Similar to the NCAA BCS experiment, the NWCA has instituted a BSC-esque scenario for the latest edition of the NWCA Division I National Championship Dual Meet Series.  The pairings were announced Monday morning and were based largely on the USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll dual meet rankings. With the Big Ten as the best conference in collegiate wrestling, ten Big Ten Schools were selected as the host schools for the series (take that, college bowl games in the deep South or West).

The Big Ten teams were pitted against six conference champions and a pair of wild card teams. The championship dual will feature Big Ten co-champions Penn State against the highest ranked non-Big Ten team, Oklahoma State.

The pairings are as follows:

Friday, February 19

• No. 15  Iowa State (wild card selection) at No. 18 Minnesota

Saturday, February 20

• No. 7 Lehigh (EIWA champions) at No. 13 Rutgers

Sunday, February 21

• No. 27 Appalachian State (Southern Conference co-champion) at No. 30 Indiana
• No. 6 Missouri (MAC champion) at No. 11 Nebraska
• No. 5 Virginia Tech (ACC co-champion/wild card) at No. 8 Michigan
• No. 3  Oklahoma State (Big 12 champion) at No. 1  Penn State

Monday, February 22

• Edinboro (EWL champion) at No. 9 Ohio State
• No. 4 North Carolina State(ACC co-champion) at No. 2 Iowa

Edinboro boasts four wrestlers ranked in the latest InterMat rankings and have an 8-9 record to this point in the season.

A full preview of the dual will be out prior to the match. 

For the second consecutive season, Ohio State will face off against the Edinboro Fighting Scots in the NWCA National Championship Dual Series, and the 2016 meeting should resemble the 30-7 Buckeye victory in a number of ways. The Buckeyes won eight of 10 matches last season, and should be favored in eight this time around.

The Buckeyes will host Edinboro in their final action prior to the Big Ten tournament in Iowa City on March 5th and 6th.

Ohio State enters the dual with a 10-3 record, while Edinboro comes to Columbus with an 8-9 overall record, though they were 6-0 on the way to an EWL dual championship.

The match will take place on Monday, February 22nd at St. John Arena at 7:00 PM. Those not in attendance can stream this match, as well as the other six non-championship NWCA duals, on BTN Plus (subscription required).

Let’s take a look at what to expect when Ohio State welcomes the Fighting Scots to Columbus. 

EDINBORO FIGHTING SCOTS

8-9 Overall, 6-0 EWL ROSTER | SCHEDULE

7:00 PM- Monday, February 22nd ST. JOHN ARENA COLUMBUS, OHIO

FIGHTINGSCOTS.COM

Edinboro fighting scots (8-9 overall, 6-0 ewl)

Head Coach: Tim Flynn

Flynn is in his nineteenth season as the head coach of the Fighting Scots, recently earning the most victories in program history. Flynn has coached three national champions and 37 All-Americans in his nearly two decades at the helm, with four All-Americans last season. Flynn is a Penn State graduate, earning an All-American finish as a senior in 1987 for the Nittany Lions. Flynn has a pair of outstanding former wrestlers on his staff in NCAA champion Cliff Moore (Iowa) and Mitchell Port (Edinboro). 

Ohioans on the Edinboro Roster

Chase Delande (RS JR, 157)
Delande placed twice at the Ohio state tournament for Hilliard Davidson High School (for former Buckeye Dominic DiSabato), winning the Division 1 state title in 2011 at 145 lbs.  

Nate Hagan (FR, 141)
Hagan was a two-time state champion in Division II for Toledo Central Catholic High School in his junior and senior seasons. Hagan also placed 7th as a freshman for the Irish.

Billy Miller (RS FR, HWT)
Miller was a two-time Division II state champion at heavyweight for Perry High School. He was ranked by InterMat as the #17 ranked heavyweight in the country as a senior.

Spencer Nagy (FR, 141)
Alliance High School alumnus.

Vince Pickett (SR, 197) 
Pickett was a three-time state placer for Grove City Central Crossing High School. As a senior, he finished runner-up at 170 to Mark Martin. 

Notable Edinboro Wrestlers

#5 Vic Avery (RS SR, 184)
Avery has earned three trips to the NCAA tournament, placing 3rd at 184 last season. Avery made it to the semifinals before falling to eventual champion Gabe Dean in the TB2 period 4-3. Avery’s senior season has been marred by injury, but his only loss came to current #7 ranked Zack Zavatsky of Virginia Tech.

#19 Pat Lugo (FR, 149)
The Florida native has made a name for himself in his rookie season, earning wins over #5 Evan Henderson of North Carolina and #20 BJ Clagon of Rider. Of Lugo’s six losses, all but one of them came to ranked wrestlers.

Billy Miller (RS FR, HWT)
Miller is on the fringe of most rankings, racking up a 24-8 record in his first season in the starting lineup. Miller has been a bit streaky this season, winning a great number of matches and then losing several within a short period. His biggest win of the season is a 3-1 decision over Cleveland State’s Riley Shaw.

Key Matchups

197: Mark Martin vs Vince Pickett
Martin and Pickett met in the Division I state finals at the Ohio state wrestling tournament back in 2012. Martin defeated Pickett 3-2, earning his second state championship. Martin’s season has been greatly impacted by injury and his transition to 197 has not been as smooth as he probably envisioned at the outset of the season.

Martin, who has a career record of 81-38, is nearing the end of a notable career and finds a winnable match against Pickett before a tough Big Ten tournament.

157: #10 Jake Ryan vs #16 Austin Matthews
Matthews is one of few Scot wrestlers that is ranked in the current rankings, He’s been banged up this season, so there aren’t many results to compare him to Ryan. Jake is going to be counted on to score points at the NCAA tournament, and Matthews is the kind of opponent he’ll meet in the first two rounds, so this will be a valuable experience for the young Buckeye.

184: #17 Kenny Courts vs #5 Vic Avery
Avery defeated Courts 4-1 last year in the opening round of the NWCA Dual Championship series in their only career meeting. If Courts is going to repeat as an All-American, he’s going to have to knock off guys like Avery. Kenny has been held scoreless in four of his seven losses this season, and has only lost a single match where he scored the first takedown. If you boil it down, Courts seems to win matches that he is confident he can win, and scoring the opening takedown seems to do it for Kenny. Avery is a crafty veteran, so Courts will need to bring his A game to beat Avery. 

Match Outlook

If Tom Ryan elects to send his starters out against Edinboro, the Buckeyes should win with little difficulty. Edinboro typically has one of the toughest teams outside of the Big Ten, but this year’s team is in a rebuilding year. Two NCAA finalists and a third All-American from last year’s Edinboro team all graduated, leaving Vic Avery as the lone Fighting Scot with much point-scoring potential on this year’s team. Edinboro has a number of young wrestlers with serious potential, but they’ve taken some serious lumps this season.

This season’s NWCA National Dual Championship series has been likened to college football’s bowl game format. In that vein, it is easy to compare the Buckeye outcomes in both football and wrestling this season by saying “the defending NCAA champions mopped up on a once-proud opponent to end the season.” Unlike the football team, the Ohio State wrestlers will have another opportunity to repeat as champions after taking on Edinboro. Following the one-match NWCA dual, Ohio State will have 12 days to prepare for the Big Ten tournament, which takes place on March 5-6 in Iowa City.

Check back with Eleven Warriors for a recap on the Edinboro match, as well as any news on the wrestling program heading into the postseason. 

Kevin Randleman, a Sandusky man who once won an NCAA title with a broken jaw, was nicknamed "The Monster" during his pioneering MMA career. It was a nickname well-earned.

But The Monster ended in the ring. In the wake of Randleman's shocking passing at age 44, you don't have to look far to find testimonies to Randleman's legacy of kindness.

Here's fellow Ohio State wrestling legend Tommy Rowlands on Randleman's impact:

"I was 11 years old when Kevin won his first NCAA Title. To say he made an impression on me as a young aspiring wrestler in Central Ohio would be an understatement. The legendary stories about Kevin's greatness will never be forgotten, but what I will remember most is that he was always smiling and always happy. I think it is rare to be a certified BA but also remain original enough to simply be yourself and be happy."

Tragically, Randleman also left behind a wife and four young children. Well-wishers have asked how they can help the Randlemans through this difficult time, and the truth is it's as easy as a few mouse clicks.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE KEVIN RANDLEMAN MEMORIAL FUND

As of this writing, the fund is at $10,249 of its $50,000 goal. Along with aiding the Randlemans through this transitionary time, the fund will also help support Randleman's Monster Wrestling Academy in Las Vegas.

Randleman's estate is also releasing a memorial shirt in the near future. It should be noted, as vultures have already profiteered on Randleman's passing, the shirt will be the only one that's officially licensed.

Full details will be available at Randleman's official website.

On Monday night, the Ohio State wrestling team scored a 26-13 victory over Edinboro in the NWCA National Championship Series, winning six of ten matches.

The match started at 125, with top-ranked Nathan Tomasello earning just his third pin this season over Sean Russell. The pin gave Tomasello his 36th consecutive victory, dating back to January of 2014. The Buckeyes took a 6-0 lead heading into the match at 133.

Mike Manuche earned the starting nod in place of Johnni DiJulius at 133, but fell to a tough Anthony Rivera. Rivera cruised to a 6-0 decision, putting the Fighting Scots on the board, though they still trailed the Buckeyes 6-3.

Micah Jordan earned his 20th win of the season, falling just short of a tech fall over Tyler Vath. Jordan started at a torrid pace, scoring four takedowns in the opening period to earn an insurmountable lead. The younger Jordan made a valiant effort, but was unable to secure the 15 point lead to earn a tech fall. Satisfied with a major decision, Micah gave the Buckeyes a 10-3 lead.

Cody Burcher returned to the starting lineup in place of Hunter Stieber at 149, but fell to a tough Pat Lugo at 149. Lugo earned a hard-fought 2-1 decision with a takedown as the match drew to a close. The decision pulled Edinboro to within four points of the Buckeyes.

At 157, Jake Ryan scored a decision over a tough Austin Matthews, though it came down to a video review. Matthews nearly scored a takedown, but video review showed that he was unable to score the necessary criteria before time expired. . Ryan’s win was his 15th of the season, and gave the Buckeyes a 13-6 advantage.

Bo Jordan pushed the Buckeye lead to 19-6 with his fifth pin of the season. Jordan needed just 34 seconds in the second period to pin Casey Fuller, who has been on the fringe of the rankings for the past few weeks. The pin was Bo’s 10th bonus point victory of the season out of his 14 wins to date.

Myles Martin rattled off his second straight major decision over Patrick Jennings at 174, giving the Buckeyes a 23-6 lead. Martin pushed the pace from the opening whistle, notching four takedowns in the match, giving him his fourth major decision of the season.

Kenny Courts earned the night off at 184, giving Dominic Prezzia a shot at returning All-American Vic Avery. Avery controlled the match from the beginning, earning a 19-7 major decision. Despite the Edinboro victory, the Buckeyes locked up the victory with a 13 point lead with just two matches remaining (with a pin earning six team points, Edinboro could only pull to within one if both wrestlers remaining pinned their Buckeye counterparts).

Mark Martin notched his second straight win since returning to the lineup, defeating familiar foe Vince Pickett 2-1. Martin scored a takedown early in the match and hung on for his 15th victory of the season.

A pair of Ohioans locked horns at heavyweight, with Edinboro’s Billy Miller (Perry High School) taking a 5-1 decision over Nick Tavanello (Wadsworth High School). The decision put a bow on the scoring, with the Buckeyes taking a 26-13 victory.

The Buckeye win briefly gave the Big Ten the lead in the NWCA National Championship Dual Series, but North Carolina State’s upset of Iowa knotted the series in the final dual meet.

The Buckeyes will take the week off before returning to action in Iowa City on March 5-6 at the Big Ten tournament.

Match Results:

• 125: No. 1 Nathan Tomasello (OSU) wins by fall over Sean Russell (EU), 4:00. OSU leads 6-0.
• 133: Anthony Rivera (EU) decision over Mike Manuche (OSU) 6-0. OSU leads 6-3.
• 141: No. 4 Micah Jordan (OSU) major decision over Tyler Vath (EU) 22-9. OSU leads 10-3.
• 149: No. 19 Pat Lugo (EU) decision over Cody Burcher (OSU) 2-1. OSU leads 10-6.
• 157: No. 10 Jake Ryan (OSU) decision over #16 Austin Matthews (EU) 4-3. OSU leads 13-6.
• 165: No. 3 Bo Jordan (OSU) wins by fall over Casey Fuller, 3:34. OSU leads 19-6.
• 174: No. 14 Myles Martin (OSU) major decision over Patrick Jennings (EU) 14-4. OSU leads 23-6.
• 184: No. 5 Vic Avery (EU) major decision over Dominic Prezzia (OSU) 19-7. OSU leads 23-10.
• 197: Mark Martin (OSU) decision over Vince Pickett (EU) 2-1. OSU leads 26-10.
• HWT: Billy Miller (EU) decision over Nick Tavanello (OSU) 5-1. OSU wins 26-13. 

The Big Ten Wrestling Championships will take place this Saturday and Sunday in Iowa City, with 140 wrestlers competing for a total of 71 allocated berths in the NCAA Championships in two weeks.

The Big Ten leads all conferences with allocations, with the closest conference, the EIWA, earning 51 allocated spots. Allocations are earned in each weight class based upon wrestlers’ performances throughout the season and their RPI rankings at the end of the regular season.

Each conference champion in their respective weight class will earn a trip to the NCAA tournament. In addition to the automatic bids, each weight class has either four or five at-large bids that are awarded to wrestlers that did not meet the automatic qualifier criteria, but whose efforts throughout the season merit a trip to the tournament. Each of the ten weight classes at the NCAA tournament will feature 33 wrestlers.

Ohio State earned a co-championship last season for the first time in 64 years, and the Buckeyes have an outside chance to repeat atop the Big Ten.

The opening rounds will stream on Big Ten Plus (Subscription required) on Saturday and Sunday morning, while the championship round will air live on Big Ten Network on Sunday at 4 PM EST. 

125 POUNDS

2015 Big Ten Champion: Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State)

Ranked Wrestlers: 6- #1 Tomasello (Ohio State), #2 Thomas Gilman (Iowa), #4 Nico Megaludis (Penn State), #10 Tim Lambert (Nebraska), #19 Elijah Oliver (Indiana), #20 Conor Youtsey (Michigan)

NCAA Allocations: 7

Buckeye at 125: #1 Nathan Tomasello (18-0 , 8-0 Big Ten)

Contenders at 125: This is a three-horse race with Tomasello, Gilman, and Megaludis the clear favorites. Iowa didn’t wrestle Ohio State or Penn State this season, so Gilman’s undefeated record does not include wins over Tomasello or Megaludis. Regardless, the Hawkeye junior is a tough customer who is content to be painted as the villain with his intense style. Megaludis is the elder statesman, but has never earned a Big Ten title. His only losses this season have come to Tomasello and Joey Dance (Virginia Tech), and he has shown an ability to score on counter attacks against anyone.

