Former North Union wrestler Corbin Bunsold prepares to pin an opponent during a collegiate match. Bunsold was named Otterbein University’s top senior male athlete for the 2019-20 season. (File photo)
Corbin Bunsold made a name for himself during his days as a wrestler at North Union High School.
He continued that trend during his collegiate career at Otterbein University.
Bunsold was recently named as a recipient of the Ohio Athletic Conference’s Clyde Lamb Award.
The honor is presented annually to the top senior male and female athletes at the circuit’s 10 member institutions.
The award is usually presented during the OAC’s awards dinner in Columbus.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, however, all honorees were announced online, which included a slideshow of all the winners.
Otterbein had gone more than 40 years without the sport of wrestling until it was reinstated for the 2016-17 campaign.
Otterbein fielded a mat program from 1961-74 before it was cut from the athletic department.
Bunsold was a part of the Cardinals’ wrestling re-launch when he was a member of the first recruiting class upon the sport’s return.
The former North Union athlete had an impressive freshman season for the Tan and Red.
Bunsold competed in a team-high 40 matches as a frosh athlete and compiled a 29-11 record.
He was ranked among the top five nationally when he captured 23 of his victories via pin falls.
A broken leg kept Bunsold off the mat for his entire sophomore season.
However, he bounced back as a junior during the 2018-19 campaign while competing in the 197-pound (up from 184) weight class.
Bunsold earned second-team OAC accolades when he posted a 27-7 record and tied for the team-high with 16 pins.
He capped his collegiate career by posting a 34-8 mark during the 2019-20 campaign.
Bunsold finished his tenure with a 90-26 record.
He was a three-time all-regional placer (fourth, fourth and fifth respectively) and was ranked in the top 20 across the nation in his weight division his final two seasons.
Bunsold took his place in the Cardinal wrestling record book as the program’s all-time leader with 51 pins.
The sports management major also shined in the classroom with a 3.51 grade point average. He was a three-time scholar All-American.
Bunsold earned the attention of Otterbein coaches for what he accomplished on the high school mat.
Bunsold earned trips to a pair of state mat tournaments as a North Union grappler.
The highlight of his high school career was a third-place finish during the state tourney as a senior in 2016.
He earned first-team honors for the Mid Ohio Athletic Conference as a senior and also garnered All-Ohio accolades.
He received Disney AAU All-American recognition as a high school junior.
While Bunsold’s wrestling career has ended, he will stay with the Cardinal program next winter as a graduate assistant coach.