Championship Central
 
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FAIRFAX, Va.— Seven Ohio wrestling student-athletes placed and four earned bids to the NCAA Division I Championships in Tulsa, Okla. at the 2023 Mid-American Conference Championships at EagleBank Arena today (March 4). As a team, the Bobcats finished fourth with 87.5 points.
 
Redshirt junior Carson Brewer (Avon, Ind.) and sophomore Zayne Lehman (Akron, Ohio) placed second at 197 and 184 pounds, respectively. Redshirt freshman Peyten Kellar (Cutler, Ohio) finished third in the 157-pound bracket while sophomore Sal Perrine (Northfield, Ohio) finished fourth at 174 pounds. Both graduate student Alec Hagan (Eureka, Mo.) and redshirt junior Jordan Slivka (Indianapolis, Ind.) placed fifth at 149 and 165 pounds, respectively. Redshirt senior Gio DiSabato (Hilliard, Ohio) finished seventh at 133 pounds. 
 
Lehman and Kellar earned bids to the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships for the first time in their careers. Both Hagan and Perrine earned their second bid to the national championships—Hagan qualified in in 2020 while Perrine earned an at-large bid in 2022. 
 
After losing his first match of the day, DiSabato advanced to the 133 pound seventh-place match, winning by a 10-7 decision. At 149 pounds, Hagan moved past the consolation quarterfinals due to an opponent injury but dropped the consolation semifinals by a tight 1-0 decision. Hagan came out on top in the fifth-place match, winning with a 4-3 decision to secure his bid to the national championships. 
 
Kellar won his 157-pound consolation quarterfinals match by a 7-0 decision, followed by a 6-3 decision in the consolation semifinals. The redshirt freshman was dominant in the third-place match, punching his ticket to Tulsa with a 9-2 decision. 
 
At 165 pounds, Slivka won his consolation quarterfinals with a 10-0 major decision. He lost in the consolation semifinals but came out on top in the fifth-place match with a 6-1 decision. 
 
Perrine continued to advance in the 174-pound consolation bracket, winning the quarterfinal match by a 4-3 decision and the semifinals with a 6-4 sudden victory. Perrine lost the third-place match by a 4-2 decision but had to defend his fourth-place finish and bid to nationals in a true fourth match against Rider's Michael Wilson. After being tied most of the match, Perrine's 3-1 sudden victory solidified second consecutive trip to the Division I Championships.  
 
Lehman was pinned in the 184-pound championship match but was dominant in his true second match against Cleveland State's DeAndre Nassar, securing second place and his nationals bid with a 9-0 major decision. At 197 pounds, Brewer placed second after losing the championship match by an 8-4 decision. 
 
The Bobcats return to action March 16-18 at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. 
 
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