The Ohio State Wrestling Buckeyes improved to 1-0 on Saturday afternoon with a 27-15 victory over the host Arizona State Sun Devils. The Buckeyes won six of ten matches, including five wins by bonus points to notch the first team win of the young season.

Jose Rodriguez notched his first career dual meet victory with a dominant 13-0 major decision over Joshua Kramer of Arizona State. Rodriguez controlled the match from the opening whistle and utilized a smothering top game to rack up over four minutes of riding time on his way to a 13-0 major decision, giving the Buckeyes a 4-0 lead after the first match.

Brendan Fitzgerald dropped a 5-2 decision to Ali Naser, pulling the Sun Devils to within a point in the team score.

Twelfth ranked Ke-Shawn Hayes scored early and often, taking out Tyler Sage with a 15-0 tech fall midway through the second period. The tech fall, which was Ke-Shawn’s second of the season, gave the Buckeyes a 9-3 lead after three matches.

Micah Jordan started like he was shot out of a cannon, rolling to a 10-4 lead after the first period thanks to five takedowns in the opening frame. A late reversal by Maruca prevented a major decision from Jordan, who earned a 15-8 decision and gave the Buckeyes a 12-3 lead heading into the match at 157.

Jake Ryan’s early season struggles continued as he dropped a surprising 13-12 decision to Joshua Shields at 157. Ryan appeared to run out of steam late in the match, which saw some crazy scrambles initiated by both wrestlers. Ryan fell to 2-2 on the season with the loss, which pulled the Sun Devils to within six of the Buckeyes.

After the break, Cody Burcher dropped a hard-fought 4-3 decision to No. 9 ranked Anthony Valencia at 165. Valencia scored a pair of early takedowns to take a 4-2 lead, but Burcher fought hard to turn Valencia, but he was unable to score any points off of a tilt. The Buckeyes clung to a 12-9 lead after six matches.

While wrestling fans were hoping to see a battle between top-ranked Bo Jordan and No. 8 Zahid Valencia at 174, Buckeye head coach Tom Ryan sent Seth Williams out to take on Valencia. Valencia took his frustrations out on the young Buckeye, ending the match at 1:44 with a pin. The Sun Devils momentarily took a 15-12 lead with three matches left in the meet.

Myles Martin made short work of Jacen Petersen, scoring at will on his way to an 18-3 tech fall in just 3:13. Martin led 16-3 after the first period, and a quick takedown in the second period gave the Buckeyes the lead for good with just two matches remaining.

No. 12 Kollin Moore wrestled like he was double parked and pinned Sullivan Cauley in just 1:05. In that time, Moore racked up three takedowns to go along with the pin, which locked up the victory for the Buckeyes with just one match remaining.

Top-ranked Kyle Snyder proved that he is head and shoulders ahead of the rest of the field at heavyweight in the NCAA, dismissing No. 4 Tanner Hall with a 20-8 major decision. While Snyder proved that he was able to score takedowns at will, I’d still like to see him do a bit of riding in the top position and work for a turn.

The Buckeyes improve to 1-0 with the victory, while the Sun Devils fall to 1-1 in dual meets. Ohio State will be in action on Tuesday when they take on Kent State and Cleveland State in a modified tri meet at Kent State University. 

After a win out in the desert to begin the dual meet season, Ohio State’s fifth-ranked wrestlers will head north for an in-state tri match with Cleveland State and host Kent State on Tuesday night. The Buckeyes will wrestle both the Vikings and Golden Flashes at the same time, with matches scheduled to take place simultaneously on two mats.

The match will begin at 7:00 on Tuesday night, and will be streamed live

The unusual schedule of events can be found HERE, including which mat to watch.

Let’s take a look at what to expect when the Buckeyes travel to Kent State to take on a pair of Ohio schools for the Thanksgiving Throwdown 2016.

Kent State Golden Flashes

Head Coach: Jim Andrassy

Andrassy is beginning his 14th year at the helm of his alma mater. He has been in the corner for seven All-American finishes from five wrestlers, including NCAA champion Dustin Kilgore. Andrassy is joined by Matt Hill (Edinboro), Danny Mitcheff (Kent State), and recent Ohio State graduate Johnni DiJulius.

Ohioans on the Kent State Roster:

Most of them. 26 of the 31 wrestlers on the current Kent State roster hail from the Buckeye state.

Notable Golden Flash Wrestlers

No. 17 Anthony Tutulo (RS So, 133)

Tutulo is a two-time state champion for Lake Catholic High School (Mentor) and has made his mark for the Golden Flashes in his time in the lineup. Tutulo went 24-18 last season, wrestling up at 141 before dropping down to 133 this season. Tutulo is 8-0 on the young season, including a win against Ohio’s Cam Kelly, who is frequently on the fringe of the rankings.

Seth Beard (Fr, 125)

Beard is likely to redshirt, but he made news as a high school senior for being the first wrestler in Ohio to defeat a senior at the state tournament when that wrestler is seeking a fourth state title. Beard knocked off Tyler Warner of Uhrichsville Claymont in the state semifinals 6-4 when Warner was just two wins away from his fourth state title. Beard is also the first state champion for Napoleon High School, which happens to be my alma mater.

Cleveland State Vikings

Head Coach: Ben Stehura

Stehura, in his ninth season as head coach at Cleveland State, successfully navigated a rocky period in which Cleveland State briefly ended the program before reinstating the wrestling team. Last season, Stehura coached two wrestlers who each won a pair of matches at the NCAA tournament, but both wrestlers have since graduated. Josh Moore (Penn State) and Freddy Garcia (Lock Haven) are Cleveland State’s assistant coaches.

Ohioans on the Cleveland State Roster:

Like Kent State, most of Cleveland State’s starters hail from Ohio.

Notable Viking Wrestlers:

In this section, I typically note wrestlers that are ranked or are previous NCAA All-Americans, but the Cleveland State wrestling team is in a transitional year, and they feature neither any ranked wrestlers (in the InterMat rankings) nor returning All-Americans.

Key Matches:

Ohio State vs Cleveland State

141: No. 12 Ke-Shawn Hayes vs Evan Cheek

Cheek is a highly-decorated wrestler from Milan Edison High School and gave Nathan Tomasello quite an unexpected challenge early in their match last season at 125. Now that he’s up to 141, it’ll be interesting to see if he continues to impress. Speaking of impress, I’ve yet to see Hayes wrestle in person, so tonight is something that I’m really looking forward to. Hayes dropped a tough match to Kevin Jack of NC State, so it’ll be interesting to see how he responds in the next few matches.

125: Jose Rodriguez vs Spencer Dusi

Rodriguez is still trying to get his bearings as a collegiate wrestler, but has been impressive to date. He should cruise in this match, but still get an opportunity to sharpen his skills.

Ohio State vs Kent State

133: Brendan Fitzgerald vs No. 17 Anthony Tutulo

Fitzgerald impressed at the Eastern Michigan Open with some risky pins, defeating a pair of ranked opponents. Will he be able to pull off a third pin over a ranked wrestler in relief of Nathan Tomasello?

174: No. 1 Bo Jordan vs Jairod James

James has an impressive 8-1 record coming into the tri meet, but hasn’t faced anyone like Bo. The elder Jordan brother has yet to compete this season, but could start his campaign tonight.

Match Outlook

If Ohio State were to roll out their full starting lineup including Tomasello, Bo Jordan, and Kyle Snyder, they could conceivably win 20 out of 20 matches tonight. With the odd format of scheduling, we may see a variety of backups wrestle at least once against their fellow Ohioans. The Buckeyes should cruise to a pair of dual meet victories before setting their sights on the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite on the first weekend of December. 

The Ohio State wrestling team took a short trip up I-71 on Tuesday night, and returned home with a pair of victories over in-state foes.

In an alternating tri-meet wrestled on two mats, the Buckeyes faced both the Kent State Golden Flashes and the Cleveland State Vikings on Tuesday night inside the MAC Center on Kent State's campus.

The Buckeyes dominated the Vikings from the opening bout, winning all ten matches on the way to a 52-0 shutout. Six Buckeyes pinned their Cleveland State counterparts while two others scored technical fall victories.

Kent State put up more of a fight, but the Buckeyes still earned a hard-fought 36-13 decision over the Golden Flashes. Kent State wrestlers won the first two matches to jump out to an early lead.

