Menlo College crowned national champs

Menlo College brought home its first men’s wrestling national championship Saturday, March 15, capturing the National Collegiate Wrestling Association crown in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Oaks earned three individual national championships — including senior Ledger Petracek closing out his collegiate career with an 8-1 decision in the 174-pound title match.

“We’re going to miss him a lot,” Menlo College head coach Joey Martinez said. “He’s’ a really good leader in the room and never complained. He was one of those guys that when we needed big points, he did it.”

Freshman Elijah Valencia also claimed the individual title at 125s, while freshman Noah Elliott was crowned champion at 149s. Fielding 10 wrestlers in the 11-bracket field, the Oaks scored 214 1/2 total points, topping second-place Apprentice School-Virginia (187 1/2) and third place Tarleton State-Texas (183 1/2).

It marks the first national championship in Martinez’s 15 years at the helm. The two-time community college state champion at Skyline College, including a state record 61-0 sophomore season, joined the Menlo College coaching staff as an assistant in 2004.

Joining the ranks of the NCWA might be a one-and-done deal for Menlo College, as the Atherton school petitioned last season to move from the NAIA ranks to NCAA Division II. This year began a two-year postseason embargo for the Oaks, the conventional waiting period for a school moving to a new NCAA division. Martinez said Menlo College has submitted a petition for eligibility in the Division II postseason for the 2025-26 school year. The answer is expected to come this summer, he said.

The NCWA is a hodgepodge of athletics divisions, including programs in NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA and NJCAA. It was not only a chance for Menlo College to compete on the national postseason stage, it allowed the Oaks to win two regional tournaments.

After they first won the Division II Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference championship, the Oaks advanced to the West Coast Conference championships at Ottawa University in Arizona. Menlo captured the WCC title March 1, but since the program could not advance to the Division II national tournament, it had to win a second regional qualifier in the NCWA to advance to Shreveport.

“It was unique where we able to win two conference titles in one year,” Martinez said.

Since Division II wrestling has only 10 weight classes, one less than the 11 used by the NCWA, the Oaks were one athlete shy of a full roster when the NCWA National Championship opened Feb. 27. The Oaks did qualify wrestlers in all 10 eligible weight classes though, and finished with 10 All-Americans, including sophomore Jeramiah Steele (133s); freshman Ivan Acosta (144s); junior Ezekiel Lara (157s); senior Seth Borba (165s); senior Maximus Zamora (184s) freshman Diego Morales (197s); and sophomore Cole Steketee (285s).

“The whole group went there,” Martinez said. “It was exciting.”

Zamora, a two-time All-American, was one of two Menlo second-place finishers to reach the finals.

“I want to say he has had one of the best seasons anyone has had in program history,” Martinez said.

It was the underclassman contingent who carried the Oaks, though.

Valencia, 18, posted a 29-9 record on the season, setting a program record for wins as a freshman. He went 14-0 in the postseason, and finished with a 4-1 decision over Thomas More’s Trevor Wilcox in the NCWA finals.

“So, he had a great run,” Martinez said. “He had a great season, but in the postseason he really put it together and had a really great run.”

Elliott, a redshirt freshman who transferred from Vanguard University, wasn’t far off Valencia’s freshman mark. Elliott went 27-3 on the year, and sidestepped a close opening match at the NCWA tournament in winning a 4-3 decision over Life University’s Jeremiah Dawson. He went on to record three straight major decisions before winning 4-1 in the finals against University of Central Florida’s Thomas McCane.

“He just started off a little bit rocky,” Martinez said. “Just trying to acclimate to that first match, but after that he just zoned in. ... He’s a momentum guy, so as he gained momentum, he felt better and better about what he was doing.”

Martinez said Menlo College had clinched the national championship by the end of the second day, Feb. 28, by virtue of sending five wrestlers to the finals, including Morales at 197s. Still, he kept the mathematical certainty to himself until championship Saturday.

“We clinched it and I didn’t tell anyone,” Martinez said. “Everyone was asking.”

Martinez made the announcement to the team Saturday morning before championship matches began.

“It was more of a fun and relaxing day, in my opinion,” Martinez said.

In this year’s NCAA Division II national championships, University of Nebraska-Kearney won its sixth team title in program history, tying for sixth most for DII. University of Central Oklahoma ranks first with nine all-time titles, while California programs at Cal Poly and Cal State Bakersfield are tied for second with eight apiece.

Martinez said he knows what the Oaks are up against moving up to Division II.

“Honestly, it is a tough road looking at it ... how to get to nationals,” Martinez said. “It’s really hard to qualify. ... I want to say (this year) we would have qualified a few of our guys, and I think we would have had a few placers.”