Buckeye Outlook at 125: Tomasello will be the #1 seed with Gilman and Megaludis together in the bottom half of the bracket as the two and three seeds. In all likelihood, Tomasello will meet the winner of Gilman and Megaludis in the championship match. He has won by bonus points over most of the wrestlers that he should see in his half of the bracket, so Tomasello is a safe bet to wrestle for a second conference title on Sunday afternoon.

133 POUNDS

2015 Big Ten Champion: Chris Dardanes (Minnesota)

Highest Returning Placer: Ryan Taylor (Wisconsin), 2nd place in 2015

Ranked Wrestlers: 9 -  #2 Zane Richards (Illinois), #3 Cory Clark (Iowa), #5 Jordan Conaway (Penn State), #9 Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State), #10 Ryan Taylor (Wisconsin), #12 Geoff Alexander (Maryland), #13 Eric Montoya (Nebraska), #18 Rossi Bruno (Michigan), #19 Dom Malone (Northwestern)

NCAA Allocations: 9 (tied with 174 for most of any allocations for a single conference)

Buckeye at 133: #9 Johnni DiJulius (14-5 overall, 4-4 Big Ten)

Contenders at 133: Once again, wrestlers from Iowa and Penn State will factor into the title as Cory Clark and Jordan Conaway are likely semifinalists in the bottom half of the bracket. Clark was the NCAA runner-up a year ago, losing to Cody Brewer of Oklahoma. Clark took 3rd at last year’s Big Ten tournament, including wins over Alexander, Richards, and two close victories over DiJulius. Conaway is an experienced senior with an All-American finish to his credit.

Richards has dispatched his opponents this season with a workmanlike efficiency. He is not a flashy wrestler, but gets the job done and has a 21-0 record to show for his efforts. Richards has wins this season over Clark, DiJulius, Taylor, and Conaway, so he has to feel confident heading into the conference tournament as the prohibitive favorite.

Buckeye Outlook at 133: DiJulius has finished seventh, sixth, and fourth at the Big Ten tournament in his previous attempts. He has previously defeated Clark and Alexander, but has losses to Richards, Clark, and Conaway. DiJulius is a true wild card because he has proven his ability to hang with the top contenders, but often drops the ball in winnable matches. He is absolutely capable of high placement, and should earn one of the nine allocations to have a final chance at earning an All-American finish.

141 POUNDS

2015 Big Ten Champion: Logan Stieber (Ohio State)

Highest Returning Placer: Anthony Abidin (Nebraska), 4th place

Ranked Wrestlers: 4- #4 Micah Jordan (Ohio State), #5 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers), #7 Tommy Thorn (Minnesota), #19 Anthony Abidin (Nebraska)

NCAA Allocations: 7

Buckeye at 141: #4 Micah Jordan (20-1 overall, 7-0 Big Ten)

Contenders at 141: Jordan, Ashnault, and Thorn have distanced themselves from the pack, but this is a wide-open weight class. Tommy is the last of the vaunted Thorn brothers, and has made a splash for Minnesota in his redshirt freshman season. He’s got a dominating win over Ashnault to his credit, but dropped a match to Abidin. Speaking of Abidin, he’s been inconsistent and lost by a surprising pin to Oster (Northwestern) in their dual meet. Ashnault is 25-3 on the season, only losing to Thorn in Big Ten competition and finished as an All-American last season at 141.

Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State) has an All-American finish to his credit, but has had quite the roller coaster of a season. He will be a candidate to place high, as will Danny Sabatello (Purdue) and Oster. Javier Gasca will likely be the highest finisher for Michigan State, though he will have his work cut out for him. Brody Grothus (Iowa) has been hampered by injury throughout his entire career, but has low placement capability.

Buckeye Outlook at 141: Jordan is the favorite, but has been nagged by a few minor injuries throughout the season. He is an aggressive wrestler in the neutral position and is likely to be in the opposite half of the bracket as Ashnault, Thorn, Abidin, and Gulibon. Those four will cannibalize themselves, while Micah has relatively smooth sailing to the championship bout. Thorn is quite the scrambler, so he could be Micah’s toughest opponent.

149 Pounds

2015 Big Ten Champion: Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern)

Ranked Wrestlers: 6- #1 Zain Retherford (Penn State), #2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa), #3 Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska), #5 Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern), #6 Alec Pantaleo (Michigan), #16 Jake Short (Minnesota)

NCAA Allocations: 6

Buckeye at 149: Cody Burcher (10-7, 0-1 Big Ten)

Contenders at 149: Retherford is without a doubt the lead dog at 149. He’s got 23 wins by bonus points this season (pin, tech fall, or major decision) on his way to a 26-0 record. He pinned Pantaleo and has major decisions over Tsirtsis and Sueflohn. There has been no reason to suspect that Retherford (who gave Logan Stieber his last collegiate loss in Retherford’s true freshman season) won’t dominate his way to a Big Ten title. Everyone else will be competing for seeding at the NCAA tournament behind Zain. Sorensen also has an unblemished 23-0 record, though he has done it with much less flair than Retherford.

Sorensen was an All-American last season, losing to Tsirtsis in the 3rd place match. Tsirtsis was an NCAA champion as a true freshman, but has fallen on hard times this season, battling injury and personal tragedy. If he’s at full-strength, his defensive style can negate most offenses and give him an opportunity to win nearly any match. Sueflohn is a funky counter-wrestler who has long been the kryptonite of Buckeye wrestlers.

Buckeye Outlook at 149: The outlook depends entirely upon Hunter Stieber’s health. While reports have circulated that he blew out his knee against Wisconsin, I spoke with Tom Ryan, who did not confirm or deny the reports and stated Hunter is day by day. If Stieber’s career is over due to yet another devastating injury, Cody Burcher will serve as a sufficient replacement.

Burcher has a nasty cradle and has kept matches close against Pantaleo and Tsirtsis, though he doesn’t have any signature wins this season. Regardless of which Buckeye wrestles at 149, they’re going to need to wrestle a great tournament and hope for an upset or two elsewhere if they’re going to earn an outright trip to the NCAA tournament.

157 POUNDS

2015 Big Ten Champion: Isaiah Martinez (Illinois)

Ranked Wrestlers: 7- #1 Jason Nolf (Penn State), #2 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois), #10 Jake Ryan (Ohio State),  #12 Richie Lewis (Rutgers), #13 Brian Murphy (Michigan), #18 Edwin Cooper (Iowa), #19 Tyler Berger (Nebraska)

NCAA Allocations: 7

Buckeye at 157: #10 Jake Ryan (15-2 overall, 4-2 Big Ten)

Contenders at 157: Sunday afternoon will feature a final between Jason Nolf and Isaiah Martinez. Mark it down. IMar went undefeated last season on his way to an NCAA title as a freshman, but his undefeated streak was snapped by Nolf, who was able to match IMar’s seemingly unmatched pace.

Nolf was handling Martinez in their dual match before pinning Martinez late in the match. For my money, IMar didn’t look 100% against Nolf, but Nolf has thoroughly dominated every opponent he’s faced all season. Of Nolf’s 27 victories (against 0 losses), just two of them have been by regular decision, and both are against legitimate All-American candidates (Brascetta of Virginia Tech and Joe Smith of Oklahoma State). On his end, Martinez has just three decision victories on his way to a 22-1 record. Both guys have dominated the Big Ten and there’s no reason to expect either will be derailed before the finals, barring something crazy.

Murphy should be in the upper tier of contenders with Lewis and Berger, possibly with Jake Ryan. Lou Mascola (Maryland) and Brandon Kingsley (Minnesota) will also vie for one of the allocated spots.

Buckeye Outlook at 157: Jake Ryan only has two losses, one apiece to both Nolf and IMar, but each of those losses was by at least 13 points. Ryan has a few really nice wins to his credit, notably his overtime victory over Tyler Berger and his last-second win against Edinboro’s Austin Matthews in the NWCA match. Ryan hasn’t met many of the second-tier Big Ten competition, so it’s hard to speculate where he’ll finish this weekend. He is certainly capable of placing and advancing to the NCAA tournament, but he’s going to have to pick up the offensive output. 

165 POUNDS

2015 Big Ten Champion: Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin)

Ranked Wrestlers: 7 - #2 Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin), #3 Bo Jordan (Ohio State), #5 Steven Rodrigues (Illinois), #7 Anthony Perrotti (Rutgers), #8 Chad Welch (Purdue), #13 Austin Wilson (Nebraska), #16 Geno Morelli (Penn State)

NCAA Allocations: 6

Buckeye at 165: #3 Bo Jordan (14-1 overall, 7-1 Big Ten)

Contenders at 165: Isaac Jordan is 2-0 officially against his cousin, Bo. Each of the Jordans at 165 has worked his way through the rest of the Big Ten competition with no blemishes on his respective record (obviously excluding Bo’s loss to Isaac in February), so there’s little reason to expect they won’t meet again for a Big Ten title on the line on Sunday night. Steven Rodrigues (Illinois) is sneakily consistent and is tough to score on.

Perrotti is a bit of an unknown to me, mostly because Ohio State didn’t face Rutgers at any point this season. Chad Welch (Purdue) is always dangerous from the top position, and constantly looks for the pin. Geno Morelli has become the guy at 165 for Penn State, in part because Shakur Rasheed struggled to consistently make weight. Morelli stymied Bo Jordan in their dual meet, so Morelli has to be in the running to earn a trip to NYC.

Buckeye Outlook at 165: Barring upset, Bo should rematch Isaac for the second straight season in the championship bout at 165. When Bo dropped to 165, many thought that he had his eye on two-time NCAA champ Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State), but Bo’s toughest competition may be even closer to home. Bo is certainly one of the Buckeyes that you should keep an eye on because he’s a bonus-point machine.

174 POUNDS

2015 Big Ten Champion: Robert Kokesh (Nebraska)

Highest Returning Placer: Zac Brunson (Illinois), 6th place – Mark Martin (Ohio State) finished 5th, but is now at 197

Ranked Wrestlers: 7 - #1 Bo Nickal (Penn State), #6 Zac Brunson (Illinois), #10 Alex Meyer (Iowa), #11 Nate Jackson (Indiana), #13 Myles Martin (Ohio State), #16 Micah Barnes (Nebraska), #20 Nick Wanzek (Minnesota)

NCAA Allocations: 9

Buckeye at 174: #14 Myles Martin (24-5 overall, 5-3 Big Ten)

Outlook at 174: Nickal is another young Penn State wrestler with unreal potential. He’s a point-scorer who is willing to take a few risks to put his opponent in danger. The casual fan should really enjoy watching guys like Nickal and Nolf, as long as they aren’t wrestling your guy. His only loss is to Nate Jackson in a match where Nickal took a chance and Jackson caught him on his back early.

Nickal ma de a frantic effort at a come back, but fell short in the 3rd period. Jackson and Myles Martin have had a pair of exciting matches to this point in the season.Jackson is always within striking distance, even keeping matches he loses within reason.

Alex Meyer has only lost a pair of matches this season, but has had a favorable schedule this season and his only two losses have come to his only Top 10 opponents. Brunson has wins over Barnes and Jackson, but lost to Nickal and was upset by Wanzek. He should get a chance to avenge at least one of those losses this weekend. Michigan’s Davonte Mahomes wrestled well this season, but had his season ended with yet another knee injury. A healthy Mahomes would have been a high placer in the Big Ten tournament and a possible All-American.

Buckeye Outlook at 174: Much was made of Myles Martin entering the lineup in January and ending what looked to be a redshirt season. The idea is that Martin will score enough points at the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments to help the Buckeyes make another run at conference and national titles.

Martin has given Nickal a pair of close matches, but lost each. He has wins over Jackson and Micah Barnes, which should factor in and give him a favorable seed. Martin will likely meet Brunson in the quarterfinals and possibly Meyer in the semifinals, so he won’t have the luxury of an easy trip through the bracket. He could place in the top four and is quite likely to earn his first trip to the NCAA tournament.

184 POUNDS

2015 Big Ten Champion: Domenic Abounader (Michigan)

Ranked Wrestlers: 6 - #2 Domenic Abounader (Michigan), #7 Matt McCutcheon (Penn State), #11 TJ Dudley (Nebraska), #13 Sammy Brooks (Iowa), #17 Kenny Courts (Ohio State), #20 Nick Gravina (Rutgers)

NCAA Allocations: 7

Buckeye at 184: #17 Kenny Courts (15-7 overall, 5-3 Big Ten)

Contenders at 184: The field at 184 is fairly even behind Abounader, who is the class of the Big Ten at this weight. After a disappointing 1-2 performance at the NCAA tournament last year (including a 4-2 loss to Brooks), Abounader appears to have come into his own. His lone loss of the season is a one-sided defeat to defending NCAA champ Gabe Dean.

Abounader has two wins over #8 Zack Zavatsky (Virginia Tech) and Courts, and has gone undefeated against Big Ten competition (though he hasn’t faced Brooks, Dudley, or McCutcheon). Brooks dropped a match to Dudley by pin, though Dudley has had a few lapses this season, himself. McCutcheon has been hampered by a knee injury all season, but still has the skill to compete, and often defeat, the best in the conference.

Buckeye Outlook at 184: This will be the final Big Ten tournament for Kenny “The Enigma” Courts, who has finished 5th and 8th as a sophomore and junior. Following a dismal Big Ten tournament last season, Courts famously went on to finish 5th at the NCAA tournament, playing a huge role in the Buckeye national championship run.

If Courts yields the first takedown, we often see him shut down his offense, so his best bet is to be the aggressor early in the match if he’s going to advance in the postseason. If you’re wondering what to expect from Courts this weekend, Joey Bosa says it best.

197 POUNDS

2015 Big Ten Champion: Morgan McIntosh (Penn State)

Ranked Wrestlers at 197: 5 - #1 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State), #3 Brett Pfarr (Minnesota), #4 Nathan Burak (Iowa), #7 Max Huntley (Michigan), #11 Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska)

NCAA Allocations: 6

Buckeye at 197: Mark Martin (16-5 overall, 3-1 Big Ten)

Contenders at 197: McIntosh, Pfarr, and Burak are the clear favorites, but Morgan McIntosh should find himself in his 3rd consecutive Big Ten final. The Nittany Lion senior has 22 wins by bonus points to this point in his perfect 26-0 season. He’s firing on all cylinders to end his career, with two pins and two tech falls in the last month. Pfarr dropped a 3-2 match against McIntosh early in the season, making that his only Big Ten defeat of the season.

Burak has been rock solid in his senior season, only losing to Pfarr by a single point in his only defeat. Max Huntley is as tough as they come and he just finds ways to keep himself in tight matches. Studebaker fell a match short of finishing as an All-American at last year’s NCAA tournament, so he’s got the capability of making a deep run this March.  