Kent State's Anthony Tutulo showed that he did his homework on Brendan Fitzgerald. Tutulo kept Fitzgerald out of his comfort zone and scored a decisive 15-2 major decision at 133. Casey Sparkman followed that win up with an upset of Jake Ryan at 157. Aside from a fall at 174, the Buckeyes controlled the Flashes and won three matches by pin and three by tech fall to distance themselves from the hosts.

Assistant coach J Jaggers noted the team’s toughness and preparation, especially at the upper weights. “Our three big men really set the tone for us as far as pushing each other in the practice room, and that is clearly paying off in the matches,”Jaggers said. He that the non-starters (Fitzgerald, Kresevic, and Williams) wrestled hard, but they need to be more reliable when the time comes to step into the lineup.

Regarding the projected starters, both Jaggers and head coach Tom Ryan indicated Nathan Tomasello and Bo Jordan will be back in the lineup for the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in two weeks.

Ryan said Tomasello could have wrestled in the tri-meet, but was held out as a precaution. “Nate is as tough as they come,” claimed Ryan. “I know he wanted to be out there tonight, but we wanted to give him a little bit more time to get healthy before we set him loose.”

In all, the Buckeyes had seven wrestlers go 2-0 on the evening and won 17 out of a possible 20 matches. The staff was pleased with the results, but noted the competition is set to get much stiffer in the coming weeks.

Ohio State will return to the mat for the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas next month.

While many Ohioans spent Wednesday preparing for Thanksgiving and thinking of Saturday's clash between Ohio State and MIchigan, Jordan and Jacob Decatur had other things in mind. The Decatur brothers, sophomores at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, committed to Ohio State:

I'm proud to announce that I am verbally committed to The Ohio state university to continue my wrestling and academic career #buckeynation

— Jordan Decatur (@Jordandecatur10) November 23, 2016

The verbals from the Decaturs continued the Buckeyes’ recent trend of securing commitments in pairs as Ohio State previously signed Kaleb Romero and Chase Singletary back to back. 

Jordan is the larger of the two brothers, and the more heralded of the pair, currently ranked No. 1 in the country at 126. Jordan’s top ranking is based largely on his freestyle accolades as he is a two-time Fargo national champion. Jordan was unable to compete in the postseason as a freshman last winter due to a disqualification due to a weigh-in violation, though he was the projected champion. Jordan projects as either a 125 or 133 in college, though much can change in the course of three years.

Jacob isn’t ranked as high as his brother, but he is currently ranked No. 13 in the country at 106 by InterMat. Jacob placed sixth at 106 at Ohio’s Division II state wrestling tournament as a freshman. Jacob projects as a 125 in college.

If CVCA sounds familiar to wrestling fans, it’s because NCAA champion and current Buckeye Nathan Tomasello won four state titles for the school before coming to Ohio State. The Decatur brothers would be in great company should they be able to replicate his success on the high school and collegiate levels.

The Decaturs are the first two commits from the Class of 2019, but Class of 2017 signee Kaleb Romero is hoping to bring top-ranked David Carr of Massillon Perry into the fold in 2018. 

One more left for the triple threat @Jordandecatur10@Carrchamp

— Kaleb Roero (@KalebRomero7) November 24, 2016

Check back with Eleven Warriors for the latest in wrestling commitments as they happen. 

The Buckeyes will take a big step up in competition this weekend when they head west for the 2016 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and take on some of the best teams in the country. Cornell, Virginia Tech, Michigan, and North Carolina State will all send excellent wrestlers to lock horns in the early season tournament, which starts Friday at 12 PM EST.

Let's take a look at what to expect when the CKLV kicks off on Friday, which can be streamed live on FloWrestling (subscription required).  

125

2015 Champion: Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State)
Buckeye at 125: Jose Rodriguez

Wrestlers to watch at 125: Connor Schram (Stanford) and Joey Dance (Virginia Tech) lead a competitive field, though they are undoubtedly the favorites. Rodriguez will get a chance to add another chapter to his personal history with Austin Assad (Michigan) as Rodriguez defeated Assad twice in the state tournament in the championship bout. Josh Terao (American), Sean Russell (Edinboro), and Brent Fleetwood (Central Michigan) should factor into the placement at 125.

133

2015 Champion: Nahshon Garrett (Cornell)
Buckeye at 133: No. 3 Nathan Tomasello

Wrestlers to watch at 133: Tomasello and Earl Hall (Iowa State) should meet in the finals, as long as Tomasello doesn’t show signs of rust as he kicks off his junior season. Hall is ranked fifth in the latest InterMat rankings, but has shown some serious inconsistency throughout his career so don’t bet the rent on him. Stevan Micic (Michigan) and Ali Naser (Arizona State) are excellent freestylers, but have a way to go before they are among the elite in folkstyle. Anthony Tutulo of Kent State looked impressive in the tri meet against the Buckeyes, so he is not one to overlook for placement potential.

141

2015 Champion: Micah Jordan (Ohio State)
Buckeye at 141: Brendan Fitzgerald

Wrestlers to watch at 141: Bryce Meredith (Wyoming) and Joey McKenna (Stanford) had a battle in the semifinals of last year’s NCAA tournament, with Meredith taking the 5-3 decision. Meredith is a wild scrambler and finds himself in some incredibly precarious positions. Kevin Jack (NC State), Randy Cruz (Lehigh), and George Dicamillo (Virginia) also have a shot at taking the title at 141, but the field is pretty wide-open beyond the top five. Fitzgerald is filling in for Ke-Shawn Hayes, who is out due to an injury sustained in training. Coach Ryan indicated that he believes Hayes will return to the lineup after being out for the next 4-6 weeks.

149

2015 Champion: Lavion Mayes (Missouri)
Buckeye at 149: No. 6 Micah Jordan

Wrestlers to watch at 149: Micah has won several matches against Virginia Tech’s Solomon Chisko to this point in his career, which should give him some confidence heading into the weekend. Jordan also has wins over Laike Gardner (Lehigh) and Justin Oliver (Central Michigan) earlier this season, who are also clear front-runners for placement in Las Vegas. It’s safe to suggest we’ll see yet another Jordan-Chisko bout in the finals.

157

2015 Champion: Ian Miller (Kent State)
Buckeye at 157: Jake Ryan

Wrestlers to watch at 157: Ryan will have his hands full at 157 against a tough field, especially since Ryan has been up and down to this point in the season. Dylan Palacio (Cornell) and Max Rohskopf (NC State) are the leaders of the pack, but Brian Murphy (Michigan) and Richie Lewis (Rutgers) aren’t far behind. Murphy was actually leading Rohskopf at the NWCA All-Star Classic before the Wolfpack wrestler hit one of his funky arm traps and pinned Murphy late in the match. Victor Lopez of Bucknell and Colin Heffernan lead the next wave of contenders, joined by Russ Parsons of Army. Ryan has an opportunity to avenge 2016 losses against both Shields of Arizona State and Sparkman of Kent State, who are both in the field. Division II NCAA champ Destin McCauley (Nebraska-Kearney) is also in the field, but he only won a single match at last year’s CKLV before winning the DII title.

165

2015 Champion: Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin)
Buckeye at 165: Cody Burcher

Wrestlers to watch at 165: Isaac Jordan may have the luxury of not wrestling Bo Jordan at seemingly every late season tournament this year, but his road doesn’t get any easier with Michigan’s Logan Massa stepping onto the scene at 165. Massa is a point-scorer of the highest order and will be in serious contention for an All-American finish in March. Dylan Cottrell of West Virginia has an early season victory over Anthony Valencia of Arizona State, but both will be in strong placement contention, though likely after Jordan and Massa. Burcher will need to pick up a few upset wins to find himself on the podium on Saturday night, but he could easily achieve placement if he locks in a cradle or two.

174

2015 Champion: Brian Realbuto (Cornell)
Buckeye at 174: Seth Williams

Wrestlers to watch at 174: Zahid Valencia (Arizona State) is probably the safe bet at 174, though Cornell’s Brian Realbuto is currently ranked two spots higher in the InterMat rankings. Realbuto doesn’t really move the needle or fill me with much confidence. Williams is filling in for top-ranked Bo Jordan, who is back to wrestling live after rehabbing from a minor surgery prior to the season. Head coach Tom Ryan believes that Jordan will be back in the lineup against Missouri on December 8, but Williams will take his place in the meantime.

