Shaler Area grad Mike Heinl hits wrestling milestone at W&J

Reaching the 100-win milestone wasn’t out of the question for Washington & Jefferson senior Mike Heinl.

But the Shaler Area graduate knew the math wasn’t in his favor after his freshman season. Heinl’s first go-round as a collegiate wrestler ended up with a 14-14 record in his ledger. But after emerging as a sophomore, Heinl never lost his form.

Last week at the Messiah Petrofes Invitational, Heinl placed second at 149 pounds and became the fifth wrestler in Presidents’ history to hit the century mark.

Heinl, who is 10-3 with three pins this season, is now 100-30 in his career.

“I definitely didn’t expect going into college that I would reach that win mark,” Heinl said. “I knew the competition is a lot harder. You aren’t going to run into any kids that aren’t putting in the time. My freshman year, I had 14 wins total; I always thought it was out of the picture.”

Heinl became a wrestler who was more oriented to try and score points quickly as an underclassmen. Taking the fight to his opponents allowed him to win 37 matches in both his sophomore and junior seasons.

Last year, Heinl finished third at regionals and advanced to the Division III NCAA Tournament. At regionals, Heinl ended up spraining his ankle 30 seconds into the match.

Trying to get back and earn All-American honors will result in Heinl taking on a different challenge. He wants to make sure he peaks at the right time and stays healthy.

“At regionals last year I got injured in the third-place match,” Heinl said. “I wasn’t able to wrestle at my best. I want to manage my body correctly and try to be strong at the end of the year. All I need to have is two excellent tournaments.”

Heinl has shown the ability to put together strong postseason runs.

He has won Presidents’ Athletic Conference titles at 141 and 149 pounds, respectively, the past two seasons.

Heinl thinks that having practice partners in 157-pound Hunter Neely (Bentworth) and 149-pound Zach Schrott (West Mifflin) is a big help.

He would like to continue to take that number well past 100.

“I think the last three years have taught me to be grateful for the opportunity,” Heinl said. “Go out and have some fun while I’m out there. I’ve been doing this since I was 5 years old. This year is about going out there, being grateful and having some fun. I’ve learned a lot. I learned last year what it’s like at nationals, I feel like I’ll be able to control nerves and know what.”