 Buckeye Outlook at 197: Mark Martin has been in the starting lineup since his true freshman season in Columbus and has taken on all challengers at 165, 174, and finally, 197. Martin has performed admirably this season, up two weights from last year while battling injury.

Martin Is unlikely to ever find himself in a 15-13 shootout, rather, he keeps scores low and scores effectively off of counter attacks. He stands a decent chance to earn one of the six allotted trips to the NCAA tournament, but would likely have to defeat the likes of Hayden Hrymack of Rutgers and Jacob Cooper of Michigan State to do so.

HEAVYWEIGHT

2015 Big Ten Champion: Mike McMullan (Northwestern)

Highest Returning Placer: Adam Coon (Michigan), 3rd place

Ranked Wrestlers: 7 - #2 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State), #4 Adam Coon (Michigan), #7 Sam Stoll (Iowa), #10 Michael Kroells (Minnesota), #12 Billy Smith (Rutgers), #17 Nick Nevills (Penn State), #20 Collin Jensen (Nebraska)

NCAA Allocations: 7

Buckeye at Heavyweight: #2 Kyle Snyder (3-0 overall, 3-0 Big Ten)

Contenders at HWT: This bracket looks to be a two-man battle between two of the best athletes in the heavyweight division in the country. Coon and Snyder are likely to meet in the finals, barring any upsets. Coon is one of the best Greco Roman wrestlers in the country, but also has leg attacks not frequently seen by the big boys. Iowa’s Sam Stoll recently injured his knee, putting his qualification in jeopardy.

Michael Kroells is consistent and has a notable win over Illinois’ Brooks Black. Of note at heavyweight is Penn State’s Nick Nevills, who lost much of the season due to a knee injury. Nevills’ placement may play a huge role in the team race as the Nittany Lions look to regain their place atop the conference.

Buckeye Outlook at HWT: Snyder is a wrecking ball at heavyweight. He is unmatched in the neutral position, but his mat wrestling at heavyweight is still relatively untested. Snyder has two tech falls and a major decision in just three collegiate matches on the season, outscoring the competition 70-29 in those matches. Snyder is going to be a finalist and his potential match against Coon could be one of the best matches of the season.

Team Outlook

Penn State is the prohibitive favorite with legitimate champion possibilities at every weight but 165 and heavyweight. Iowa is weak in the middle, but their lower weights are dynamite and their upper weights are above average. Illinois is solid from top to bottom, but have few title contenders outside of IMar and Zane Richards. Michigan’s title hopes took a real hit with Davonte Mahomes going down with a knee injury. The Buckeyes will need significant help if they’re going to repeat as champions. Penn State is going to score a lot of top-end points, but they are an inexperienced team and could be prone to an upset or two.

As much as I’d like to be a Buckeye homer and predict them to repeat as Big Ten champions, it is going to be a real long shot. Tomasello, Micah Jordan, Bo Jordan, and Kyle Snyder are all in the running for a championship, but they’re going to need some help from the rest of the team. For what it’s worth, the four I mentioned all could make serious bids for NCAA titles in a deeper field, so it will be interesting to see how it plays out for the remainder of the month.

Check back to Eleven Warriors for a recap of the action and a look at the automatic qualifiers to the NCAA tournament next week. 

Day One of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships did not go according to plan for the Buckeyes, assuming their plan was to repeat as team champions. For one thing, the Buckeyes took some serious lumps in the quarterfinals, going just 4 for 10 in the round. Not only did the Buckeyes falter early on day 1, but Penn State had no slip-ups whatsoever, and the Nittany Lions tore out to a huge lead after two sessions.

On the bright side, Ohio State had three wrestlers advance to the Big Ten Championship finals in their respective weight classes. Nathan Tomasello, Bo Jordan, and Kyle Snyder each breezed through the competition and all three will make their second straight trip to the conference championship. Tomasello is looking for his second title, while Snyder and Jordan will look to earn their first Big Ten crown.

In addition to three finalists, the Buckeyes also have three wrestlers still in the hunt for third place and four wrestlers in the seventh place match.

Nathan Tomasello earned a chance at winning his second consecutive Big Ten title with a pair of tech falls and a decision in the semifinals. Tomasello tech falled Thornton of Purdue and McCabe of Rutgers before a 10-5 decision over Tim Lambert of Nebraska in the semis. Tomasello will face a familiar opponent in tomorrow afternoon’s finals when he takes on Nico Megaludis of Penn State. Megaludis earned a hard-fought 4-3 decision over Thomas Gilman of Iowa in the semifinals. Tomasello is guaranteed a trip to the NCAA tournament in two weeks with his top two placement.

Johnni DiJulius went 2-2, but locked down a trip to the NCAA tournament along the way. DiJulius won his opening round match, but became the first of five Buckeyes to lose to Iowa wrestlers in the quarterfinals, dropping a 7-2 match to Cory Clark. DiJulius even scored the opening takedown, but yielded seven straight and fell into the consolation bracket. Once there, he won a match by major decision over Dom Malone of Northwestern, but once again fell victim to Jordan Conaway of Penn State after scoring first. DiJulius will wrestle for 7th place on Sunday and will face Geoffrey Alexander of Maryland. Clark will face top-seeded Zain Richards of Illinois in the championship bout, which features the two top seeds at 133.

Micah Jordan earned the top seed, but fell in the quarterfinals to Penn State’s Jimmy Gulibon 3-2. After the upset, Jordan scored a pair of major decisions to advance to the consolation semifinals. In the consolation semifinals, he will face Purdue’s Danny Sabatello. Regardless of his results tomorrow, Jordan will earn one of the Big Ten’s 7 automatic bids to the NCAA tournament. Gulibon advanced to the finals and will face Rutgers’ Anthony Ashnault.

Cody Burcher earned the nod at 149 and earned a minor upset of seventh-seed Andrew Crone of Wisconsin in the opening round. Burcher then met an Iowa foe in the quarterfinals and dropped a 12-2 major decision to Iowa’s Brandon Sorensen. Burcher pinned his next opponent, but lost by decision to Tyson Dippery of Rutgers in the consolation quarterfinals, dropping him to the 7th place match. The Big Ten only earned six automatic bids to the NCAA tournament, so Burcher will be unlikely to earn a trip to Madison Square Garden in two weeks. Sorensen will face top-seeded Zain Retherford of Penn State in the championship bout.

Jake Ryan earned a bye to the quarterfinals, but fell to Edwin Cooper of Iowa 2-1. In the consolation bracket, Ryan won two matches to earn a trip to tomorrow’s consolation semifinals, where he’ll face Brian Murphy of Michigan. Ryan is guaranteed to earn one of the Big Ten’s seven allotted automatic qualifiers to the NCAA tournament, finishing no lower than sixth. Penn State’s Jason Nolf and Illinois’ Isaiah Martinez will have their anticipated rematch in the finals on Sunday afternoon. Nolf gave IMar his first varsity loss after an undefeated freshman campaign.

Bo Jordan finds himself in a familiar situation as he made his way to the championship bout, where he will face his cousin, Isaac Jordan of Wisconsin, for the second straight season. Bo earned a tough 3-2 decision over Penn State’s Geno Morelli and rolled over Steven Rodrigues of Illinois in the semifinals to set up a third official match between the two Jordans. Isaac advanced to the championship bout thanks to a pin, tech fall, and an injury default.

Myles Martin opened his Big Ten tournament with a pin and a third win over Nate Jackson of Indiana before losing a third time to Penn State’s Bo Nickal in the semifinals. Nickal scored a pair of takedowns before locking up a cradle and rolling through for a pin in the first period. Martin will face Nebraska’s Micah Barnes in the consolation semifinals. Martin is guaranteed one of the Big Ten’s automatic bids to the NCAA tournament at 174, regardless of his place tomorrow. Nickal will face Illinois junior Zach Brunson for the title.

Kenny Courts did not have the Big Ten tournament he would have liked, and still has some work to do if he is going to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Courts lost to Iowa’s Sammy Brooks in the quarterfinals after dominating Northwestern’s Regis Durbin. Courts won a decision over Tanner Lynde, but then fell to Jeff Koepke of Illinois in the consolation quarterfinals, dropping him into the seventh place match. Courts will have to win against Ryan Christensen of Wisconsin in the seventh place match to earn one of the Big Ten’s seven automatic qualifiers at 184. TJ Dudley of Nebraska upset top-seeded Domenic Abounader (Michigan) and will face Brooks in Sunday’s championship bout.

Like DiJulius (and Burcher and Ryan and Courts), Mark Martin fell in the quarterfinals at the hands of an Iowa opponent. Martin lost 6-2 to Micah Burak. After a win in the consolation bracket, Martin dropped a 1-0 match to Hayden Hrymack (Rutgers), though he was in on several deep shots, but was unable to finish. Martin will face Drake Stein (which may be an incredibly manly alias, I’m not sure) of Purdue for seventh place. Burak will face top-seeded Morgan McIntosh of Penn State on Sunday for the championship at 197.

Kyle Snyder has spent much of the season traveling to and from tournaments around the world, where he often defeats Russians with suspect musculature. With that experience under his belt, the mortals in the Big Ten are no match. Snyder used tech falls over opponents from Illinois and Nebraska (neither of whom are Siberians in disguise) to advance to the championship bout, where he’ll meet Michigan’s Adam Coon. Coon is a nimble big man and is an adept Greco Roman wrestler, as well as a freestyler like Snyder, so Sunday’s championship bout will be something special. Snyder is certain to advance to the NCAA tournament, placing no lower than second.

After the first day, Ohio State sits in third place with 100 points. Ahead of the Buckeyes are Iowa (106) and Penn State (133). If they are going to move up to catch the Hawkeyes and Nittany Lions, the Buckeyes will need some significant help in the consolation brackets, as well as an upset or two. All things considered, the Buckeyes should focus on outpointing Nebraska and improving their respective seeding at the NCAA tournament, because finishing in the top two is unlikely.

Wrestling resumes in Iowa City on Sunday at 1 pm with the finals airing live on Big Ten Network at 4 pm.

Nathan Tomasello's hardware collection keeps growing.

Sunday, the Ohio State redshirt sophomore repeated as Big Ten wrestling champion in the 125-pound weight class with 3–1 over No. 3 seed Nico Megaludis of Penn State.

Tomasello, the tournament's top seed, fought back from a one-point deficit to tie the affair before countering a Megaludis takedown attempt in overtime for the winning two.

Tomasello was dominant on his way to the final, knocking off Ben Thornton of Purdue, 20-2, No. 8 Sean McCabe of Rutgers in the quarterfinals, 20-5, and No. 4 Tim Lambert of Nebraska, 10-5, in the semifinals.

With the win, Tomasello improves to 25–0 on the season. Next up: a chance to repeat as NCAA champion.

Following his win, @wrestlingbucks' Nathan Tomasello talks with BTN about his 2016 title. https://t.co/WGei5bMilg

— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) March 6, 2016

You're not supposed to win a World Championship before you capture your first Big Ten Championship, but you're not Kyle Snyder, either.

The Ohio State sophomore captured his first Big Ten championship Sunday, topping the top seed, Michigan's Adam Coon, 7-4, in the heavyweight final. Snyder controlled the match, securing a takedown in each period.

Coon became the only wrestler to survive three periods with Snyder as the Buckeye won his other matches in the Big Ten tournament via technical fall. Snyder dropped No. 7 Brooks Black of Illinois, 26-11, in the quarterfinals and No. 6 Collin Jensen of Nebraska, 24-9, in the semifinals.

The league championship comes six months after Snyder became the youngest American to win a World Championship and just over two months after he opted out of his redshirt to compete for an NCAA crown at heavyweight.

With the win, Snyder improves to 8–0 on the season, entering the NCAA Championships. As a true freshman last season, Snyder finished 30–4 with a second-place finish at the Big Ten and NCAA Championships.

It wasn’t the repeat performance that they had in mind after earning last year’s co-championship at the Big Ten Wrestling Championships, but third place in NCAA wrestling's toughest conference isn’t half bad. The championship round was bookended by Buckeye titlists as Nathan Tomasello won his second straight title at 125 and Kyle Snyder notched a big win at heavyweight.

All ten Buckeyes placed in the top eight in their respective weight classes and seven Buckeyes earned automatic qualifications to the NCAA tournament in two weeks based on their finish.

Penn State won the team title, their fifth in the past six seasons, with 150.5 points. Iowa edged the Buckeyes 127 to 126 for the runner-up spot.

After breezing to the finals with his performance on Saturday, Tomasello faced his toughest test in the championship match against Penn State’s Nico Megaludis. For the second time this season, Tomasello scored a late takedown to edge Megaludis and defeated the Penn State senior 3-1.

Tomasello earned one of the Big Ten’s automatic qualifiers and should earn the top seed at the NCAA championships. The win for Tomasello was his second Big Ten title in as many seasons after winning one last year in Columbus.

2015 #B1G champ? !

2015 NCAA champ? !

2016 #B1G champ? !

Congrats to @wrestlingbucks' Nathan Tomasello! https://t.co/zL76xGITJI

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) March 6, 2016

Johnni DiJulius struggled on Saturday, going just 2-2 with a couple of tough losses. He still earned a trip to the 7th place match, where he thoroughly dominated Geoff Alexander of Maryland. JDJ earned a tech fall by score of 19-2 to earn 7th place. In the championship match at 133, Iowa’s Cory Clark (who defeated DiJulius in the quarterfinals) won a 2-1 decision over top-seeded Zain Richards of Illinois. DiJulius earned one of the Big Ten’s nine automatic qualifiers to the NCAA Championships with his seventh place finish.

At 141, Micah Jordan was upset in the quarterfinals, but came back strong to finish in 3rd place at his first Big Ten Championships. Jordan rolled to two major decisions, a tech fall over Danny Sabatello of Purdue, and finally, a pin of second-seeded Tommy Thorn in the 3rd place match. Jordan broke through in a tight match with a double leg and deftly transitioned to pin Thorn in the third period. In the championship bout at 141, Rutgers earned their first individual Big Ten title as Anthony Ashnault dominated Jimmy Gulibon of Penn State with a 9-0 major decision.

Cody Burcher earned 8th place in his first Big Ten Championships, dropping a 4-2 decision to Minnesota’s Jake Short in the 7th place match. Penn State’s Zain Retherford won a dominant 4-0 decision over Brandon Sorensen of Iowa in the championship match. The weight class was comparatively weak this season, so the Big Ten only earned six automatic bids to the NCAA championship. Burcher is unlikely to earn an at-large selection this season.