184

2015 Champion: Gabe Dean (Cornell)
Buckeye at 184: No. 2 Myles Martin

Wrestlers to watch at 184: There are two NCAA champions in this weight class. If you’re really looking for more wrestlers to watch, just reread the previous sentence. Gabe Dean thoroughly handled Myles at the All-Star Classic, but Dean has shown lapses in the past and lost matches that he shouldn’t. Myles is going to have to set up his attacks and pick his spots if he’s going to knock off Dean. In order to get to Dean, Martin will likely need to defeat a tough customer in Virginia Tech’s Zach Zavatsky, who is an absolute monster in the top position.

197

2015 Champion: J’Den Cox (Missouri)
Buckeye at 197: No. 12 Kollin Moore

Wrestlers to watch at 197: Brett Pfarr (Minnesota) is likely the front-runner in this weight, but his slow, grinding style certainly won’t win him many fans. Kollin Moore will have an opportunity to climb up the rankings from his current spot at No. 12 as he could possibly face Pfarr in the semifinals. Virginia Tech’s Jared Haught and Jake Smith (West Virginia) could work their way through the bottom half of the bracket, but there are several other talented wrestlers in the field.

285

2015 Champion: Ty Walz (Virginia Tech)
Buckeye at 285: Josh Fox

Wrestlers to watch at HWT: The field features five wrestlers currently in InterMat’s top ten at heavyweight, including second-ranked Connor Medbery of Wisconsin. Medbery defeated Virginia Tech heavyweight Ty Walz 5-2 at the All-Star Classic, though the bout was an exhibition. Medbery has also defeated Minnesota’s Michael Kroells and Arizona State’s Tanner Hall, who are both on the short-list to place at the CKLV this weekend. Kroells was blanked 10-0 by Medbery early in November, but he’s been able to keep matches close with Hall and Walz in the past. At a glance, Medbery and Walz are the class of the bracket, with Kroells and Hall not far behind. After Hall and Kroells, the drop-off gets pretty steep. Josh Fox may have a difficult time this weekend as he fills in for Kyle Snyder, who is wrestling in Ukraine.

As opposed to my personal December traditions of watching conference championship football games and gaining several pounds, the wrestling Buckeyes have made it a habit to bring home individual and team titles from the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.

For the fourth time in the last five seasons, the Buckeyes have crowned multiple champions and they captured their first team title at the illustrious tournament since 2012 with only seven of their ten regular starters in the lineup.

Nathan Tomasello and Micah Jordan paced the Buckeyes with championships at 133 and 149 while Jose Rodriguez took a runner-up finish at 125.

Rodriguez silenced some of his critics this weekend with a runner-up finish to Virginia Tech’s Joey Dance at 125. The Buckeye lightweight has drawn some harsh words due to his unproven ability but he showed that he can hang with some of the nation’s best this weekend.

Jose finished in second place despite being unseeded to begin the tournament and knocked off the fifth seeded Brent Fleetwood in the second round. In the semifinals, Rodriguez tech falled seventh seed Trey Andrews of Northern Colorado 17-1. In the finals, Rodriguez led top-seeded Joey Dance of Virginia Tech in the third period, but a late Dance takedown cost Rodriguez the bout by the score of 4-3.

Nathan Tomasello showed a little rust in his first action of the season at 133, but still had enough to win his second straight CKLV title. While we are used to seeing Tomasello win by bonus points he only won a single bout by bonus before winning his last four merely by decision.

The two-time All-American defeated the number eight and number five seeds en route to the championship match, where he defeated third-seeded Stevan Micic of Michigan by the score of 3-2.

Brendan Fitzgerald filled in for Ke-Shawn Hayes at 141 as Hayes suffered an injury in training and will be out of commission for the next four to six weeks. Fitzgerald had a rough go of it, going 1-2 on the weekend and bowing out of the competition on Friday evening. Joey McKenna of Stanford avenged a semifinal loss last year to Bryce Meredith of Wyoming in the finals with a 3-1 victory for the title.

While some coaches will advise athletes not to read their own press clippings, Micah Jordan must have heard the criticism that he doesn’t score many bonus points. The redshirt sophomore added to his team lead in the victory column this season with his title at 149 and improved to 17-0 on the young season. Jordan wrestled with marked aggression and scored three pins on Friday.

On Saturday, Jordan defeated a pair of wrestlers ranking in InterMat’s top ten, first beating Central Michigan’s No. 7 Justin Oliver 9-4 in the semifinals before taking the title over Edinboro’s No. 8 ranked Pat Lugo in the championship. Jordan defeated Lugo 7-3 to earn his second consecutive CKLV title.

Jake Ryan’s tough season only seems to be getting tougher as he failed to place despite entering the tournament as the ninth seed. Ryan lost to a pair of seeded wrestlers, losing first to Arizona State’s ninth seeded Shields before being eliminated by Bucknell’s Victor Lopez. Ryan finished the tournament 1-2. Minnesota’s Jake Short earned the title at 157 with a 3-2 victory over Central Michigan’s Colin Heffernan.

Cody Burcher lost another tight match to Arizona State’s Anthony Valencia before rattling off four straight victories to reach the consolation quarterfinals. Once there, Burcher dropped a decision before injury defaulting out of the seventh place match. Burcher finished 8th in a weight class ultimately won by Michigan’s Logan Massa, who upset Wisconsin’s Isaac Jordan in the finals.

Bo Jordan is slowly rehabbing from a minor surgery, so Seth Williams took the mat at 174. Williams went 1-2, winning his first match in the wrestlebacks before bowing out. Zahid Valencia of Arizona State defeated Cornell’s Brian Realbuto 3-2 to earn the title at 174.

Myles Martin started the tournament at 184 with a major decision and a pair of pins before dropping a minor upset to a very tough Zack Zavatsky 6-4 in the semifinals. In the wrestlebacks, Martin earned another major decision and a tech fall to earn 3rd place at 184. Cornell’s two-time NCAA champion Gabe Dean dispatched Zavatsky with a 19-4 technical fall in just five minutes, proving that he is going to be difficult to dethrone in March.

Kollin Moore entered the tournament undefeated at 10-0, but suffered his first official collegiate loss in the semifinals to top-seeded Brett Pfarr of Minnesota. Moore was unable to get any of his explosive leg attacks working against the experienced Pfarr, but he was able to get back on track in the consolation bracket as he won a pair of matches to finish third at 197. Pfarr defeated Virginia Tech’s Jared Haught 14-1 in the championship bout.

Heavyweight Kyle Snyder represented Titan Mercury in Ukraine this weekend so he was unable to make the trip to Las Vegas. Buckeye Josh Fox was able to step into the lineup but had the misfortune of drawing Arizona State’s Tanner Hall in the first round. Fox ended the weekend 1-2 with a win in the wrestlebacks. Connor Medbery of Wisconsin repeated his victory over Ty Walz from the All-Star Classic  with a 6-4 victory for the heavyweight championship.

Ohio State won the team title edging an upstart Wisconsin team 118.5-113.5. Virginia Tech rounded out the top three with 103 points. Minnesota joined the Buckeyes as the only teams to have multiple individual champions, but it wasn’t enough to get the Golden Gophers any higher than fourth place as a team.

The Buckeyes will return to Columbus for their first home match of the season on Thursday as they host No. 3 Missouri in what should be an excellent dual meet. Check back next week for a full preview of the Missouri dual meet and any news as it becomes available. 

The Tigers come to town on a night when Buckeye fans will be celebrating, as the team will be raising banners commemorating NCAA champions Myles Martin and Kyle Snyder.

The match could feature four individual bouts between wrestlers ranked in the top ten of their respective weight classes, and both teams are ranked in the top five of InterMat’s dual meet rankings (Ohio State sits at No. 5, while Missouri is currently No. 3). If you’re still not convinced that this meet will be truly impressive, two recent Olympic medalists will be in action and a third Olympian will be coaching in the meet. Gold medalist Kyle Snyder and bronze medalist J’Den Cox will each take the mat for Ohio State and Missouri, respectively, while Olympic heavyweight Tervel Dlagnev will make his coaching debut as one of Tom Ryan’s assistants.

The Buckeyes will also be wrestling with some extra incentive as they will be keeping teammate Alex Sepeda and his family in their thoughts. Sepeda’s father recently began chemotherapy treatments, and the tightly-knit Buckeyes will want to put on a good showing for the Sepeda family in this tough time.

Let’s take a look at what to expect when the No. 3 Missouri Tigers come to Columbus.

