Heidelberg Athletics Hall of Fame
The 2005-06 Heidelberg Wrestling team, under the direction of Head Coach Jason Miller, ignited a decade of dominance. Collectively, Miller’s crew won the program’s first OAC Regular Season championship and OAC Tournament. Individually, the 2005-06 group claimed the program’s first national title and had two All-Americans in the same season for just the second time.
The journey to the OAC title began with a formidable opponent -- No. 29 Ohio Northern, a team Heidelberg had not beaten in a dual meet in eight years. In front of a raucous crowd in Seiberling Gymnasium, The Berg upset the Polar Bears, 20-16 -- with Ryan Bowers’s 19-10 win at 285 providing the final margin of victory.
The hungry Student Princes passed their next test one week later, beating No. 11 John Carroll, 21-16.
After wrestling well throughout the rest of December and early January, Heidelberg buckled down to beat OAC foes Wilmington and Muskingum on the road. A 40-6 drubbing of Mount Union put Heidelberg in line to clinch the regular-season crown at home.
Wins by Clem Artmann, Nick Sanchez, Mark Zimmerman, Joe Pflug, Tim Maxworthy, Dan Jonhenry and Robbie Brubeck highlighted an impressive 32-9 pummeling of Baldwin Wallace. Chants of “OAC! OAC!” rang out throughout Brubeck’s 18-5 major decision win as Heidelberg had accomplished the first of its many goals.
At the OAC Tournament in Berea, Heidelberg outscored runner-up BW by 36.5 points, cruising to the title. In the process, junior Tim Maxworthy (165) and sophomores Joe Pflug (157) and Nick Sanchez (141) won their weight classes and advanced to the NCAA Championships.
In New Jersey for the NCAA Tournament, the No. 4-seeded Pflug won four straight to claim the title. He won the championship bout 11-5 over No. 2 seed Jeremy Anderson (Augsburg). The unseeded Maxworthy won his first two matches before falling in the semifinals. Two medical forfeits forced him into sixth place. Sanchez, also unranked, won his first match before falling to the eventual national champion.
Their points were enough to put Heidelberg into seventh place in the nation.
Sanchez finished the season with a team-best 34 wins, just ahead of Zimmerman’s 32 victories.
Miller was named OAC Coach of the Year for leading the Student Princes to the trophies. Brad Bryant, Brandon Brissette and Joe Hada served as Miller’s assistants.
From 2006 through 2014, Heidelberg would win a total of five OAC regular-season titles and five OAC Tournament crowns.