Jake Ryan bounced back from his quarterfinal defeat on Saturday to earn 6th place at his first Big Ten Championships. Ryan was pinned by Brian Murphy (Michigan) in the consolation semifinals and then dropped a 5-2 decision to Richie Lewis of Rutgers in the 5th place match. Ryan earned a trip to the NCAA tournament with his placement in the top 7. In the highly-anticipated rematch, Isaiah Martinez of Illinois avenged his only career loss with a marathon decision over Penn State’s Jason Nolf.

Bo Jordan has lost just four matches in his almost two years of varsity wrestling, and now three of those have come at the hands of his cousin Isaac. Bo gave up a last second takedown and dropped a 3-1 decision to Isaac of Wisconsin in the championship bout. By finishing in the top six in the weight class, Bo earned a trip to the NCAA tournament.

Myles Martin took full advantage of his first shot at a Big Ten title, finishing in third place with a 7-5 decision over Indiana’s Nate Jackson. Martin earned his fourth win over the tough Jackson on the season and his second of the weekend in the 3rd place bout. Bo Nickal of Penn State cruised to his first conference title with an 18-9 dismantling of Zach Brunson of Illinois in the championship bout. Martin will make his debut at the NCAA tournament in two weeks thanks to his placement in this weekend’s tournament.

Kenny Courts may find himself on the outside looking in at the NCAA tournament as he failed to snag one of the seven allotted NCAA tournament bids, finishing in 8th place. Courts went a disappointing 2-2 on Saturday and lost to Wisconsin’s Ryan Christensen 10-4 in the 7th place match. Iowa got their second champion of the tournament at 184 as Sammy Brooks edged Nebraska’s TJ Dudley 6-4. Courts will need to wait to see if he is selected for one of the at-large selections to the NCAA Championships when the field is announced in the coming days.

Mark Martin, like Courts, will be hoping to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as he finished just a spot away from earning an automatic bid. Martin went 2-2 on Saturday, but showed some guts late and scored a last-second takedown against Drake Stein of Purdue to take 7th place. The Big Ten was allotted just six spots at 197, so Martin will have to sit and await his fate. Morgan McIntosh of Penn State won a 3-2 decision over Iowa’s Micah Burak in the championship bout.

Bookending the championship round, Kyle Snyder faced his toughest collegiate of the season in Michigan’s Adam Coon. Snyder took a 7-4 decision to give the Buckeyes their second conference champion of the tournament. Coon was the top seed and Snyder was the number two seed, so their clash in the championship wasn’t unexpected, but it was truly a sight to see. The pair of athletic heavyweights are truly the class of the Big Ten heavyweights this season, and could lock horns again at Madison Square Garden late in the NCAA Tournament. The title was Snyder's first after finishing as runner-up at 197 last season.

The Buckeyes will patiently wait the announcement of the NCAA Tournament field in the coming days, with Kenny Courts and Mark Martin hoping their collegiate careers don’t end at the Big Ten Championships.

Be sure to check back with Eleven Warriors for updates on the NCAA Tournament selections and more on the wrestling Buckeyes as they look to defend their NCAA title.

On Thursday afternoon, the Buckeye wrestlers will look to defend their 2015 NCAA title when the best collegiate wrestlers in the country descend upon Madison Square Garden in New York City for the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships. 

The Buckeyes qualified eight wrestlers out of ten weight classes and have a trio of wrestlers seeded in the top 3 in their respective weight classes, including top-seeded Nathan Tomasello at 125. 

The action can be seen in it's entirety on ESPN's networks with the early rounds being shown on ESPNU and the WatchESPN app. The semifinals will air on ESPN and the finals will air live on ESPN on Saturday night. 

The full bracket is here.

Below is a look at what to expect in the tournament, including the top competitors and how each Buckeye may fare. 

125 pounds

2015 NCAA Champion: Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State)

Returning All-Americans: Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State, 1st in 2015), Thomas Gilman (Iowa, 4th in 2015), Nico Megaludis (Penn State, 3rd in 2014, 2nd in 2013, 2nd in 2012), Conor Youtsey (Michigan, 6th in 2015), Eddie Klimara (Oklahoma State,  7th in 2015), Joey Dance (Virginia Tech, 4th in 2014), Dylan Peters (Northern Iowa, 6th in 2014), Darian Cruz (Lehigh, 7th in 2014)

Top Four Seeds: #1 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State), #2 Joey Dance (Virginia Tech), #3 Nico Megaludis (Penn State), #4 Thomas Gilman (Iowa)

Buckeye: No. 1 seed Nathan Tomasello (22-0, Big Ten Champion)

Contenders: It’s probably safe to say that the top four seeds are clearly the favorites at 125. Zeke Moisey (West Virginia) caught fire last year and knocked off the 2, 7, and 6 seeds before falling to Tomasello in the championship. Moisey is injured and won’t compete this season. Tomasello, Dance, Megaludis, and Gilman are by far the best wrestlers in the country at 125, with a total of just five losses between them (each of the five matches came at the hands of one of the other top four seeds). If the top four wrestled four times, you may have four different outcomes as they are all incredibly evenly-matched.

Gilman went undefeated until he lost to Megaludis in the Big Ten semifinals. Dance defeated Megaludis and lost to Tomasello early in the season before cruising to an ACC title. Dance does not score bonus points like the rest of the field, so he is accustomed to being in tight matches, regardless of the competition. Megaludis has been a finalist on two occasions, but has yet to win a title. His flexibility causes fits for opponents, making him difficult to take down. Gilman is nothing if not a fierce competitor. He is rarely out of position and attacks non-stop, leaving little room for error. On Saturday night, you’ll see some combination of these four wrestling for the championship.

Buckeye Outlook: Tomasello is the odds-on favorite to repeat as an NCAA champion, though it will not be easy. He will likely face Dylan Peters (Northern Iowa) in the quarterfinals and Gilman in the semifinals. Both Gilman and Peters defeated Tomasello last season, so they will have a degree of confidence when meeting him on the mat. Tomasello is incredibly focused and was in the zone throughout the Big Ten tournament. Tomasello has a repeat national championship in his sights, and should still finish as an All-American (Top 8) even if he is upset prior to the championship bout. Tomasello faces Kyle Larson (Iowa State, 23-15) in the opening round on Thursday.

133 pounds

2015 NCAA Champion: Cody Brewer (Oklahoma)

Returning All-Americans: Cody Brewer (Oklahoma, 1st in 2015, 8th in 2014, 7th in 2013), Nahshon Garrett (Cornell, 5th at 125 in 2015, 2nd at 125 in 2014, 3rd at 125 in 2013), Jordan Conaway (Penn State, 8th at 125 in 2015), Cory Clark (Iowa, 2nd in 2015, 5th at 125 in 2014), Mason Beckman (Lehigh, 6th in 2015), Rossi Bruno (Michigan, 8th in 2015), Ryan Taylor (Wisconsin, 7th in 2015), Earl Hall (Iowa State, 8th at 125 in 2014)

Top 4 Seeds: Nahshon Garrett (Cornell), Cory Clark (Iowa), Zane Richards (Illinois), Cody Brewer (Oklahoma)

Buckeye: #10 seed Johnni DiJulius (17-7, 7th place at Big Ten tournament)

Contenders at 133: This could be Garrett’s best shot at winning a title, though his road is tough right off the bat with returning All-American Mason Beckman waiting for him in the first round. Following Beckman, Garrett could face Bruno or Earl Hall in the quarterfinals before a likely rematch with Cody Brewer in the semifinals. Garrett beat Brewer in a shootout at the CKLV Invitational on his way to a perfect 32-0 record. Brewer is an explosive wrestler with brute strength, but he won’t be overlooked this season like he was last year. Clark and Richards are in the bottom half of the bracket, along with George DiCamillo (Virginia) and Eric Montoya (Nebraska). Johnni DiJulius is also in the bottom half of the bracket, and has victories over Montoya, DiCamillo, and Clark.

Buckeye Outlook: DiJulius begins his tournament against Robert Deutsch (Rider). JDJ beat Deutsch by major decision in last year’s NCAA tournament, so he has to be feeling confident entering his last NCAA tournament. DiJulius has never earned an All-American finish in his three previous trips to the NCAA tournament, but he has the capability to beat anyone in the field. He has winnable matches in his quarter of the bracket, and an All-American finish to cap off his outstanding career is certainly within the realm of possibility.

141 POUNDS

2015 NCAA Champion: Logan Stieber (Ohio State)

Highest Returning Placer: Dean Heil (Oklahoma State) – 4th place at 141

Returning All-Americans at 141: Dean Heil (Oklahoma State- 4th in 2015), Kevin Jack (North Carolina State,  5th in 2015), Rick Durso (Franklin & Marshall, 8th in 2014), Chris Mecate (Old Dominion,  6th in 2015), Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State, 5th at 133 in 2015)

Top 4 Seeds at 141: Dean Heil (Oklahoma State), Joey McKenna (Stanford), Kevin Jack (NC State), Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers)

Buckeye: No. 6-seeded Micah Jordan (25-2, 3rd place at Big Ten tournament)

Contenders: Graduation hit this weight class harder than most this season and there are no real front-runners for the title. Heil is experienced, tough, and has wins over many of the higher seeds (McKenna, Jack, #5 Matt Manley of Missouri, and #11 Tommy Thorn of Minnesota). McKenna has only lost to Heil (twice) with a win over #8 Joey Ward (North Carolina), but hasn’t wrestled a great schedule all season. McKenna was a blue-chip recruit and is proving the rankers correct thus far in his career.

Ashnault won the Big Ten title at 141, demonstrating his top game along the way. Jack exploded on the national scene last year with upsets over three seeded wrestlers, but won’t sneak up on anyone from the #3 seed. Jack hasn’t lost since the Southern Scuffle at the end of December and has picked up some nice wins since. Matt Manley of Missouri took the #5 seed, but stands an excellent chance of advancing far in the championship bracket, though he has a tough opening match against Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State).

Buckeye Outlook:: Micah took an upset loss in the Big Ten quarterfinals against Jimmy Gulibon, but he has winnable matches in his bracket at the NCAA tournament. Jordan opens the tournament against Ian Nickell of Cal State–Bakersfield could rematch Tommy Thorn of Minnesota in the second round. Should Jordan win those two matches, he will likely face Jack in the quarterfinals. In the last few matches, Micah has struggled to escape from the bottom, so his opponents will likely key on that in matches against him. If Jordan is to earn an All-American finish in a wide-open field, which I fully expect, he will need to be patient on his feet and score quickly from the bottom.

149 POUNDS

2015 NCAA Champion: Drake Houdashelt (Missouri)

Highest Returning Placer: Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern, 3rd in 2015)

Returning All-Americans: Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern,  3rd in 2015, 1st in 2014), Brandon Sorensen (Iowa- 4th in 2015), Evan Henderson (North Carolina, 4th at 141 in 2014, 5th at 141 in 2013), Zain Retherford (Penn State,  5th at 141 in 2014), BJ Clagon (Rider, 5th in 2015), Daniel Neff (Lock Haven, 8th in 2015)

Top 4 Seeds: Zain Retherford (Penn State), Brandon Sorensen (Iowa), Lavion Mayes (Missouri), Matthew Cimato (Drexel)

Buckeye at 149: None. Cody Burcher placed 8th at the Big Ten tournament.

Contenders: At a glance, it looks like the race at 149 will be Zain Retherford vs The Field. Retherford is undefeated and just four of his 29 wins this season came without bonus points. Zain is aggressive on his feet, but utterly destructive in the top position.  He should cruise to the semifinals, where I expect he’ll meet the #5 seed, Alec Pantaleo of Michigan. Sorensen and Lavion Mayes have the tougher half of the bracket, which features past NCAA champion Jason Tsirtsis, Anthony Collica of Oklahoma State, and the outstanding Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska). This bracket should go fairly according to plan, with Sorensen or Mayes squaring off against (but ultimately, losing to) Retherford in the championship bout.

157 POUNDS

2015 NCAA Champion: Isaiah Martinez (Illinois)

Returning All-Americans: Isaiah Martinez (Illinois,  1st in 2015), Ian Miller (Kent State,  5th in 2015, 4th in 2014), Nick Brascetta (Virginia Tech,  4th in 157,8th at 149 in 2013), Brian Murphy (Michigan, 7th in 2015)

Top 4 Seeds: #1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois), #2 Thomas Gantt (North Carolina State), #3 Jason Nolf (Penn State), #4 Ian Miller (Kent State)

Buckeye: Unseeded Jake Ryan (17-5, 6th at Big Ten tournament)

Contenders at 157: Martinez and Nolf are tied 1-1 in their matches this season, with Nolf striking first before Martinez settled the score in the Big Ten championship. Martinez has unreal strength and a bottomless gas tank, both of which helped him to an undefeated national championship as a freshman. Nolf gave Martinez his first career loss in their dual meet this season and he has mowed down the rest of the competition aside from his loss in the Big Ten championship match. Gantt has been a steady force for one of the biggest upstarts in the NCAA this season, but has avoided Martinez, Nolf, and Miller on his way to an undefeated season.

Miller suffered a concussion and had to default out of the MAC conference tournament, ending his chance of winning four straight conference titles. A two-time All-American, Miller has just one win over a seeded wrestler in the NCAA tournament, saying more about his schedule than his undeniable talent. Joe Smith is the son of one of the most decorated wrestlers in American history, Oklahoma State coach John Smith. As a true freshman, JoJo has taken on some of the toughest competition in the country, and defeated all of them but #1 seeded Martinez, #4 seeded Nolf, and #5 Dylan Palacio of Cornell. Smith will factor into the placement at 157, though his inexperience against Martinez and Nolf may cost him.

Buckeye Outlook: Jake Ryan showed a great deal of upside this season, placing 6th at the Big Ten Championships after being ranked in the top 15 for most of the season. He’s got a great defense and scores many of his takedowns in response to his opponent’s shots. Jake will face #6 Joe Smith of Oklahoma State in the opening round on Thursday in a match between the young sons of NCAA champion coaches. Ryan could win a few matches at his first NCAA tournament, but he’s not likely to finish as an All-American with this draw.

165 POUNDS

2015 NCAA Champion: Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State)

Returning All-Americans: Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State- 1st in 2015, 1st in 2014, 3rd at 157 in 2013), Bo Jordan (Ohio State- 3rd in 2015), Jim Wilson (Stanford- 8th in 2015), Anthony Perrotti (Rutgers- 8th at 157 in 2014), Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin- 7th in 2015, 7th at 157 in 2014)

Top 4 Seeds: Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State), Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin), Bo Jordan (Ohio State), Daniel Lewis (Missouri)

Buckeye: No. 3 seed Bo Jordan (16-2, 2nd at Big Ten tournament)

Contenders: Dieringer is looking to cap off one of the most successful individual careers in one of the greatest programs in collegiate wrestling with his third consecutive NCAA title. Incredibly strong and relentless on the feet, Dieringer has amassed a career record of 128-4 and has a 77 match winning streak intact. Dieringer is the clear leader of the pack at 165. Isaac Jordan took the #2 seed with an undefeated record and a second straight Big Ten title. Isaac is a crafty wrestler on his feet and picks his spots carefully when he attacks.