No. 3 Missouri Tigers

2-0 ROSTER | SCHEDULE

7:00 PM - Thursday, December 8 St. John Arena COLUMBUS, OHIO

MUTigers.com

The no. 3 Missouri Tigers

Head Coach: Brian Smith

Smith is entering his 18th year as head coach at Missouri, and his hard work is finally paying off with the Tigers becoming one of the top teams in the country over the past few seasons. He has been the MAC Coach of the Year every year since 2013 and was the Big 12 Coach of the Year in 2012, so Smith knows a thing or two about success. Smith has coached five wrestlers to seven NCAA championships, including current Tiger J’Den Cox, who will be looking for his third career title this March. Smith has amassed a record of 239-92-3 while at the helm of the Missouri program. Joe Johnston (Iowa), Alex Clemsen (Edinboro), and Devin Mellon (Missouri) round out Smith’s coaching staff.

Ohioans on the Missouri Roster

Aaron Assad (RS Jr, 125)

Assad was a four-time state placer for Brecksville-Broadview Heights, winning a state title as a senior at 113. Aaron’s younger brother Austin is the current starter at 125 for Michigan.

Notable Tiger Wrestlers

No. 1 J’Den Cox (Sr, 197)

J’Den Cox is one of those guys that you just have to cheer for, unless he’s wrestling a Buckeye. He’s the ultimate team player, often bumping up to heavyweight to secure vital team points in close duals. He won an Olympic bronze medal while still in college (and I think he got shafted in the semifinals and should have been wrestling for gold). J’Den may just step in and sing the national anthem if the regular singer is unavailable.

No. 4 Daniel Lewis (Rs So, 165)

Lewis made his presence known in his redshirt freshman year, finishing fourth at the NCAA tournament in a stacked weight class. In matches against Bo Jordan and Alex Dieringer, Lewis proved that he is an absolute monster from the top position and put a scare into Jordan and the three-time NCAA champion alike. Lewis has been largely untested to this point in the season, though his lone loss was to the outstanding two-time NCAA champ IMar at the UNI Open, which Lewis managed to keep to a respectable 7-4 decision.

No. 4 Lavion Mayes (Rs Sr, 149)

Mayes has a knack for slowing matches down and making every shot attempt count, which he finds a way to do much of the time. Mayes avenged a loss to Anthony Collica in the quarterfinals of last year’s NCAA tournament with a 3-2 victory over Collica in the third place match. Mayes is able to finish takedowns from all angles and just finds a way to get his hand raised, though it may not be the most flashy.

Key Matchups

197- No. 6 Kollin Moore vs No. 1 J’Den Cox

Moore has opened some eyes with his aggressive, attacking style early on this season. Cox has been doing the same for the past three seasons, both on NCAA and international mats. This will be yet another elite test for Kollin and will be a great litmus test to see if he’s a possibility for an All-American this season.

149- No. 5 Micah Jordan vs No. 4 Lavion Mayes

Mayes hasn’t wrestled much this season, but he’s a returning All-American. Micah fell a match short of finishing on the podium at last year’s tournament, but he looks stronger and better conditioned at 149 without having to cut so much weight. If this great match comes down to a late takedown, I feel more confident in Micah this season with a better gas tank and more strength than I did last season.

133- No. 3 Nathan Tomasello vs No. 9 Jaydin Eierman

It’s hard to believe that Tomasello is already an upperclassman, but he’s got an NCAA title and a third place finish to his credit in his first two years in the lineup. Eierman is an upstart and is making noise all across the NCAA in his freshman season with several decent wins coming during his redshirt season. Tomasello is a bit rusty after an injury layoff, but with an extra few days to get back into shape, Eierman could be in for a rude awakening.

Match Outlook

Ohio State has had some bumps in the road due to injuries, but Bo Jordan and Nathan Tomasello are back in the lineup, which can only mean good things. Ke-Shawn Hayes was injured in training and will miss the remainder of the season. The silver lining to that black cloud is that touted recruit Luke Pletcher will debut in the lineup at 141 for the Buckeyes tonight.

The Buckeyes will need to be ready for the visiting Tigers from the opening whistle as Missouri has a stacked lineup from top to bottom. Ohio State should be favored at 133, 174, 184, and HWT for certain. Missouri will have the edge at 197, 165, and 157. Depending on who the Tigers wrestle at 125, either team could be favored (Rodriguez will have the edge against Assad, but No. 4 Barlow McGhee will be favored should he get the nod) and the match at 149 is a true toss-up. In his first match as a starter, Pletcher isn’t being handed an easy match as he takes on senior Zach Synon, but I’m not really certain what to expect in that match.

As always, the match will depend on bonus points and what team can score and prevent ceding them. Bo Jordan and Kyle Snyder are the most likely candidates to score some big points for the Buckeyes, but we may also see Daniel Lewis and Joey LaVallee trying to keep Missouri in the thick of things in the middle of the match.

The match will air live on BTN tonight at 7 PM, with a full recap to follow.

After losing to Missouri in each of the last two seasons, the No. 5 Buckeyes finally earned some payback with a 30-9 victory. On a night when Kyle Snyder and Myles Martin were honored for their 2016 NCAA championships, the Buckeyes won seven of ten matches against an injury-plagued Tigers team that was without three of their starters.

Jose Rodriguez cracked the InterMat rankings at No. 10 this week for the first time his career with a runner-up finish at the CKLV last weekend, and he justified the ranking with a 3-1 decision over fellow Ohioan Aaron Assad. Rodriguez took an early lead, but Assad didn’t give up until the final whistle and nearly took the lead with a third period takedown. Rodriguez’ victory gave the Buckeyes a 3-0 lead to begin the dual.

Nathan Tomasello surprised a few people last weekend as he was held to a low scoring output at the CKLV Invitational. If there was doubt about how Tomasello would hold up at a higher weight class, he erased some of the doubt with a dominant 12-2 major decision. Tomasello wrestled from the opening whistle looking like Jaydin Eierman of Missouri owed him money and pushed the pace against the Tiger freshman. Tomasello gave the Buckeyes a 7-0 lead after two matches.

Ke-Shawn Hayes was lost for the season due to injury last week, but true freshman Luke Pletcher put the coaching fans at ease with a 6-3 defeat of the experienced Zach Synon. Pletcher gave up an early takedown, but battled back and earned a big 6-3 victory to give the team a 10-0 lead after three matches.

10-0 Bucks! Pletcher grabs 3 more with a 6-3 decision #gobuckshttps://t.co/2ZYgX71sZH

— Ohio State Wrestling (@wrestlingbucks) December 9, 2016

The Tigers were without No. 4 Lavion Mayes at 149, so the fans missed out on a top five matchup. No. 5 Micah Jordan kept the Buckeyes in the win column with a dominating performance at 149. Jordan scored takedowns at will against Alex Butler and used a slick nearside cradle to pile up the backpoints on his way to a tech fall. Jordan’s tech fall gave the Buckeyes a 15-0 lead heading into 157.

Jake Ryan was unable to keep the Buckeye win streak rolling as he dropped a 12-5 decision to No. 6 Joey LaVallee. Though LaVallee is a seasoned veteran and tough wrestler in all positions, Ryan looked like he still hasn’t broken out of his season-long funk.

Cody Burcher was unable to pull off the big upset at 165 as No. 4 Daniel Lewis thoroughly controlled the match from the top position and won a bit of a snoozer with a 6-1 decision.

Bo Jordan stepped into the starting lineup for the first time this season and looked great despite giving up a late takedown to Dylan Wisman. Bo’s major decision gave the Buckeyes a 19-6 lead.

Defending NCAA champion Myles Martin had little resistance against Matt Lemanowicz at 184, rolling to a 21-6 tech fall. Lemanowicz was filling in for an injured Willie Miklus, who will be among those competing for All-American honors at season’s end. Martin used a half nelson tilt to rack up backpoints that sealed the tech fall and the dual meet for the Buckeyes.

Redshirt freshman Kollin Moore showed that he wasn’t afraid of Olympic bronze medalist and two-time NCAA champ J’Den Cox as Moore scored a pair of late takedowns and nearly opened the match with a takedown. Cox’ quickness and incredible grip strength allowed him to maintain control of Moore, despite Moore’s best efforts with a series of explosive bottom moves. In the loss, Moore announced his presence to those unaware of just how high his ceiling is this season.

