Senior Matt Riehle during last year’s national quarterfinal match.
Courtesy | David Gregory
The Hillsdale Club Wrestling team finished eighth in the country in the National Collegiate Wrestling Association’s Division I rankings, earning a national ranking for the first time on Jan. 4.
“It wasn’t the result itself which was shocking,” sophomore John Paul Peck said. “It was how fast the club developed and how fast we were able to earn that ranking.”
The wrestling team was founded in 2021, but did not compete at the intercollegiate level until the fall of 2023.
Club coach Carter Ballinger said the club’s national ranking was particularly impressive because of the level of competition in the NCWA.
“The NCWA is the biggest national organization for wrestling in college,” Ballinger said. “There’s more teams in the NCWA than in NCAA Division I wrestling. It’s a big deal.”
Ballinger, the former wrestling coach at Jonesville High School, said he anticipated the national recognition because of the exceptional individual performances of club members during the last two seasons.
“I think it’s a testament to what we’re doing with the club,” Ballinger said. “The guys work really hard, they compete well, and it was only a matter of time.”
Ballinger singled out the club’s president, senior Matt Riehle, as one of the reasons the club still exists.
“He deserves a lot of the recognition,” Ballinger said. “He’s done a lot of the legwork to build this club. A couple years ago, it seemed like Matt was just dragging it by himself.”
Ryan Perkins, director of club sports, said Riehle shepherded the club after Perkins helped start it as a student at Hillsdale in 2021.
“A friend named Aiden Johnson and I kind of converted what was the grappling club at that time and just completely switched it to wrestling,” Perkins said. “Aiden was the one who pushed it from the start, and then Matt took over. But from that point, Matt has really carried it.”
In the spring of 2024, during the club’s first season competing as an official club sport, Riehle qualified for the NWCA national tournament, finishing in the top 12 with a 3–2 record.
“Matt is a standout wrestler and a phenomenal leader,” Perkins said. “He has been the champion of the team, in the sense that he has really pushed it along, built the team and paved the way for its success. ”
In 2025, Riehle qualified for nationals again, where he placed fourth in the 174-pound bracket. Senior David Gregory and sophomore Stephen Petersen also qualified that year, and both posted top 16 finishes in their respective weight classes.
“Going into that next year, having David and Stephen compete as strongly as they did as well, that helped gain a lot of traction,” Perkins said. “And this year, all of a sudden, the club has taken off in a new way.”
The trio’s standout performance at the national tournament in 2025 attracted new recruits, which Perkins said contributed to the club’s national recognition.
“It’s because we had seven or eight guys go and compete early this fall and rack up a ton of points against good opponents that we were able to bump up into that ranked position,” Perkins said.
According to Gregory, another factor of the club’s recent success was Ballinger, who started coaching full time this season.
“I think having him make everything more official and serious gave guys a real sense of commitment to really settle down and make the team a priority,” Gregory said.
Riehle said he expects the club to perform even better this season.
“We’re getting new guys every day — guys that are experienced, want to be there, and like it,” Riehle said. “I’d be shocked if we didn’t qualify at least five guys for nationals.”
Perkins said the club will host the regional Great Lakes tournament during spring break on March 14.
“There’ll be about eight schools competing, including big schools like the University of Michigan and The Ohio State University,” Perkins said. “We could have anywhere from 80-100 wrestlers there. Anyone who’s here over spring break should go.”
Peck said the “biblical” sport of wrestling compliments the mission of the college.
“I think a part of what makes Hillsdale special is that what we do here is rejoicing in the challenge,” Peck said. “We do hard things. I think wrestling encapsulates that, in a physical sense.”