Max Rohskopf of NC State is an Ohioan who has made a big impact on the Wolfpack’s success this season with his outstanding top control. Speaking of top control, Missouri’s outstanding freshman Daniel Lewis has to be one of the best in the country from the top position. Lewis effectively rode Bo Jordan and Alex Dieringer for an entire period in his respective bouts with each wrestler, but lost both matches. Lewis has impressive pinning skills and is a real dark horse pick for an upset against the mighty Dieringer should they meet in the semifinals. Dieringer will likely meet the winner of Bo vs Isaac IV in the championship bout.

Buckeye Outlook: Expect an All-American finish from Bo, but hope for a national championship. It was widely suggested that Bo’s desire to drop to 165 had to do with his Vision Quest-esque passion to be the one to defeat Dieringer. Bo’s only two losses this season came to Isaac, and he’ll likely need to beat Isaac in the semifinals on Friday night. That’s proven to be a daunting task for Bo, but two of the three matches came down to a single instance of being caught off guard for Bo. Expect the fourth installment on Friday night. Bo will face Kent State’s Tyler Buckwalter in the opening round on Thursday.

174 POUNDS

2015 NCAA Champion: Matt Brown (Penn State)

Highest Returning Placer: Zach Epperly (Virginia Tech, 8th at 174 in 2015)

Returning All-Americans: Brian Realbuto (Cornell,  2nd at 157 in 2015, 6th at 157 in 2014), Ethan Ramos (North Carolina, 6th at 165 in 2015), Cody Walters (Ohio, 8th in 2013), Bryce Hammond (Cal State Bakersfield, 8th in 2014)

Top 4 Seeds: Bo Nickal (Penn State), Brian Realbuto (Cornell), Blaise Butler (Missouri), Ethan Ramos (UNC)

Buckeye: No. 11 seed Myles Martin (28-6, 3rd at Big Ten tournament)

Contenders: Nickal is a high-risk, high-reward type of wrestler who is incredibly fun to watch (unless he’s wrestling a Buckeye, that is) and more often than not, he is rewarded for his risks. The only blemish on Nickal’s record came at the hands of Indiana’s Nate Jackson in a match that nearly saw Nickal make a comeback after an early throw attempt caught him on his back. Nickal cruised through the Big Ten tournament, but faces some experienced foes at the NCAA level. Realbuto is up two weight classes and has looked impressive in the move. Blaise Butler is a grad transfer from Virginia and is thriving at Missouri. Cody Walters won this year’s Midlands and has an All-American finish to his credit. Chandler Rogers of Oklahoma State is replacing an injured Kyle Crutchmer and has some nice wins in his redshirt freshman season, though his results have been unpredictable. He’s got placement potential, but could also go 0-2.

Buckeye Outlook: Myles Martin has really fit into the lineup nicely at 174, surpassing the expectations of lots of critics. Martin has wrestled Bo Nickal close twice out of their three meetings, though the Nittany Lion managed to win all three of their matches. Martin’s attacking style is certainly refreshing when compared to the Big Ten’s now-graduated crop of defensive stars at 174 (Matt Brown, Mike Evans, and Logan Storley, to name a few). Martin is capable of earning an All-American finish, though it’s difficult to guess just how high he’ll climb in this unpredictable weight class. Martin faces Nick Wanzek of Minnesota in the opening round, before likely meeting #6 seeded Bryce Hammond in the second round.

184 POUNDS

2015 NCAA Champion: Gabe Dean (Cornell)

Returning All-Americans: Gabe Dean (Cornell, 1st in 2015, 3rd in 2014), Nate Brown (Lehigh, 2nd in 2015), Vic Avery (Edinboro, 3rd in 2015), Blake Stauffer (Arizona State- 4th in 2015), Kenny Courts (Ohio State, 5th in 2015), Hayden Zilmer (North Dakota State, 6th in 2015), Willie Miklus (Missouri, 7th in 2015), TJ Dudley (Nebraska, 8th in 2015), Jack Dechow (Old Dominion, 4th in 2014)

Top 4 Seeds: Gabe Dean (Cornell), Sammy Brooks (Iowa), Vic Avery (Edinboro), Domenic Abounader (Michigan)

Buckeye: Unseeded Kenny Courts (17-10, 8th at Big Ten tournament)

Contenders: Interestingly enough, this weight returns all eight of last year’s All-Americans, including defending NCAA champ Gabe Dean and Ohio State’s Kenny Courts. Dean is an outstanding athlete, opting to wrestle for Cornell rather than play quarterback at Georgia Tech. Dean has a combination of speed and power rarely seen and dropped just one match in each of the last two seasons. He’s the clear favorite at 184, though several others will give him a run.

Domenic Abounader finds himself in the same half of the bracket as Dean, so the pair may meet in the semifinals if Abounader can make it past Zack Zavatsky (Virginia Tech) in the quarterfinals. Zavatsky is an outstanding top wrestler and will pose a serious matchup problem for everyone in the tournament. Sammy Brooks won the Big Ten title and then gave my favorite post-match interview to date, but I don’t have much hope for him to upend Dean.

Buckeye Outlook: Courts caught fire at last year’s NCAA tournament after finishing 8th at the Big Ten tournament. Courts earned his first All-American finish by taking 5th place, an outcome that was instrumental in the Buckeyes winning their first NCAA title. Since then, Kenny has gone 17-10, losing lots of matches that he could have won. He’s an enigma, to say the least. Kenny has the skill to earn another spot on the All-American podium, but you just never know what you’re going to get when Kenny steps on the mat. Kenny will start his tournament run against #6 seed Blake Stauffer of Arizona State. Courts is 1-1 against Stauffer, including a 6-2 loss at last year’s NCAA tournament.

197 POUNDS

2015 NCAA Champion: Kyven Gadson (Iowa State)

Highest Returning Placer: J’Den Cox (Missouri, 3rd place in 2015)

Returning All-Americans: J’Den Cox (Missouri, 3rd in 2015, 1st in 2014), Morgan McIntosh (Penn State, 3rd in 2015, 7th in 2014), Conner Hartman (Duke, 6th in 2015, 5th in 2014), Nathan Burak (Iowa, 7th in 2015, 8th in 2014), Max Huntley (Michigan, 8th in 2015)

Top 4 Seeds: Morgan McIntosh (Penn State), J’Den Cox (Missouri), Brett Pfarr (Minnesota),  Nathan Burak (Iowa)

Buckeye: None. Mark Martin placed 7th at the Big Ten tournament

Contenders: McIntosh is undefeated with narrow victories over Burak and Pfarr and dominant victories over pretty much everyone else. His Big Ten championship at 197 was his second consecutive conference title, which was clinched with a 3-2 decision over Burak. Cox’ only loss is a disqualification in a match that he was winning at the time. He has bumped up to heavyweight on occasion to help the Tigers in dual meets, so he’s got the speed and strength to beat even the bigger wrestlers. Pfarr is the lone standout for Minnesota in a down year for the program, but he’ll have to score some upsets if he’s going to win the title.

Burak is 0-5 in his career against McIntosh, though three of the five matches have been decided by two points or less. The Iowa and Penn State fans will be looking at 197 as one of the weight classes where they can make up some serious team points if the opposing wrestler is upset early in the tournament, though that’s not likely before the semifinals. If anyone should be on upset alert, I’d be willing to bet Brett Pfarr is concerned with Ohio’s Phil Wellington and their potential quarterfinal match. For the casual fan, a match between Cox and McIntosh could be the most interesting because both are outstanding athletes with great wrestling intelligence.

Heavyweight

2015 NCAA Champion: Nick Gwiazdowski (North Carolina State)

Returning All-Americans: Nick Gwiazdowski (NC State, 1st in 2015, 1st in 2014, 8th in 2012 for SUNY-Binghamton), Adam Coon (Michigan, 2nd in 2015), Ty Walz (Virginia Tech, 7th in 2015), Michael Kroells (8th in 2015), Austin Marsden (Oklahoma State, 8th in 2014), Kyle Snyder (Ohio State, 2nd in 2015 at 197)

Top 4 Seeds: Nick Gwiazdowski (NC State), #2 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State), Ty Walz (Virginia Tech), Austin Marsden (Oklahoma State)

Buckeye: No. 2-seeded Kyle Snyder (6-0, Big Ten Champion)

Contenders: Gwiazdowski, commonly known as Gwiz, is looking for his third NCAA title at heavyweight, the first coming over Tony Nelson, who was in pursuit of his third straight NCAA title. Gwiz is an exceptional heavyweight, with great quickness to go with his heavyweight strength. He is light on his feet and has a variety of takedowns, which sets him apart from most of the field at heavyweight. Gwiz left Binghamton with Pat Popolizio and the pair helped to put NC State on the map in a big way. At a glance, the heavyweight bracket is likely just an appetizer for the seemingly inevitable main course of Gwiz versus Snyder in the championship bout on Saturday night. Walz’ only two losses came at the end of season to Gwiz, though he showed flashes of potential against the two-time champ.

Walz is a St. Edward’s graduate who is a mobile big man and seems to have Coon’s number. Walz has his work cut out for him as he opens the tournament against a tough Tanner Hall of Arizona State. Marsden’s only loss, like Walz, came at the hands of Gwiz. Marsden has nice wins over Denzel Dejournette of Appalachian State and Sam Stoll of Iowa, but he is bracketed to face Coon in the quarterfinals before a likely rematch with Gwiz in the semis. Talk about a tough bracket, especially when you notice he starts the tournament against Cleveland State’s Riley Shaw. Stoll defaulted out of the Big Ten tournament, but should advance far in the tournament if he’s healthy and score some big points for the Hawkeyes in the process. The podium should feature a number of Big Ten wrestlers, but Gwiz and Walz are certain to find themselves perched high on the podium on Saturday night.

Buckeye Outlook: Snyder’s accomplishments on the world stage have been well-documented, but many were concerned that he would suffer from switching his focus from freestyle to college wrestling and back so frequently. Snyder has proven the doubters to be off-base with his four tech falls and a Big Ten title victory over Coon. Snyder is unlikely to be derailed before he butts heads with Gwiz in the championship, but if he is defeated before the finals, it’ll likely be by someone that scores on Snyder on the mat. Of note, Snyder may meet the #7 seed Amarveer Dhesi (Oregon State) in the quarterfinals. Dhesi is a quality freestyle wrestler, earning a silver medal at the FILA Junior Worlds for his native Canada. Snyder starts his tournament on Thursday against Antonio Pelusi of Franklin & Marshall.

Team Outlook

Penn State is going to be hard to catch. They’ll get big points at 125, 149, 157, 174, and 197, leaving everyone else in the wake. If guys like Jordan Conaway and Matt McCutcheon can put points on the board, it’s going to be icing on the cake for Cael Sanderson and his travelling takedown machine. North Carolina State is going to be in the race with potential champions at 141 and heavyweight and serious scoring potential at 157 and 165.

Virginia Tech will be a nice contender with great bracketing to go with some star power and some upset potential. Oklahoma State almost assuredly will have a finalist and likely champion at 165 in Alex Dieringer with point-scoring potential throughout the rest of the lineup.

Iowa is going to make a push for a title, but the cupboard is bare in Iowa City in the middle of the lineup, which really hurts the Hawkeyes. They’re going to be tough in the lighter weights and the lower heavy weights, but they’re going to get next to nothing at 157 and 165, and not much from 174. Sam Stoll’s health is in question at heavyweight, but if he’s healthy, he could score some points for Iowa.

I believe the Buckeyes could have four legitimate finalists (Tomasello, Micah Jordan, Bo Jordan, and Kyle Snyder). Johnni DiJulius and Kenny Courts are certainly capable of ending their collegiate careers with All-American finishes, but both are going to need to do some work in the wrestlebacks if they’re going to earn a spot on the podium. Myles Martin stands a serious chance at an All-American finish, but he’s going to have a pair of tough matches early against previous All-American Bryce Hammond in the second round and Blaise Butler in the quarters. Jake Ryan must have done something to provoke the bracket gods because he is certainly feeling their wrath with his placement. He’ll need to score some wins on the backside.

As Kenny Courts’ run propelled the Buckeyes last year, Ohio State will not only need top-tier points out of the likely candidates, but they’ll also need some help in the consolation bracket if they’re going to end up in the top three. 

Check back with Eleven Warriors for coverage on the NCAA Championships throughout the weekend. 

On the strength of five quarterfinalists, Ohio State had a successful Day One of the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships, wrapping up the day within striking distance of Penn State for the team lead. Six of the eight Buckeye qualifiers won by bonus points in the opening round, with four of the six victories coming by pin.

Nathan Tomasello, Micah Jordan, Bo Jordan, Myles Martin, and Kyle Snyder all advanced to the quarterfinals on Friday morning, while Johnni DiJulius remains alive in the wrestlebacks after one day of wrestling. Jake Ryan and Kenny Courts were eliminated after two matches apiece.

Nathan Tomasello started his march toward a second consecutive NCAA title in impressive fashion with a pair of dominant performances on day one of the tournament. Tomasello opened the tournament with a 16-0 tech fall over Iowa State’s Kyle Larson in Round 1 before an 11-2 major decision over Elijah Oliver of Indiana in Round 2. Tomasello’s victory over Oliver was more dominant than the score showed, with Tomasello controlling the match from the opening whistle.

The redshirt sophomore will face #9 seed Dylan Peters of Northern Iowa in Friday morning’s quarterfinal round. Peters actually defeated Tomasello last season at the CKLV Invitational by pin, so Tomasello will need to remain focused if he is going to stay in the championship bracket. The Big Four at 125 are still mostly intact as Thomas Gilman (Iowa) advanced to the quarterfinals in Tomasello’s half of the bracket, as did Nico Megaludis (Penn State) in the bottom half. Joey Dance of Virginia Tech was upset and will need to work in the wrestlebacks to All-American.

Redshirt senior Johnni DiJulius did not begin the tournament the way that he may have hoped, but he is still alive in the consolation bracket to start Day 2 at the NCAA Championships. DiJulius, who earned the #10 seed at 133, pinned Rider’s Robert Deutsch in the opening round before falling to Nebraska’s Eric Montoya in the second round. Montoya clearly did his homework on Johnni and was prepared for DiJulius’ fireman’s carry, though JDJ nearly hit him with it on the edge of the mat. DiJulius will have to win three matches in the wrestlebacks tomorrow if he is going to earn the All-American honors that have eluded him throughout his career.

Micah Jordan made quite the splash in his first NCAA tournament, advancing to the quarterfinals with a pair of nice wins on Thursday. Seeded sixth at 141, the younger Jordan opened the tournament with a pin over Nickell of CSU-Bakersfield and then earned a second win over Minnesota’s Tommy Thorn 5-1 in the second round. Jordan will face Bryce Meredith of Wyoming on Friday morning with the winner being guaranteed an All-American finish. Meredith upset the #3 seed Kevin Jack in round 2 to earn a spot in the quarterfinals.