Kyle Snyder scored a bunch of takedowns and finished the match with a pin over Austin Myers in the second period. Snyder has been a pinning machine with three in his first four matches this season. They said there was something scary in the water in Rio, but nobody suspected it would turn Kyle Snyder into a cyborg.

The Buckeyes improve to 3-0 on the season, and will kick off the Big Ten dual season on Sunday, December 18 as they host Northwestern at Wadsworth High School. 

The gold medal train for Ohio State wrestling shows no signs of slowing down after Logan Stieber captured gold at the World Championships in Budapest Saturday.

Stieber, Ohio State's only four-time NCAA champion, defeated Beka Lomtadze of Georgia, 8-4, in the finals at 61kg to earn his first international gold medal. He joins Kyle Snyder as the second Buckeye to capture a World Championship in the last 15 months.

“It is just focus. I don’t really think. I am just out there trying to score. I have confidence in my sprint and my short time offense. I didn’t draw it up this way,” Stieber told USA Wrestling.

Stieber thumped reigning World bronze medalist Vasyl Shuptar of Ukraine, 10-0,  to open his pursuit of gold before winning close matches in the quarterfinals and semifinals. His win over Russia's Akhmed Chakaev came off a takedown with five seconds remaining.

Former Ohio State wrestler Logan Stieber added to his championship catalogue over the weekend by winning a gold medal at the wrestling world championships in Budapest, Hungary.

However, it appears his biggest adversary loomed in the Short North of good ol' Columbus, Ohio. 

Back home. Columbus, Ohio. Very happy.

— Logan Stieber (@_LogieBear_) December 12, 2016

Home 4 30 mins.Some1 breaks Helens car window while we're at dinner steals my bag with medal,belt, passport, iPad,keys, beats. People suck

— Logan Stieber (@_LogieBear_) December 13, 2016

#return4loganpic.twitter.com/rnfkJP6Qt2

— Helen Willman (@helllOnEarth) December 13, 2016

Stieber is a poor choice to steal from even before the Ohio State fan base is taken into account.

Thankfully, it appears the medals were too tough to pawn. Stieber tweeted about recovering his belt and medal Tuesday afternoon.

A Christmas miracle! My bag was found with only a few things missing. Belt and medal were still there pic.twitter.com/fyZQhg9fpO

— Logan Stieber (@_LogieBear_) December 13, 2016

If you know anything about this break-in, Columbus police ask you call them at (614)-645-2006. 

Big Ten dual season is finally upon the Buckeye wrestlers as they take their mat show on the road to Wadsworth High School to welcome the Northwestern Wildcats. In recent years, Ohio State has held a “home match” at or near the high school of one of the senior leaders on the team and this year is no different. Buckeye heavyweight Nick Tavanello will be recognized at the match, though an injury sustained in practice ended his career earlier this season. Tavanello was a key member of the Wadsworth state championship team that upended the St. Edward dynasty in 2010.

The dual meet will signal the beginning of Ohio State’s grueling Big Ten schedule and is slated to take place on Sunday at noon at Wadsworth High School

Let’s take a look at what to expect when the Northwestern Wildcats take on the Buckeyes.

NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS

5-1, 0-0 Big Ten ROSTER | SCHEDULE

12:00 PM – SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18 Wadsworth High School Wadsworth, Ohio

NUSports.com

Northwestern Wildcats (5-1)

Head Coach: Matt Storniolo

Storniolo was officially named the Northwestern head coach after holding the post of interim coach throughout the 2015-16 season after Drew Pariano unceremoniously left (and no real reason has surfaced surrounding his dismissal). Storniolo led the Wildcats to a paltry 2-13 record in his first season, going 0-9 in the Big Ten with a battered and broken lineup. The Northwestern team has already made great strides under Storniolo, coming into the match with Ohio State with a 5-1 record to date. As a wrestler, Storniolo was an NCAA qualifier for Penn State as a freshman before transferring to Oklahoma, where he was a two-time All-American.  Storniolo is joined by an outstanding coaching staff, featuring NCAA champions Andrew Howe (Wisconsin/Oklahoma) and Cody Brewer (Oklahoma), as well as Conor Beebe (Central Michigan). 

Ohioans on the Northwestern Roster

Conan Jennings (RS So, HWT)

Jennings was a Division I state runner-up for Centerville in 2014, including a second round upset of current Boise State recruit Kevin Vough. Jennings is currently 6-4 on the young season.

Notable Wildcat Wrestlers

No. 16 Mitch Sliga (RS Jr, 184)

Sliga was a big-time recruit out of Indiana in the Class of 2013, ultimately landing at Northwestern with freestyle teammate Jason Tsirtsis. Sliga showed a great skill for pinning opponents in high school, but that trait has greatly decreased against college opponents. Sliga is 9-1 with his only notable opponent, Penn State’s Bo Nickal, giving him his only loss.

Bryce Brill

Brill was a big-time recruit in the Class of 2015, opening lots of eyes when he opted to wrestle for Northwestern. Brill was a perfect 10-0 in his career over the course of three partial seasons, but his career was cut short due to nagging injuries. Though Brill would have been the most successful Northwestern wrestler this season, he will continue to help the team as an undergraduate assistant on Storniolo’s staff.

Jason Tsirtsis

Tsirtsis is notable as a Wildcat wrestler in that he won an NCAA title as a freshman and finished as an All-American before a tumultuous junior season where Tsirtsis lost significantly on and off the mat. For his senior season, Jason transferred to Arizona State to wrestle for Zeke Jones.

Key Matchups

141- Luke Pletcher vs Alec McKenna

Pletcher isn’t ranked yet at 141, but it’s only a matter of time if his match against Missouri is a sign of things to come. McKenna shouldn’t pose much of a threat to Pletcher, but this is a key match in that Pletcher is relatively unknown to most Buckeye fans.

184- No. 5 Myles Martin vs No. 16 Mitch Sliga

The match at 184 is the only match featuring a pair of ranked wrestlers, but Martin will have the distinct advantage. Myles has been quite impressive up a weight from last season, and Sliga won’t pose the same challenges that Gabe Dean or Zack Zavatsky did.

197- No. 6 Kollin Moore vs Jacob Berkowitz

Moore is quickly becoming must-see-tv as far as upper weights are concerned. While many upper weight wrestlers are content to win 2-1 or 3-1, Moore is a breath of fresh air and is constantly looking for a takedown. He very nearly upset two-time NCAA champ and Olympic bronze medalist J’Den Cox in their dual meet, so the Kollin won’t be sneaking up on anyone in the near future.

Match Outlook

This match should play out the way that most Ohio State-Northwestern football or basketball games do with Ohio State getting an early lead and cruising to a victory. Northwestern has an opportunity to turn the corner with an excellent coaching staff, but the cupboard is quite bare for the Wildcats this season. Coach Storniolo has a nice recruiting class coming into Evanston next season, but the current lineup will take it’s lumps once the Big Ten competition begins.

Even with the possibility of a number of backups stepping into the lineup, Ohio State should be favored in all ten matches and coast to a lopsided victory.

The match will stream live on Ohio State Wrestling’s Facebook page beginning at noon, with a recap to follow.

Ohio State’s No. 4 ranked wrestling team improved to 1-0 in the Big Ten after rolling to a 43-3 victory over the hapless Northwestern Wildcats. The Buckeyes won eight of the nine contested matches, scoring bonus point victories in seven of them to polish off the Wildcats in short order.

Jose Rodriguez demonstrated why he is ranked No. 10 in the latest InterMat poll by racking up three four-point near falls in the first period to go with an opening takedown against Anthony Rubinetti. Rodriguez scored a quick escape to start the second period to earn a 15-0 tech fall and give the Buckeyes an early 5-0 lead.

No. 3 Nathan Tomasello stayed undefeated on the season with a 20-4 tech fall of his own. Like Rodriguez, Tomasello amassed a 14 point lead after the first period and needed just a takedown in the second period to seal the tech fall.

Luke Pletcher was unable to bottle the early points from the previous two matches and only lead Alec McKenna 2-0 after the first period. Pletcher, however, found his groove and rolled to an 18-6 major decision at 141.

Micah Jordan accepted a forfeit at 149, giving the Buckeyes a 20-0 lead.

Jake Ryan got back in the win column with a first period pin over Ben Sullivan at 157. Ryan cradled his opponent and pinned him just over a minute into the match.

In the lone Buckeye victory without bonus points, Cody Burcher earned a 7-6 victory in a wild match at 165 against Johnny Sebastian. Burcher scored a third period escape after a wild second period by Sebastian tied the score at 6.

