over Caleb Hoffman at 165 pounds to push the Wabash advantage to 14-9. Andrew Supers earned a 5-3 decision over Jaylen Young at 174 pounds to bring Baldwin Wallace within two points at 14-12 with three matches remaining.
Wabash secured the dual meet victory with consecutive major decisions at 184 and 197 pounds. Junior Zach Huckaby defeated Benjamin McWilliams 15-6 at 184 pounds to extend the Little Giants’ lead to 18-12. Junior Spencer Watson followed with a 16-4 major decision over Dominic Pagan at 197 pounds, giving Wabash an insurmountable 22-12 advantage entering the final bout.
Senior Titus Waters closed the dual meet with a 4-1 sudden-victory decision over Andrew Vanscoy at 285 pounds to complete the 25-12 victory.
At the Adrian Invitational, Moore captured the 133-pound championship with four consecutive victories. He opened with a 12-4 major decision over Heidelberg’s Joshua Cornell before scoring a technical fall against Otterbein’s Reid Todhunter in the quarterfinals. Moore pinned Thomas More’s Michael Smith in 6:58 in the semifinals, then defeated Alma’s Jushawn Ferrell 9-2 in the championship match.
Palacios claimed the 197-pound championship with a pair of victories. He defeated Adrian’s Grant Richardson 6-4 in the semifinals before pinning Tiffin’s Silas Mitchell in 1:12 in the title match.
Three additional Little Giants earned third-place finishes at Adrian. Sophomore Jesus Lopez captured third at 157 pounds with a 4-1 sudden-victory decision over Wabash teammate Chasen Kazmierczak in the consolation final. Lopez reached the semifinals of the championship bracket before losing an 11-8 decision to Mount St. Joseph’s Xavier Woods.
Freshmen Cooper Bode and Wyatt Hoppes added third-place finishes in their respective freshman/sophomore divisions. Bode took third at 165 pounds with a pin of Henry Ford College’s Gabriel Griffith in 2:22. Hoppes finished third at 149 pounds after pinning Henry Ford’s Donovin Findlay in 4:19 in the third-place match.
Wabash added three fourth-place finishes. Matthew Baylor placed fourth at 141 pounds, while Kazmierczak finished fourth at 157 pounds. Freshman Wyatt Leman took fourth in the 184-pound freshman/sophomore division.
Samuel Westfall earned fifth place at 125 pounds with a 4-0 decision over Tiffin’s Candio Deluna. Freshman Ezekiel Johnson added a fifth-place finish at 149 pounds in the freshman/sophomore bracket, winning a 9-0 major decision over Alma’s Logan O’Connors in his final match.
Tegan Ray finished sixth at 141 pounds, while four additional Little Giants earned seventh-place finishes. Ryker Kramer placed seventh at 125 pounds in the freshman/sophomore division, Joseph Schnurstein took seventh at 149 pounds, and Timothy Sebastian finished seventh at 157 pounds. Aiden Granger completed the Wabash top-eight finishes with a seventh-place showing at 184 pounds in the freshman/sophomore division.
Tiffin won the Adrian Invitational team championship with 301.5 points. Baldwin Wallace finished second with 188 points, followed by Thomas More in third with 168, North Iowa Area Community College in fourth with 161.5 and host Adrian in fifth with 160.
Wabash returns to action Thursday for its home opener against the University of Olivet. The dual meet begins at 7 p.m. at Chadwick Court in Crawfordsville.