The Buckeyes did not qualify a wrestler at 149, but the top two seeds look to be headed for a rematch on Saturday night as Zain Retherford (Penn State) and Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) cruised on Thursday.

Jake Ryan started the tournament with a tough test in #6 seed Joe Smith of Oklahoma State. Ryan implemented a nice gameplan and used his counter attacks wisely against Smith’s offense, but it wasn’t enough to earn the win. Ryan led late in the match, but was hit for stalling (much to the surprise of his dad, whose questioning of the ref caused a team warning), which tied the match.

Smith earned a late takedown to steal the match 11-9 in sudden victory. Ryan showed some offense in the wrestlebacks, but was eliminated with a 2-0 loss to Luke Smith of Central Michigan. 157 is dominated by Isaiah Martinez of Illinois and Jason Nolf of Penn State, who are on a collision course for the finals.

Bo Jordan advanced to the quarterfinals with a pair of victories. Bo pinned Kent State’s Tyler Buckwalter in the 3rd period and poured it on late to defeat Virginia Tech’s David McFadden 8-3 to move into the quarterfinals. In Friday’s quarterfinals, Bo will face #6 seeded Steven Rodrigues of Illinois. Alex Dieringer of Oklahoma State also advanced to the quarterfinals in his pursuit of a third consecutive NCAA title at 165. Dieringer is in the top half of the bracket, but Bo’s cousin and possible semifinal opponent Isaac Jordan of Wisconsin also advanced to the quarterfinals.

Myles Martin finds himself in a favorable spot after the first day of competition, earning a trip to the quarterfinals with a pair of nice wins. Martin opened with a 12-4 major decision over Nick Wanzek of Minnesota in the opening round and used two reversals to upset #6 seed Bryce Hammond of Cal State Bakersfield.

Martin stands a great chance to earn All-American honors as a true freshman with a win in the quarterfinals against Matt Reed of Oklahoma. Reed upset #3 seeded Blaise Butler of Missouri in the opening round. Of the top four seeds at 174, only top-seeded Bo Nickal of Penn State remains in the championship bracket as the 2, 3, and 4 seeds were all upset in the first round. This plays into Martin’s favor in a big way.

Senior Kenny Courts gave himself a tough road to a return trip to the All-American podium, losing his opening match to #6 seed Blake Stauffer of Arizona State. Courts waited until the waning seconds of the match to shoot, but was countered by Stauffer for the winning points.

Courts’ career came to an end in the wrestlebacks as he fell to Bubba Scheffel of West Virginia 6-4. Courts was aggressive early on, but couldn’t get out from the bottom and dropped a tough decision. A pair of high seeds at 184 were upset early as #3 Vic Avery (Edinboro) and #4 Domenic Abounader (Michigan) were upset on day one.  

Ohio State did not qualify a wrestler at 197, but the top four seeds advanced into the quarterfinals.

Kyle Snyder, world champion, advanced to the quarterfinals with two matches that will almost certainly have him under surveillance by the NYPD for the remainder of the weekend. Snyder earned his first collegiate pin (!!!) in the opening round against Franklin & Marshall’s Antonio Pelusi before putting on a takedown clinic against Wyoming’s Tanner Harms in the second round. Snyder scored 12 takedowns against Harms and will face Oregon State’s Amarveer Dhesi in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Wrestling resumes on Friday at 11 a.m. with the quarterfinals and wrestlebacks taking place. The action can be seen on ESPNU or the WatchESPN app, or as always, follow me on Twitter for updates.

After ending Session 3 on a high note, the bottom fell out of the Buckeyes' dreams of a repeat NCAA championship with a surprisingly bad start on Friday night.

Despite several early disappointing losses, No. 11-seeded Myles Martin earned a trip to the championship bout at 174 pounds and Kyle Snyder set up a clash of titans at heavyweight with his methodical victory.

Nathan Tomasello advanced to the semifinals to set up a huge match against his Iowa nemesis Thomas Gilman with a nice 10-4 victory over Dylan Peters of Northern Iowa in the quarterfinals. Tomasello fell to 1-2 in the last two seasons against Gilman when the Hawkeye pinned Tomasello in the sudden victory period. Tomasello pushed the pace throughout the match, but Gilman stayed calm and fended off the Buckeye’s attacks.

Tomasello nearly earned a takedown at the end of regulation, but time ran out a second before he completed the takedown, sending the match to sudden victory overtime.

Gilman appeared to be the fresher of the two wrestlers and capitalized, scoring a takedown and subsequent pin (which seemed like it wasn’t really a pin, but that’s water under the bridge) in the sudden victory. Gilman, who is the No. 4 seed, will wrestle No. 3 seed Nico Megaludis of Penn State in Saturday night’s finals. Tomasello will wrestle in the wrestleback semifinals against Michigan’s Conor Youtsey on Saturday morning to advance to the placement matches.

At 133 pounds, senior Johnni DiJulius fell for the second time in the tournament to end his career for the Buckeyes. DiJulius fell to Eric Montoya of Nebraska on Thursday night and lost a 13-8 decision to Air Force’s Josh Martinez to be bounced from the tournament. DiJulius ends his career as the winningest wrestler currently on the team, notching his 100th win as a Buckeye earlier in the season. In the semifinals at 133, top-seeded Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) pinned defending NCAA champ Cody Brewer (Oklahoma) in 21 seconds to advance to the finals, where he will meet Iowa’s #2 seed Cory Clark. Clark defeated No. 3 Zane Richards of Illinois with a last-second takedown.

Micah Jordan made his way to the quarterfinals, but lost a last-second decision to #14 Bryce Meredith of Wyoming. Meredith scrambled late after Jordan had a late takedown and earned a reversal and locked up a cradle to earn the decisive bonus points. Micah dropped to the bloodround, where he lost to Lehigh’s #16 Randy Cruz in a surprisingly one-sided 6-2 decision.

Cruz scored backpoints despite giving up a takedown early to Jordan. Micah was unable to escape from the bottom position, which has been an alarming trend throughout the tournament for a number of Buckeyes. Micah ends his freshman season without All-American honors. Meredith ended up defeating #2 Joey McKenna of Stanford to punch his ticket to Saturday night’s finals. Meredith will meet Oklahoma State’s Dean Heil, who is a St. Edward High School graduate. Heil defeated Anthony Ashnault of Rutgers in the semifinals.

At 149 pounds, the top two seeds will meet in the finals as No. 1 Zain Retherford of Penn State will meet No. 2  Brandon Sorensen of Iowa. The two met in the Big Ten championship bout with Retherford staying undefeated this season.

Jake Ryan was eliminated on Thursday night at 157 pounds, but wrestling fans everywhere were treated to a pair of exciting semifinal bouts on Friday night. Top-seeded and defending NCAA champion Isaiah Martinez was given everything he could handle by #4 Ian Miller of Kent State. IMar scored a takedown in sudden victory against the hobbled Miller to set up a rematch against #3 seed Jason Nolf of Penn State.

Bo Jordan earned a trip to the semifinals on Friday with a one-sided victory over Illinois’ Steven Rodrigues, but Bo took just his third loss of the season in the semifinals. Each of Bo’s losses this season have been at the hands of his cousin, Isaac Jordan, the latest coming by a 5-4 decision. Bo looked the best that he has all season against Isaac, but Isaac had a nice reversal that made the difference. Bo will wrestle in the Virginia Tech’s David McFadden in the consolation semifinals on Saturday morning to place in the top six at 165.

Myles Martin earned his first trip to the NCAA finals with an outstanding Day 2. Admittedly, Martin was aided by some upsets, but his top wrestling looked incredible all weekend. Martin used that top game to score a 2-0 victory in the quarterfinals over Matt Reed of Oklahoma before an impressive 8-2 decision over Lelund Weatherspoon of Iowa State in the semifinals. Martin’s takedowns were the difference, setting up a fourth match this season against top-seeded Bo Nickal of Penn State. Nickal has won all four, but the first two were very close.

Kenny Courts was eliminated at 184 pounds on Thursday night, but top-seeded Gabe Dean gave Cornell their second finalist of the tournament with a big win over Pete Renda of NC State. Dean will look for a second straight national title against TJ Dudley of Nebraska, who defeated Willie Miklus of Missouri in the semis.

The top two seeds at 197 pounds will meet in the finals as No. 1 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) and No. 2 J’Den Cox (Missouri) won their semifinal bouts in convincing fashion.

Kyle Snyder advanced to his second consecutive NCAA championships on Friday night with a pair of impressive victories. He dominated Ameer Dhesi of Oregon State in the quarterfinals before downing No. 3  seed Ty Walz of Virginia Tech in the semifinals by the score of 10-6. Snyder will face No. 1  seed Nick Gwiazdowski of NC State, who is riding an 89 match winning streak and has won the last two NCAA Championships at heavyweight. With any luck, we’ll get to close the finals on Saturday night with Snyder versus Gwiz.

At the conclusion of the second day, the Buckeyes sit in fifth place with 68 points. Virginia Tech has 69.5, Iowa has 77.5, Oklahoma State has 79.5, and Penn State leads the field with an impressive 114.

The action begins on Saturday at 11 AM with the consolation semifinals, followed by the 3rd, 5th, and 7th place matches on ESPNU. The championship matches will air live on ESPN on Saturday night at 8 PM.

Despite tough losses to familiar opponents in the NCAA Semifinals, both Nathan Tomasello and Bo Jordan rebounded to finish in third place in their respective weight classes on Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.

Tomasello met familiar foe Conor Youtsey of Michigan in the consolation semifinals, dispatching the Wolverine with a 10-1 major decision to advance to the third-place match. He took a commanding lead early with a takedown and four near-fall points to close the first period with a 6-0 lead. In the third period, Tomasello added an escape, a takedown, and over three minutes of riding time to earn himself and the team bonus points.

In the 125-pound third-place match, Tomasello defeated David Terao of American University, 5-3. Terao was a game opponent, putting Tomasello in some uncomfortable positions throughout the match with his background in judo. Despite Terao's athleticism, Tomasello was able to secure the victory highlighted by an early takedown and third place to draw his season to a close. Just a redshirt sophomore, Tomasello ends the season as a two-time All-American, with a 27-1 record and a B1G title this year.

After his fourth loss to his cousin, Isaac, Bo Jordan bounced back in a big way and defeated two wrestlers for the second time this season for a third-place finish at 165.

Bo defeated David McFadden of Virginia Tech for the second time this weekend, taking the match by a score of 8-2. The two met in the second round on Thursday and Bo won that match, 8-3. Jordan and McFadden had a close match through two periods, but an escape to start the third and a takedown allowed Jordan to gain separation.

In the third-place match, Bo edged Daniel Lewis of Missouri, 9-7. The two were knotted at 6-6 entering the third period, when Jordan had a nice takedown and rideout to edge the Tiger wrestler. The third-place finish is Bo's second in as many seasons and he ends his sophomore year with a 22-3 record. Jordan is 43-5 after two seasons with a pair of Big Ten finals appearances.

Tomasello and Jordan were the only Buckeyes to wrestle on Saturday morning, as the rest had either been eliminated from the competition or had advanced to tonight's championship match.

Speaking of the championship matches, they are as follows:

The finals will air live on ESPN tonight beginning at 8 p.m.

Check back with Eleven Warriors for results following this evening's action.

Chalk up another national championship for Tom Ryan's wrestling Buckeyes. True freshman Myles Martin, the No. 11 seed in the 174-pound weight class, completed an improbable run by defeating Penn State's Bo Nickal, the No. 1 seed in the division, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Martin earned the title by a score of 11-9 to capture his first national championship in just his first season of collegiate wrestling, becoming the 15th true freshman to win it all. Martin also become the first No. 11 seed to win a national championship since 1979, per Ohio State.

It was a measure of revenge for Martin, who lost to Nickal by fall at the Big Ten championships two weeks ago. Nickal (33-2) also beat Martin 11-5 during the dual meet and pinned him earlier in their careers at Cadet Nationals.

“The coaches were so happy I got All-American, but I wasn't really thinking about it. I was thinking about the next match, keep competing, competing hard.”– Myles Martin

Martin led 2-1 after the first period with a takedown, but Nickal scored with an escape. Nickal got three straight points to open the second period and take a 4-2 lead but Martin came on strong and nearly got a pin, leading 9-4 after two. After another escape, Martin was content to yield stall points and hold off Nickal.

Martin finished third in the conference tournament but will be much happier with a national championship. The Penns Grove, NJ, product finishes his freshman year with a 33-6 record, with a third-place finish in the B1G tourney, All-America honors and a national title.

As a freshman, Martin now has an opportunity to chase the accomplishment of Logan Stieber and become a four-time champion. He's talented enough to do it, but obviously there is a long way to go to reach that level.

Martin's win also clinched a top four finish for Ohio State in the team standings.

Just six months after becoming the youngest American to ever win a World Championship, Ohio State's Kyle Snyder completed his sophomore season with a national championship in the heavyweight division. The No. 2 seed upset No. 1 seed Nick Gwiazdowski of North Carolina State, handing the favorite his first loss of the season (33-1) in sudden victory.

The win gives Ohio State two individual national championships in 2016, as true freshman Myles Martin won the 174-pound weight class earlier tonight.

Gwiazdowski, a two-time defending champion, was riding an 88-match winning streak — the nation’s longest. That didn’t deter the youngest American to ever win a world championship, which Snyder became over the summer.

That streak for Gwiazdowski is history, thanks to Snyder, who won 7-5 at Madison Square Garden in the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship.

Snyder, giving up about 30 pounds to Gwiazdowski, wrestled to a scoreless first period, trying to use his quickness but he was unable to take the advantage. Gwiazdowski earned the first point with an escape to start the second period and built a 3-0 lead before Snyder escaped to get on the board. Kyle trailed 3-1 entering the third.

“It was a fun match. I think it will go down as one of the most exciting heavyweight matches in NCAA history.”– Kyle Snyder

Snyder chose bottom to open the third and got an escape to pull within 3-2, but a Gwiazdowski takedown made things tough. However, the Buckeye sophomore got a late takedown of his own to force overtime. In the overtime, Snyder earned another takedown. North Carolina State challenged the takedown but the call was confirmed after review.

The Woodbine, MD, product out of Our Lady of Good Counsel finishes the season unbeaten at 11-0. He backed up last season’s appearance in the 197-pound finals with tonight’s national championship, making the lifting of his Olympic redshirt worthwhile.

Snyder's victory put Ohio State on the podium in the team standings in third place. 

In the wake of Kyle Snyder's national championship last night, wrestling-mania has taken over Buckeye Nation. Where wrestlers may have once been mistaken for football players, it seems now the opposite is true.