Bo Jordan made short work of Braxton Cody, pinning the Wildcat in just 64 seconds. Prior to the pin, the top-ranked Jordan notched four takedowns. The second Buckeye pin of the day gave Ohio State a 35-0 lead with three matches remaining.

In the lone match of the afternoon between ranked wrestlers, No. 5 Myles Martin dispatched No. 16 Mitch Sliga with a 14-5 major decision. Martin improved to 13-1 on the season with the major decision victory and gave the Buckeyes a 39-0 advantage.

No. 6 Kollin Moore struggled with Jacob Berkowitz until the third period before Moore racked up four takedowns in the final stanza. The late scoring flurry allowed the Buckeye redshirt freshman to earn a 19-9 major decision.

Northwestern was finally able to get into the win column at heavyweight as Ohioan Conan Jennings defeated his Buckeye counterpart Josh Fox 5-0.

With the victory, Ohio State moves to 5-0 overall and 1-0 in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes will next take the mat on January 6 when they visit the Wisconsin Badgers.

Thanks to a World Championship back in December, Logan Stieber predictably joined Kyle Snyder atop the latest United World Wrestling freestyle rankings, released on Wednesday. 

Stieber's ranking comes after introducing himself in a big way on the world stage at the senior level. While Stieber previously won a Junior World silver medal, he made a splash in Budapest with a title at his first senior level World Championships. Stieber is ranked No. 1 in the world by the UWW at the non-Olympic weight of 61 kg (134.4 lbs), which also features fellow American Alan Waters at No. 18. Stieber won the last of his four NCAA titles for Ohio State in 2015 at 141 lbs. At just 25 years old, Stieber is relatively young in the international wrestling community, so he will no doubt continue to make his mark on the world stage for years to come. 

Snyder's top spot is thanks to his Olympic gold at 97 kg (213.8 lbs) in Rio this past summer. Though he recently lost a pair of matches at the Freestyle World Clubs Cup in Ukraine, Snyder still maintains the top spot thanks to his Olympic accomplishments. Snyder is still just a junior at Ohio State but has only wrestled a handful of matches this season due to his international wrestling schedule. He will return to action for the Buckeyes later in the current season, competing at heavyweight. 

Current Buckeye assistant coach Tervel Dlagnev also earned the No. 6 ranking at 125 kg (275.6 lbs) despite battling a nagging back injury for most of the last two years. Dlagnev likely ended his competitive career with a fifth-place finish in Rio in his second trip to the Olympic Games. Working forward, Dlagnev will assist Tom Ryan with the upper weights — namely fellow Olympian Kyle Snyder. 

Six other Americans joined the Buckeye trio in the rankings, including Penn State's Frank Molinaro (No. 6 at 65 kg), Nebraska's James Green (No. 8 at 70 kg) and Jordan Burroughs (No. 7 at 74 kg), and Missouri's J'Den Cox (No. 4 at 86 kg) in the Top 10 of their respective weight classes. 

Snyder is not expected to be in the lineup this weekend as the Buckeyes face off against Wisconsin on Friday and Rutgers on Sunday. 

Ohio State kicks off the second half of the wrestling season on Friday as they travel to Wisconsin to take on the undefeated Badgers. Tom Ryan’s team is a perfect 5-0 on the young season, but the schedule gets significantly more difficult now that the competition is mostly from the Big Ten. The Buckeyes defeated Wisconsin 34-6 last season, but trail the Badgers 21-28-1 in the all-time series. 

Let's take a look at what to expect when the Buckeyes travel to Wisconsin to take on the Badgers. 

WISCONSIN BADGERS

3–0 Overall, 1-0 Big Ten ROSTER | SCHEDULE

8:00 PM EST – Friday, January 6 UW Fieldhouse MADISON, WISCONSIN

Streaming live on BTN Plus (subscription required)

UWBadgers.com

#21 wisconsin badgers

Head Coach: Barry Davis

Davis is one of the many Big Ten head coaches that wrestled for Dan Gable at Iowa before branching out to start his own coaching legacy. Davis is in his 22nd season as head coach of the Badgers and has coached a trio of NCAA champions to go along with 22 All-Americans. Davis was no slouch on the mat himself, earning a silver medal in the 1984 Olympics while a student at Iowa. In all, he was a two-time Olympian and three-time NCAA champion for Iowa under Gable. Kyle Ruschell (Wisconsin), Trevor Brandvold (Wisconsin), and Camden Eppert (Purdue) round out Davis’ coaching staff.

Ohioans on the Badger Roster

Eli Stickley (RS Fr, 141)- Stickley placed four times at the state tournament for St. Paris Graham and earned an individual title as a junior to go with four team titles.

Ryan Taylor (RS Sr, 133)- Taylor was a three-time state champion for Graham High School, where he was teammates with current Badgers Isaac Jordan and Eli Stickley and Buckeyes Bo and Micah Jordan. Taylor earned an All-American finish in 2015, but his career was ended by hampering injuries as a junior.

Isaac Jordan (RS Sr, 165)- Isaac is the son of two-time NCAA champion and three-time All-American Jim Jordan, who now represents Ohio in the U.S. House of Representatives. Isaac is the younger brother of former Badger All-American Ben Jordan. With a family history of wrestling for the Badgers, Isaac has made his own mark in Madison with a trio of All-American finishes including a runner-up finish last season. Isaac has defeated Bo Jordan to win each of the last two Big Ten Championships at 165.

Notable Wisconsin Wrestlers

No. 3 Isaac Jordan- 165

Isaac has gotten the upper hand on his cousin Bo four straight times, including twice in the Big Ten tournament and once in last year’s NCAA tournament semifinals, but the Badger senior has yet to win an NCAA title. After beating Bo in the semis last year, Isaac had the unenviable task of facing three-time NCAA champ Alex Dieringer, who was looking to win his third straight NCAA title. Now a senior, Isaac remains an elite wrestler, but he will have to upend two-time NCAA champ Isaiah Martinez if he is going to capture a title of his own in March.

No. 2 Connor Medbery- HWT

Medbery took last season off due to an Olympic redshirt, and early returns indicate that he learned a few new tricks after spending the year as current Buckeye assistant Tervel Dlagnev’s training partner. Medbery was an All-American in 2015 and has the athleticism that is rarely seen in a man of his size. He is undefeated this season, but had to withdraw from the Midlands due to an illness. Medbery has wins over Kroells, Hall, and Walz this season, making him the clear frontrunner to face Kyle Snyder on Saturday night at the NCAA tournament when March rolls around.

Key Matchups

141: Luke Pletcher vs No. 13 Cole Martin

Pletcher took some lumps in his first big college competition, going 3-2 and failing to place at the Midlands. He will get a chance to rebound against fellow freshman Martin, who has some decent wins under his belt to this point. Pletcher’s Midlands performance showed that he is undersized to be at 141, but his excellent wrestling IQ keeps him in great position throughout the match. A win here would be nice to get Luke some momentum heading into Big Ten competition.

197: No. 5 Kollin Moore vs No. 13 Ricky Robertson

Robertson is competing in his third weight class in as many seasons after starting at 184 and 174 in his first two seasons. He is long and lanky at 197, which is ideal for Moore’s ankle picks. Moore is in a great position to make a name for himself in a weaker weight in the Big Ten, and he’s likely to rattle off takedown after takedown against a ranked opponent in Robertson.

184: No. 10 Myles Martin vs Jake Stilling

Martin didn’t exactly inspire much confidence last weekend at the Midlands tournament, placing a disappointing 8th with losses to Pete Renda and Jack Dechow before defaulting out of the 7th place match. Myles will face a tough schedule as the Big Ten season gets going, so he’ll be glad to see Stilling across the mat from him as his first match in 2017. Expect Myles to score points at will against Stilling. 

Match Outlook

Wisconsin has great wrestlers in Isaac Jordan and Connor Medbery, but the Buckeyes should have the edge in the other eight weight classes. The Badgers edged Indiana by just a single point early in December, but they’ll certainly find the Buckeyes far more difficult than the Hoosiers.  The Buckeyes should move to 6-0 and 2-0 in the Big Ten before setting their sights on a tougher Rutgers program on Sunday at home. 

Ohio State’s No. 4 ranked wrestling team won its first of two matches this weekend, posting a 23-15 victory over the Wisconsin Badgers on Friday night. The Buckeyes won six of ten matches and were able to overcome a loss at heavyweight with Kyle Snyder out of the lineup and an upset at 125 to give Wisconsin their first loss of the season. 

Cody Burcher got the action started for the Buckeyes, but he had the unenviable task of facing No. 3 ranked Isaac Jordan of Wisconsin at 165. Burcher was only able to muster a single escape against Jordan’s takedown and late reversal and the Badgers took an early 3-0 lead with the decision victory.

Top-ranked Bo Jordan started slowly against No. 20 Ryan Christensen, but the redshirt junior found his stride in the third period, Bo managed a 15-7 major decision on the strength of a six point third period and gave the Buckeyes a 4-3 lead after a pair of matches.

Myles Martin appears to have put the letdown of the eighth place finish at the Midlands tournament behind him as he rolled to a 22-6 technical fall. Martin used a variety of takedowns and backpoints from a number of tilts to keep the scoreboard operator busy. The tech fall was Martin’s sixth of the season and gave the Buckeyes a 9-3 lead.

Kollin Moore continued his impressive season as he racked up a major decision over No. 13 Ricky Robertson. Moore was able to take Robertson down seemingly at will, which led to a 12-3 major decision.

Kyle Snyder was out of the lineup due to a trip to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, so Josh Fox stepped into the lineup to face No. 2 ranked Connor Medbery at heavyweight. Fox fought hard, but Medbery is simply on another level and the Badger senior rolled to a 15-0 technical fall to pull the host Badgers to within five points of the Buckeyes at intermission.

The Badgers got a major shot in the arm to start the second half of the dual as Johnny Jiminez upset No. 9 Jose Rodriguez by major decision. Jiminez had intended to redshirt, but stepped into the lineup against Rodriguez. Jiminez locked up a cradle in the end of the second period and looked for a pin for much of the period. Jiminez pulled Wisconsin to within a point and they trailed 13-12 with four matches remaining.

Nathan Tomasello attacked Wisconsin’s Michael Cullen as soon as the whistle blew to start the match and wound up with a major decision. Tomasello kept his undefeated season intact and gave the Buckeyes a 17-12 lead heading into 141.

Luke Pletcher failed to place at the Midlands, but he managed to earn a minor upset over No. 14 Cole Martin with an 8-4 decision. Pletcher gave up the opening takedown, but battled back and won by a comfortable margin as the match was never really in doubt. Pletcher improves to 17-2 with the decision victory.

Micah Jordan attacked early against Andrew Crone at 149 but seemed to take his foot off of the gas in the second period. Jordan earned an 8-2 victory and sealed the victory for the Buckeyes.

In the final bout of the evening, Jake Ryan dropped a 6-2 decision to TJ Ruschell as the Badger senior was able to secure a number of takedowns and prevent Ryan from getting comfortable in the match. Ryan falls to 9-7 on the year with the loss, but the team stayed perfect in dual meets with the 23-15 victory.

The Buckeyes come back to Columbus for a home dual on Sunday where they will host Rutgers. Rutgers is currently ranked No. 11, so the dual figures to be a competitive affair.

The home dual meet between the No. 4 Buckeyes and No. 11 Rutgers Scarlet Knights was initially scheduled to take place this Sunday at noon, but the weather on the East Coast has caused the match to be postponed. 

Heavy snowfall in New Jersey and the surrounding areas prevented the Rutgers team from safely travelling to Columbus as scheduled for the match on Sunday. Instead of wrestling as scheduled, the match will now take place on Monday, February 6th at 7 PM at St. John Arena. 

With the change in the schedule, the Buckeyes will now switch their focus to their match on Sunday, January 15 when they host Illinois at 2 p.m. 

The Buckeye wrestlers will try to improve upon their 6-0 record on the season on Sunday as they welcome the No. 11 Illinois Fighting Illini to St. John Arena for a Big Ten tilt. 

Illinois is led by two-time NCAA champion and human Sherman tank Isaiah Martinez at 165, but the Buckeyes boast a pair of top-ranked wrestlers in Bo Jordan (174) and Kyle Snyder (HWT). 

ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI

2-1 Overall, 1-1 Big Ten ROSTER | SCHEDULE

2:00 PM – SUNDAY, JAN.15 St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio

Streaming live on BTN Plus (Subscription)

FIGHTINGILLINI.COM

Let's take a look at what to expect when the Buckeyes host the Illini on Sunday. 

The No. 14 Fighting Illini (2-1)

Head Coach: Jim Hefferman

Heffernan is in his seventh year at the helm of the Illini program after being an assistant in Champaign for seventeen seasons. Under his tutelage, Jesse Delgado and current redshirt junior Isaiah Martinez have won NCAA titles (two for Martinez), and he's coached other wrestlers to 18 All-American finishes at the NCAA tournament.

A notable wrestler himself, Heffernan won four Big Ten titles and an NCAA title at Iowa and he was a two-time Ohio state champion for Lakewood St. Edward. Assisting Heffernan is Associate Head Coach Mark Perry, who was a two-time NCAA champion – and one of my favorite non-Buckeye wrestlers – at Iowa. Jeremy Hunter, a three-time All-American at Penn State, is also on the staff as an assistant coach.

Ohioans on the Illini Roster

None, although Heffernan wrestled for St. Edward High School in Lakewood.

Notable Illini Wrestlers

No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (RS Jr. - 165)

Known to many as simply IMar, Martinez is Illinois’ one man wrecking crew. The redshirt junior has just a single loss in his non-redshirt career (he lost as a true freshman to NCAA champ Derek St. John by decision during his redshirt year) with a shocking pin defeat to Jason Nolf of Penn State. IMar avenged the loss to Nolf at the Big Ten and NCAA championships and now has a career win percentage of 98.75 to go along with two individual NCAA titles. After laying waste to the field at 157 for two years, IMar is up a weight class to beat up a new batch of opponents. At 14-0 on the season with 12 bonus point victories, he’s well on his way.

No. 4 Zane Richards (RS Sr- 133)

Richards was undefeated a season ago until the Big Ten Championship finals, where he lost a tight decision to Cory Clark. Richards finished the NCAA tournament with a 4th place finish, earning his first All-American finish. His 6-4 loss in the Midlands finals to No. 3 Eric Montoya of Nebraska is Richards’ only loss to this point in the season.

Key Matchups

133: No. 2 Nathan Tomasello vs No. 4 Zane Richards

This bout will feature a pair of smaller wrestlers for 133, but each will be in the running for an NCAA title when March rolls around. Tomasello is undefeated to this point in the season, but he hasn’t faced anyone at 133 that is quite up to Richards’ caliber. This will likely be a low-scoring affair with a single takedown possibly the deciding factor. Tomasello’shigh crotch takedown could be the difference maker here.

174: No. 1 Bo Jordan vs No. 12 Zac Brunson

Brunson is generally pretty tough to score on, but Bo Jordan isn’t your average 174 pounder. Brunson could be in the mix for an All-American finish in March, but Jordan is on a higher tier and will be gunning for his first NCAA title. Look for Bo to make a statement here.

157: Jake Ryan vs Kyle Langenderfer

Both Ryan and Langenderfer have shown flashes of brilliance in the past, but each are struggling this season. This match will not win or lose the dual for the Buckeyes, but a victory here could bolster Ryan’s confidence as the two will likely lock horns in the consolation bracket at the Big Ten tournament for a chance to go to the NCAA tournament.

Match Outlook

I’d like to say the Buckeyes will cruise to a victory here, but Illinois has proven to be a tough opponent year after year. The Buckeyes should get certain victories at 141 and 174 with better than good odds to see bonus point victories at 149, 184, 197, and heavyweight.

Micah Jordan remains undefeated at 20-0 on the season, and he should light up the scoreboard a bit at 149 against a beatable Eric Barone. Kyle Snyder is in the lineup, and I am legally obligated to mention that he won an Olympic gold medal. Snyder will score more takedowns in his heavyweight match than some guys score in a calendar year. 

With the Buckeye basketball team struggling, this will likely be an opportunity for some central Ohioans to see a conference victory for the local team.

The No. 4 ranked Buckeye wrestlers fed off of some of the Columbus mojo on Sunday as they came back from a late deficit to down the Fighting Illini at St. John Arena. In the ten matches contested, all but one of the bouts was won by bonus points. Of those nine bonus point victories, the Buckeyes earned five of them, racking up three pins and a pair of major decisions to go along with Luke Pletcher's decision victory. The Buckeyes improved to 7-0 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten with the 29-18 victory. 