Just got asked if I was Kyle Snyder at the airport

— Tuf Borland (@Tuf_Borland) March 20, 2016

Vico recently helped you better know incoming linebacker Tuf Borland, who was apparently mistaken for Snyder today. Does the incoming freshman from Bolingbrook, IL, bear a striking resemblance to the sophomore wrestling champ? 

You be the judge:

(L-R) Kyle Snyder and Tuf Borland: separated at birth or nah? Nah.

OK, well...they both have short hair, I guess. At any rate, a football player being mistaken for a wrestler is kind of new territory in Columbus.

For the second straight year, Ohio State finished the NCAA Wrestling Championships with a pair of individual champions as Myles Martin and Kyle Snyder each claimed the title in their respective weight classes on Saturday night. Ohio State was unable to repeat as tournament champions, but the Buckeyes finished in third place with 86 points. Penn State ran away with the team title, scoring 123 points in the process. Oklahoma State finished second with 97.5 points.

Martin nabbed Ohio State a championship at 174 pounds and Kyle Snyder did the same in the heavyweight division, and they were joined on the All-American podium by Nathan Tomasello and Bo Jordan, who each scored third-place finishes at 125 and 165, respectively.

Martin, seeded at No. 11 at 174 after a third-place finish at the Big Ten Tournament, wrestled better than his seed and then some, winning his first NCAA title as a true freshman. Myles advanced to the championship bout with a major decision in the opening round, followed by three decisions to punch his ticket for Saturday night. On the biggest stage in college wrestling, Martin made the most of the opportunity and upset No. 1 seeded Bo Nickal of Penn State, 11-9.

Ohio State didn't repeat, but the Buckeyes earned a podium finish with two individual titles and four All-Americans.

Nickal is the wrestling equivalent of a baseball player that is always looking to hit a home run, as the Texan is capable of scoring highlight-reel moves at any time in a match. Nickal defeated Martin three times during the season, most recently with a pin at the Big Ten tournament. In the two previous matches, Martin lost close decisions, so he came into the match with a degree of confidence, despite Nickal’s record only having a single loss to that point.

Martin struck first, countering a Nickal throw attempt in the opening seconds and nearly catching the Nittany Lion on his back. Martin stayed active on the feet and remained aware of Nickal’s explosive throws, catching Nickal on his back in the second period and scoring six big points in the process. Nickal was able to score some points of his own, but Martin’s second period gave him the necessary points to earn his first NCAA title.

Martin began the season wrestling unattached with the plan to redshirt as a true freshman. Martin, along with input from the coaching staff, decided to waive his redshirt season in the beginning of January of 2016 and help the Buckeyes chase a repeat NCAA title. Though the team fell short of a repeat, Martin has to feel confident that they made the correct decision after his national championship. Myles finished his freshman season with a 33-6 record to go along with an NCAA title.

Joining Martin in the NCAA finals was Kyle Snyder, who opted to end his Olympic redshirt season at the same time as Martin ended his redshirt season. Snyder cruised through the heavyweight bracket from the No. 2 seed and squared off against Nick Gwiazdowski of North Carolina State in the championship match. Gwiz came into the match with an 88-match winning streak, but Snyder had a World Championship of his own, so he was unfazed.

Snyder fought back in the third period after giving up a pair of takedowns to Gwiz earlier in the match and fended off a cradle attempt by Gwiazdowski to keep the match close. Snyder scored a late takedown in the third period and neutralized the riding time to head to sudden victory. Snyder scored a takedown in the sudden victory and gave the Buckeyes their second individual champion, snapping Gwiazdowski’s unbeaten streak and his bid for a third consecutive NCAA title.

Tomasello, Bo Jordan, Martin, and Snyder all earned All-America honors by finishing in the top eight in their respective weight classes, and each will return next season for the Buckeyes. Ohio State will only graduate three seniors from the starting lineup, so 2016-17 may see another run for the top of the podium at the NCAA tournament.

The full results of the NCAA Wrestling Championship Finals are as follows:

Thanks for keeping up with the 2015-16 Buckeye wrestling team throughout the season. Be sure to check back with Eleven Warriors throughout the off-season for more on recruiting and the pursuit of the Olympic team for the Buckeye wrestlers.

When Myles Martin took to the mat against top-seeded Bo Nickal in the 174-pound weight class NCAA championship match, he knew he'd already lost three times earlier this season to the Penn State star.

"I approached the match really different than I approached the other match," Martin said Monday. "I wrestled afraid and I kind of gave him too much respect. This time, after having those matches under my belt and realizing what I did wrong and that I need to focus more, I just went out there and wrestled free."

That shift in mindset allowed Martin to top Nickal, 11-9, when it mattered most, making him the first true freshman in program history to win it all and the first 11-seed to take the NCAA crown since 1979.

Not even an hour later, sophomore Kyle Snyder took down another top seed, this time Nick Gwiazdowski of North Carolina State, to win the heavyweight national title.

The two individual national titles led to a third place finish by Ohio State in the team standings, a year after the Buckeyes won the whole thing for the first time in the program's now 95-year history. With Snyder, Martin and a host of other talented youth on roster, it is set to continue its upward trend.

"As a coach, you're looking at the organization as a whole," head coach Tom Ryan said Monday. "You're defending national champions. You have to stay relevant. You don't go from first to 15th. That's a non-option. You've got to do that in a way because it's somewhat of an individual sport as well. You gotta do it in a way that you're maintaining trusting relationships with your student athletes."

Despite Nickal falling to Martin in the 174-pound final, Penn State still won its fifth team championship in six years. Coached by the only collegiate wrestler to never lose a match, Cael Sanderson, the Nittany Lions have a dynasty in place on not only the Big Ten stage but in the national realm.

They don't show signs of stopping either, capturing two individual titles in New York as well and stomping second-place finisher Oklahoma State by 25.5 points in the standings. When matches began Saturday at Madison Square Garden, Penn State already had the team title clinched.

"They've got a strong program with a great leader there," Ryan said of the Nittany Lions and Sanderson.

The east coast breeds the top wrestling talent in the country year in and year out. Martin (New Jersey) and Snyder (Maryland) hail from the area, but spurned Sanderson to be part of what Ryan continues to build in Columbus. Ohio State's third place finish this season is the ninth top-10 showing in the last 10 seasons (which coincide with Ryan's tenure), fifth time in the top five and fourth time among the top three.

"When I got the job here, it was pretty simple thinking that every single year Ohio State wrestling enthusiasts would wake up in the morning and believe they have a chance to win the tournament. I think we're there now," Ryan said. "I think that at least with the roster that we have, we're at the place where, 'Hey, Ohio State can win it. There's no doubt Ohio State can win it.'"

Ohio State can, but is set for an uphill battle against what Sanderson has established State College, Pennsylvania. The Buckeyes are on their way to competing consistently with the Nittany Lions and other top programs, however, with an Olympic training facility in place and a larger one on the way in the next few years. (Ryan said he hopes to be in the new building by 2018. It is set for construction by the Woody Hayes Athletic Center and tennis courts on Olentangy River Road).

“This team can win it next year. There's no question that we have the talent and the people on the roster to win it. That's certainly the goal.”– Tom Ryan

"We're grateful, we're thankful we're here, but our facility is no longer in the top-20 of the United States. We're far behind many schools in the country. Gene (Smith) addressed that," said Ryan, who called Ohio State "the best job in the country."

"We have the money raised to build a complex that will be the nicest on planet Earth. We went to Michigan, who has the nicest in my opinion right now. We saw Cornell's, we've seen Iowa's, Penn State's and took the best of all of them and we'll put something together that tops all of theirs to provide these guys with all the things they need to attain their goals."

Among those goals are individual national titles every year, which yield team laurels. It's part of Ryan's "11 train tracks" approach, with each wrestler honing in on winning it all and what it takes to get there.

"I think there are definitely more pieces than me in this program and we had a lot of guys who didn't All-American but have the talent to possibly be national champs," Snyder said Monday. "It's special that I can be a part of it and I can help this team a couple more years, a couple more seasons.

"But I think even when I leave we're going to be in good hands with guys that we have in the program."

Snyder now turns his attention to the Olympic trials on April 10, something he said Ryan and his staff will work tirelessly to prepare him. He became the youngest world champion in United States history in September.

So yeah, the table is set for Ohio State to form into a perennial title contender.

"If everyone wrestles well, everyone stays healthy and God gives us the ability to just keep winning matches, getting guys that we need and building the program as we get the new facility everything will just change for us," Martin said. "Having guys like Kyle, having an (Regional Training Center) program just helps our program get more guys that we need to compete and beat teams like Penn State, Iowa and Oklahoma State."

The plan was for Snyder and Martin to both redshirt the 2015-16 season, before Ryan and his staff convinced them they could win titles. Snyder moved from the 197-pound weight class to heavyweight, while Martin made an improbable run to the top in his own division.

Four-time national champion and Hodge Trophy Award winner Logan Stieber is out of eligibility and set to join Ryan's staff after the 2016 Olympics trials, a talent that doesn't come around in every recruiting cycle.

But Ryan truly believes he and the Buckeyes have the right pieces in place to not only win championships in the unlikely fashion Martin did or as Snyder did, but move forward as a program to compete with a titan in Penn State and others for team titles.

"Are we going to win it? Are things going to fall into place where people stay healthy and live clean lives and continue to live clean lives? Who knows," Ryan said. "I would say right now we're in a good place. We were first and third. We don't want to be third, but if third was the best we could do, then we take third. This team can win it next year. There's no question that we have the talent and the people on the roster to win it. That's certainly the goal."

During his 15-year MMA career, Randleman fought on four continents against the the likes of Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipović, Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, Fedor Emelianenko, and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

“The Monster” fought with the unrelenting ferocity of a man who faced tougher things in life than a professional fighter wanting to knock the consciousness from his opponent’s skull. That, along with his alien physique, cavalier attitude, and bleached-blond hair, earned him fans around the globe.

But when Randleman’s Ohio State wrestling family gathered at Forno Kitchen and Bar in Columbus' Short North in early March, his family, teammates, and friends only mentioned his pioneering career in passing.

That's because Randleman left behind a legacy that can't be measured with title belts or pay-per-view buys. To talk to those who knew him longest almost turns his professional fighting career into an insignificant hobby born of necessity.

Before The Monster, Randleman was one of 11 Randleman kids in Sandusky, Ohio, located on the banks of Lake Erie near Cedar Point, just two hours north of Columbus.

Randleman starred in football, track, and wrestling for Sandusky High School in the late eighties, but things never came easy for him.

He faced racial abuse from opposing fans—not that Sandusky was a racial safe harbor, either. That was where an off-duty cop put a loaded gun to the teenager’s head because he thought Randleman’s car outranked his skin.

Yet celestial circumstance and hardship never hardened his heart against humanity.

After fathering a son, Calvin, at 17, Randleman saw a Toledo football scholarship as his salvation. That, however, was before he met Ohio State wrestling coach Russ Hellickson.

Hellickson’s eyes misted over while describing Randleman. To the former coach, it was an honor to call Kevin his son. Their relationship started with Hellickson’s recruiting swing through Sandusky in 1989.

Hellickson pitched the soon-­to-­be state champion as the cornerstone of Ohio State’s first championship wrestling team… and a singlet the Buckeyes would wear the following season.

“Kevin's eyes lit up,” Hellickson recalled. “He said, ‘Can I keep it?’ I said, ‘No, that'd be a recruiting violation, but you can have one if you come to Ohio State.’”

Randleman became a Buckeye on the spot.

What was Hellickson getting, besides a mutant with a 4.3 40­-yard dash and a 38-inch vertical leap? A young man who took loyalty to the grave.

“Did you see the ashes?” Hellickson asked, referring to the urn displayed at Randleman's Sandusky memorial. He left the Ohio State wrestling tattoo that covered his heart unmentioned.                        

Getting out of Sandusky wasn't the only hurdle to a better life. Randleman's genetics gifted him the ability to dominate high schoolers, but as former United States Marine and Ohio State heavyweight wrestler George Pardos said, "Everybody is good in college."

Randleman's first year proved eye-­opening, as he struggled to adjust before his competitive instinct took over.

“He realized there were a lot better guys out there,” Pardos, who wrestled the smaller Randleman every week for four years, said. “So from his [first] year to [second] year, he became a beast.”

Hellickson credited former NCAA champions and OSU assistants Mark Coleman and Jim Jordan as the key teachers in giving the talented but technically unsound Randleman a front row seat to the dedication required for greatness. It proved to be a recipe for success given Randleman's addiction to the weight room.

Randleman exploded onto the national scene in 1991 as a redshirt freshman, winning a Big Ten championship and reaching the NCAA championship at 167 pounds, where he met Iowa junior Mark Reiland.

The two split their previous matches. Reiland pinned Randleman earlier in the year but Randleman struck back at the Big Ten championships, 9-8, to become Ohio State’s first Big Ten champion since 1988.

Randleman went up early, scoring a takedown to go up 2-0, before Reiland escaped and scored his own takedown to stake himself to a 3-2 lead to at the end of the first period.

Reiland chose down to start the second period, and he got another escape to go up 4-2. The Hawkeye scored another takedown that period as his lead surged, 6-2. When Randleman attempted a reverse, Reiland caught him and threw him onto his back. Reiland earned three more points to make it 9-2 before pinning Randleman with one second left in the second period.

Pardos believes Randleman wouldn't have become a legend without suffering that defeat, particularly in that fashion. “It changed his perspective on things,” Pardos said.

Randleman's current regimen wasn't enough, but the gut­-rending realization didn't crush the 20­-year­-old; it helped re­focus him and fueled his competitive determination.

Will Knight, a three­-time letterman at Ohio State, had to try out to make the wrestling team. As a freshman yet to prove his mettle, he may have been the first person outside the program to get a glimpse of Randleman's impending reckoning.

It came during a 2 p.m. political science class on the first day of fall quarter. Knight attended class in dress clothes, while Randleman— already The Man—showed up wearing a string tank-top.

“Afterwards, I walked up to him and said, ‘Hey, Kevin Randleman, I'm Will—’ and he cut me off,” Knight said. Randleman recognized him from a victory over a former Sandusky teammate at a prep tournament over two years prior.

“I was like, ‘You know why I came to Ohio State, Kevin? I saw you in the national finals.’”

Randleman didn't take it as a compliment.

“That shit ain't going to happen again,” he replied.

It didn't. Randleman's 1992 season would go down as one of the greatest individual seasons in Ohio State wrestling history.

Though Randleman enjoyed the spoils of being a successful athlete on a college campus, it never affected his training or standing within the team. He never missed a workout, and demanded the same dedication from those that trained with him.

Eric Smith, a two­-time All-­American and best man at Randleman's wedding, said injured teammates found ways to attend practice just to watch him wrestle because, “You always knew something crazy was going to happen.”

Randleman never took any day off—certainly not the days which he had to make weight.

“He had a really high metabolism. So Kevin would wait 'til the very last second to cut weight,” Smith said. “And Kevin was the only person on the team who could lose 12 pounds in an hour. He'd put on a sweatsuit and just sweat, sweat, sweat. An hour later he'd be underweight.”

He entered the 1992 Big Ten championship in top condition and undefeated at 177 pounds with an arsenal of takedowns and finishing moves honed over thousands of training hours. To defend his title, he'd have to go through Iowa senior and two-time All-American Bart Chelesvig… and more racial abuse.

“It [was] at Wisconsin but it [was] packed with Iowa fans,” Knight said. "And they were all yelling all sorts of racist stuff, but that was the wrong thing to do with him.”

Randleman dealt with racism his whole life. It was nothing new to him.

“It didn't rattle him. He was like, ‘Okay, now I'm going to embarrass your kid. I'm going to embarrass your guy now.’”

Randleman mauled Chelesvig from the jump, scoring a takedown one minute into the match to go ahead 2-0. Chelesvig earned a dubious escape call to end the first period only down a point.

Infuriated, Randleman chose down in the second, and “Granby rolled” into an escape seconds into the period to go up 3-1. Immediately thereafter, and with the alacrity of a scorpion’s strike, he leveled Chelesvig with a powerful double-leg takedown, 5-1.

Chelesvig earned another escape to make it 5-2 before getting deep on a single leg takedown, but Randleman’s strength thwarted the attempt.

Chelesvig chose down to start the third period, and escaped within 20 seconds to cut Randleman’s lead to 5-3. Randleman beared down in attempt to close out the championship.

Trailing 5­-3 with a 1:30 left in the third period, the Hawkeyes hit their boiling point. Chelesvig, frustrated by a lack of a stalling call, tripped the Buckeye as he threw him off the mat.

A brouhaha erupted in the aftermath, but the cheap­ shot wasn't the problem. As Russ Hellickson went ballistic on legendary Iowa coach Dan Gable and Hawkeye fans, announcers said "debris" had been thrown on the mat.

Though the cameras didn't catch the deed, Knight saw it live.

“Somebody threw a can of dip from the stands at his head. I don't know what [was] more impressive, [Randleman] seeing it and ducking it or the guy throwing it that precise at his head,” Knight said.

No matter, Randleman vanquished Chelesvig a minute later. Unfortunately for the two-time Big Ten champion, he was still in hostile territory.

“We were back in the hallway, and this Iowa girl walked by and [slurred] him... all because he beat some Iowa boy,” Knight remembered. “Like, really? After all that? That's what it comes down to?”

Maybe for some Iowa fans, but not for Randleman.

Knight recalled a time the two were in Michigan's locker room at the 1992 NWCA National Duals in Ann Arbor. They came across Mark Reiland, the Hawkeye wrestler who pinned Randleman for the 1991 national championship. He and Randleman got along swimmingly.

“There was no animosity there,” Knight said, still somewhat mystified to this day.

The 1992 season culminated with the undefeated No.3-seeded Randleman facing Nebraska’s No. 5-seeded Corey Olson, who toppled the tournament’s No. 1 seed, Northern Iowa’s Rich Powers, in the semifinals.

Randleman took less than two periods to pin the man who left Nebraska as its second all-time falls leader, finishing the 1992 season with a staggering 42-0-3 record.

It was only his third year in the program.

Kevin Randleman and his Ohio State teammates.

Injuries plagued Randleman's junior campaign in 1993. He weathered a torn knee ligament all the way to the second round of the NCAA Championships at 177 pounds, where he faced Central Connecticut's Mark Frushone. He would leave the mat a Buckeye legend.

Calamity struck midway through the match when Randleman dislocated his jaw. Because the injury didn't occur as the result of an illegal maneuver, Randleman faced disqualification if he couldn't continue after an injury timeout.

There was only one play to make, at least for him. Randleman popped his jaw back into place without medical assistance, continued the match, and dropped Frushone, 10­-5.

Kyle Rackney of Cornell gave the damaged Buckeye a stiff quarterfinals contest, but in the end he as well proved mortal. The Big Red wrestler fell 4­-3.

Iowa's Ray Brinzer met Randleman in the semifinals, and he too proved no match for the reigning champ. Randleman disposed of him 9­-6 to advance to the championship, broken bones and torn ligaments be damned.

There, Randleman faced a rematch with Nebraska's Olson. Despite the revenge factor and his foe's depleted status, the Cornhusker once again fell short. Randleman dispatched him, 5­-2, for his second national championship in as many years.

To outsiders, Randleman was the king of the sport. What they didn’t know it would be Randleman's last official act as a Buckeye until his 2004 introduction into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame.

Ohio State ruled Randleman academically ineligible for the 1992­-93 season.

“The pressure of [becoming] a three­-time national champ got to him,” Smith conceded. “That was the easy way out from competing. You can't compete if you're not eligible,” Smith said before noting Randleman's academic troubles had nothing to do with intelligence. “He wasn't a dumb guy. College was easy for him.”

Despite his championship glory, “Randlepoppy” was now a 22-­year­-old father with no source of income and no résumé outside the collegiate wrestling mat.

Randleman never hid from his self-­inflicted wounds. “I did a lot of dumb shit at Ohio State,” he conceded in his last known interview earlier this year.

Severed from the team, Randleman could've returned to hustling Sandusky streets, becoming another one of America's rags-­to­-riches-­to-­rags story in the process. He chose perseverance.

Despite not wearing football pads in nearly a decade, Randleman resurfaced with the Arena Football League's St. Louis Stampede in 1995. The league shuttered the franchise after one season.

His life once again in financial limbo, his Ohio State wrestling family offered him the lifeline he needed when he got a call from his old mentor, Mark Coleman. Coleman’s plan involved the exploding mixed martial arts scene, into which Coleman had ventured after future WWE star Kurt Angle took his spot on the 1996 Olympic wrestling team.

“Oh shit, who I got to kill?”

“I was sitting at home in Sandusky, Ohio, and I had my oldest son, Calvin, with me, and we were watching the [1996] WWE SummerSlam or something,” Randleman recalled in 2013. “Mark Coleman called me and asked me if I wanted to fight, and I said, ‘Nah, not really.’ And then he said, ‘$30,000.’ So I said, ‘Oh shit, who I got to kill?’”

As it turned out, Randleman didn't have to kill anyone. He just had to win three fights in a single night, which was no spectacular feat given his history.

A few months later—October 22nd, 1996 to be specific—it took Randleman under 17 minutes to dispose of three professional fighters at Universal Vale Tudo Fighting 4 in Brazil. He submitted the more experienced Dan Bobish with a fusillade of punches to win the tournament.                        

A monster was born. 

Friends, family and former teammates gathered to remember Kevin in early March.

George Pardos fondly recalled a time at a road match when he was holding Randleman's toddler son, Calvin. They had all just eaten a ­home-­cooked meal, and Calvin spit up on him.

“Kevin ran over screaming, ‘George, what are you doing torturing my son?’” Pardos said, laughing.

Eric Smith will cherish a brotherly text conversation the two had only a week before Randleman's passing.

“When people pass away, other people will say, ‘I wish I would've said this. I wish I would've said that,’” Smith said. “I'll always remember is his energy, and how I got to tell him how much he means to me. That means a lot.”

To Will Knight, Randleman's story of not succumbing to adversity inspires the at-­risk youth he coaches in Shaker Heights, Ohio. “He did the best the could with the adversity in his life, and he was determined to not let it bring him down.”

Randleman came to Ohio State as a boy and left a man. We would not know him as we do today if he had chosen Toledo football over Ohio State wrestling. 

“When I think of Ohio State, I think of the greatest university in the world,” Randleman said in 2015. “I met and am friends with some of the greatest people I've ever known while I was there. A black kid from Sandusky, Ohio, you just don't think you will get the opportunity to represent the school that in Ohio, is the only thing that walks.”

He shouldn’t have been surprised. Randleman took a short hand from life but chose to surround himself with good people that helped him get where he needed be. Add in his natural work ethic, and it’s a story that reads like destiny.

Maybe it was.

You can donate to the Kevin Randleman Memorial Fund. Proceeds support Randleman's surviving family and The Monster Wrestling Academy in Las Vegas.

The Buckeyes have been incredibly successful in the past decade under the watchful eye of Tom Ryan, and that success can be traced back to the Buckeyes’ victories on the recruiting trail. While Ryan is the head coach, he hands the reins off to assistant coach J Jaggers when it comes to recruiting, and Jaggers is nearly as impressive as a recruiter as he was a wrestler himself. The two-time NCAA champion Jaggers has once again brought one of the best crops of incoming student-athletes together to compete for Big Ten and NCAA titles as Buckeyes.

Below, we’ll take a look at the wrestlers from the Class of 2016 that will toe the line for the Buckeyes and make some guesses as to how they may fit into the lineup.

Luke Pletcher (Greater Latrobe HS, Greater Latrobe, Pennsylvania) — No. 2 Nationally at 138 by InterMat, No. 10  overall by FloWrestling
Pletcher cemented himself in the record books of Pennsylvania high school wrestling, winning Pennsylvania AAA state titles as a freshman, sophomore, and senior and earning runner-up as a junior. Pletcher ended his career with a 166-5 record, which also featured four championships at the notable Powerade Tournament. Pletcher’s style is precise and he is excellent at picking his spots from the neutral position.

Though that style often leads to low-scoring matches, Pletcher should feel comfortable in tight matches in the Big Ten where the margin for error is slim in most cases. The Pennsylvania native stands out from other recent high-profile recruits to sign with Ohio State in that he does not often wrestle freestyle or Greco Roman, opting to focus on folkstyle. Pletcher projects to wrestle at either 133 or 141 in college and may step into the lineup at 133 as a true freshman.

Isaiah White (Oak Park River Forest HS, Oak Park, Illinois) — No. 1  Nationally at 160 lbs by InterMat, No. 14 overall by Flo Wrestling
White was a bit of a late commitment, but he decided to wrestle for Ohio State in late January and capped off an outstanding prep career with his third consecutive state title. White is incredibly skilled on his feet, comparing favorably to the Buckeyes’ Myles Martin with his variety of attacks and long frame. White boasts an incredible 127-7 career record, including a perfect 26-0 record as a senior.

White is a standout freestyle wrestler, earning national titles at Fargo in both 2013 and 2014. With his outstanding high school schedule and freestyle achievements, White looks poised to make an impact in the Big Ten from Day 1 as a Buckeye. It has been rumored that Bo Jordan and Myles Martin will each move up a weight class in 2016, so White could get his crack at the Big Ten as a true freshman.

Elijah Cleary (Lake Highland Prep High School, Orlando, Florida) —  No. 12 Nationally at 170 by InterMat
Cleary graduates as a three-time Florida state finalist, finishing runner-up as a sophomore at 132 before consecutive titles at 160 and 170 in his junior and senior seasons. Cleary’s two championship seasons  were thanks to an impressive 115-2 record in his last two seasons.

Cleary placed three times at the NWCA Nationals, taking 3rd as a sophomore, 5th as a junior, and 2nd as a senior. Though not as high-profile of a recruit as White or Pletcher, Cleary is a tough wrestler and will provide some much-needed depth in the upper half of the lineup.

Kevin Snyder (Our Lady of Good Counsel HS, Maryland) — 190 lbs
Kevin is the younger brother of World and NCAA champion Kyle Snyder, so his signing with Ohio State shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. Snyder has placed three times at the National Prep tournament, finishing 8th, 5th, and 4th as a senior. His 4th place finish is notable because he placed behind InterMat’s #1, 2, and 16 ranked wrestlers at 190 in the country. The younger Snyder is unlikely to have the same impact as his older brother, Kevin will serve as an excellent drill partner and serviceable reserve wrestler in the upper weights for the foreseeable future.

Fritz Schierl (Stevens Point HS, Stevens Point, Wisconsin) — 160 lbs
Schierl is a two-time state placers in Wisconsin, earning a fourth place finish as a sophomore. His only loss as a senior came in the state finals, where he lost a 6-3 decision. Schierl is a pinning whiz with some serious credentials in both freestyle and Greco Roman in addition to his skills in folkstyle. Schierl’s unique skill set in Greco may prove beneficial for the team, especially in the middle of the lineup. Myles Martin may want to take a few extra practice rounds against Schierl before facing Bo Nickal in the future. Schierl is most likely to be a backup, but he’ll provide depth to the middle of the lineup.

In addition to these committed wrestlers, Ohio State is also in the running for Nick Reenan, InterMat’s #2 wrestler at 195 and Flo Wrestling’s #4 overall wrestler in the country. Reenan was a state champion in Texas as a freshman before transferring to Pennsylvania’s Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory School, one of the nation’s top programs. Reenan won gold medals in freestyle and Greco-Roman at the Junior Pan Am Games, and spent time at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs honing his craft. Reenan’s Greco and freestyle chops make him one of the most desired recruits in the country, and for good reason.

He was initially committed to Northwestern, but opted to decommit from Northwestern following the dismissal of head coach Drew Pariano. Reenan is a star in the classroom as well as on the mat, so he should have his pick of schools.

Ohio State should be in the running for his services, thanks to the star-power in the upper weights and the Ohio Regional Training Center. Arizona State with Olympic coach Zeke Jones and Penn State are potential landing spots for Reenan, but Penn recently threw it’s hat into the ring as Reenan’s mentor Brandon Slay (2000 Olympic gold medalist and fellow Texan) was hired to run the Pennsylvania Regional Training Center. The Quakers have had some success in the upper weights at the NCAA tournament recently, and Slay will be a big draw for guys with Olympic aspirations.

Not only is Reenan skilled, but he is versatile, as well. It’s been mentioned that he may compete anywhere between 160 and 197 in college, so Reenan will be a welcome addition to any program he selects.

In addition to the above wrestlers, the Buckeyes were also in the running for a pair of elite wrestlers in the 170 lb weight class, but fell short on both. Alex Marinelli (St. Paris Graham HS, Ohio) was a high school teammate of Bo and Micah Jordan and had initially verballed to Ohio State before changing his mind and signing with rival Iowa. Marinelli won his fourth individual state title this season and was part of four OHSAA Division II state championship teams for the Falcons.

The Buckeyes also missed on consensus No. 1 overall prospect Mark Hall of Apple Valley, Minnesota. Hall won an incredible six individual state titles (Minnesota allows 7th and 8th graders to compete at the varsity level) to go along with six team titles and ended his storied career with an incredible record of  277-4. Hall elected to wrestle for wrestling legend Cael Sanderson and Penn State, so he will be a familiar face to Buckeye fans if he isn’t already.

Be sure to check back next week as I take a page from Birm’s playbook and look at some of the biggest recruits in the Class of 2017 and beyond.