The action started off at 125 with No. 12 Jose Rodriguez losing his second consecutive major decision to an unranked wrestler. He was previously defeated by Wisconsin's Johnny Jimenez and was blanked 10-0 by Illinois' Travis Piotrowski to give the Illini a 4-0 lead after one match. 

In the marquee match of the day, No. 2 ranked Nathan Tomasello put a one-sided beating on No. 4 Zane Richards at 133. Tomasello scored early and often, frustrating Richards in the process. Tomasello won a 12-4 major decision, in part thanks to his aggression from the neutral position. Tomasello was able to push the pace enough to score penalty points due to Richards being hit for stalling throughout the match. Following the match, Tomasello mentioned that he anticipated going out and being aggressive early, which seemed to have Richards on the defensive throughout the match. 

Luke Pletcher scored the lone victory by regular decision at 141 as he downed Mousa Jodeh by the score of 10-4. 

Micah Jordan scored the Buckeyes' first pin of the day when he pinned Eric Barone late in the third period. Jordan entered the match ranked No. 5 in InterMat's latest rankings of 149 and he gave the Buckeyes a 13-4 lead heading into 157. 

Anthony DeCarlo stepped into the lineup at 157 in the place of Jake Ryan, but was handily picked apart by Kyle Langenderfer. Langenderfer rolled to an 18-3 technical fall to draw his team within four points at the midpoint of the dual. 

Top-ranked Isaiah Martinez of Illinois demonstrated why he has won a pair of NCAA titles with his 22-7 technical fall over Cody Burcher at 165. IMar took Burcher down at will and gave Illinois its first lead of the day. 

No. 1 ranked Bo Jordan was replaced in the lineup by Justin Kresevic at 174, and Illinois' No. 12 Zac Brunson made the Buckeye backup pay on his way to a 19-8 major decision. 

Myles Martin appeared to be getting back on track after struggling at the end of December. Martin came into the match ranked No. 10 by InterMat and easily dispensed the No. 13 Emory Parker by 11-3 major decision. The major decision pulled the Buckeyes to within a point of the Illini with just two matches remaining. 

Kollin Moore was having little trouble with Andre Lee at 197 and was on his way to a major decision before the Buckeye freshman pinned Lee with seconds on the clock in the second period. Moore utilized a knee pick and transitioned from what appeared to be a turk to a half nelson to a headlock before ultimately pinning Lee. Moore mentioned after the match that he has focused more in practice on working for pins, and the extra effort paid off. The six team points from Moore nearly sealed the victory for the Buckeyes with just Kyle Snyder left to wrestle. 

Snyder didn't let the team down, scoring his fourth pin in five matches to date this season. The Buckeye junior had just one pin in his first two seasons, but has really improved his mat wrestling. Snyder's victory put a bow on the Buckeye victory with a score of 29-18. 

Speaking of Snyder, the Buckeyes will be traveling to his alma mater next Sunday as they wrestle Maryland at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney, Md. Check back next weekend for a full preview of the upcoming action in what will be Snyder's triumphant homecoming of sorts. 

Redshirt junior Nathan Tomasello earned his second career Big Ten Wrestler of the Week award on Tuesday thanks to his major decision victory over No. 4 Zane Richards of Illinois. The victory improved Tomasello's season record to a perfect 9-0. Tomasello was named co-Wrestler of the Week along with Michigan's freshman 133 Stevan Micic, who earned his first weekly award with a win over No. 3 Eric Montoya of Nebraska. 

In addition to the weekly conference award, Tomasello also earned the No. 1 spot in the InterMat rankings at 133 lbs thanks to Cory Clark of Iowa's loss over the weekend to No. 5 Kaid Brock of Oklahoma State. Tomasello joins fellow Buckeye juniors Bo Jordan (174) and Kyle Snyder (HWT) as the current No. 1 ranked wrestlers in their respective weight classes. 

Tomasello becomes just the second Buckeye to earn the Wrestler of the Week award in the current season, joining Kyle Snyder, who previously won on November 22nd. 

The reigning co-Wrestler of the Week and the rest of the No. 4 ranked Buckeyes will be in action on Sunday when they travel to Kyle Snyder's alma mater of Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney, Maryland for a dual meet against the Maryland Terrapins. 

No. 4 ranked Ohio State will travel to Maryland on Sunday for what is technically a home dual meet for the Buckeyes. Undefeated heavyweight (and Olympic champion) Kyle Snyder will be honored as the dual with the Maryland Terrapins will take place at his alma mater, Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney, Maryland. 

Though Snyder will be featured, the meet between the Buckeyes and Terrapins will be largely one-sided as Ohio State is going into the match as heavy favorites. Maryland enters the match with just a single ranked wrestler and no team victories within the Big Ten Conference. 

MARYLAND TERRAPINS

2-10 OVERALL, 0-5 BIG 10 ROSTER | SCHEDULE

1:00 PM – SUNDAY, JAN 22 GOOD COUNSEL HIGH SCHOOL OLNEY, MARYLAND

UMTERPS.COM

The action will take place at 1 p.m. from Maryland, but the match will only be seen by those in attendance as the Big Ten Network will not have camera crews on site. Those wishing to follow along with the action can do so by following Ohio State Wrestling on Twitter. 

Let's take a look at what to expect when the Buckeyes head to the Old Line State on Sunday. 

Maryland terrapins (2-10 overall, 0-5 b1G)

Head Coach: Kerry McCoy

McCoy is in his ninth season as the head coach of the Terrapins, but has yet to find the kind of success as a coach that he enjoyed as a wrestler himself. McCoy has coached just four wrestlers that were able to qualify for the NCAA tournament and the Terps have just a single Big Ten Conference dual win in the last two years. McCoy was a two-time Olympian and won a pair of NCAA titles at heavyweight for Penn State and ended his collegiate career with an 88 match winning streak. McCoy’s assistants are Jimmy Sheptock (Maryland), Mike Catulo (West Virginia), and Ganbayar Sanjaa (American).

Ohioans on the Maryland Roster

Wade Hodges (So, 157)

Hodges was a four-time state placer for Wauseon High School, winning 177 matches along the way. Hodges was the Terp starter at 149 a year ago, but will redshirt this season.

Hunter Lucas (Fr, 125)

Lucas was twice a runner-up for Lima Central Catholic High School, with just a single point deciding the match each time.

David-Brian Whisler (RS Fr, 197)

Whisler was a 2015 state champion for Howland High School in addition to a fourth and seventh place finish. Whisler is the Maryland starter at 197.

Notable Terrapin Wrestlers

No. 15 Alfred Bannister- 149

Bannister actually has one up on fellow Maryland native Kyle Snyder in that Bannister set the Maryland state record with 272 high school victories. Bannister was the Maryland starter at 141 as a redshirt freshman, but failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament. He holds a record of 21-3 at this point in the season.

Bannister is the only Maryland wrestler currently ranked in the InterMat rankings.

Key Matchups

HWT: No. 1 Kyle Snyder vs Youssif Hemida

This dual is centered around Snyder, who is a Maryland native and competed at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School. If you’d like a detailed prediction of the heavyweight match, it’ll probably go something like this: Snyder scores a takedown. Snyder lets Hemida escape. Repeat those steps 10-12 times in the first period, then Snyder will likely score a takedown and get a pin.

149: #5 Micah Jordan vs #15 Alfred Bannister

Jordan is undefeated on the season and has never met Bannister on the mat. At this point last season, Micah looked to be struggling with a tough weight cut. Now that he’s up at 149, he looks strong every time he steps on the mat, which is not necessarily good news for Bannister. Bannister, who is known as Baby J, is an energetic wrestler with fantastic technique, but Jordan’s technique and strength and overall Jordan-ness is going to be too much for the lone ranked Terrapin.

165: Cody Burcher vs Josh Ugalde or Patrick Gerish

Burcher is going to have a tough stretch ahead of him with Joey Gunther (Iowa) and Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) coming up in the next two weeks. This is absolutely a winnable match for Burcher, who is going to need a strong late-season push to advance to the NCAA tournament in March. A win here would help him out with seeding at the Big Ten tournament, which could set him up for a trip to St. Louis.

Match Outlook

Maryland may be on their own turf, but the Buckeyes could legitimately hand the Terps their first shutout loss of the season. Bo Jordan has been slowed by a foot injury, but even reserve 174 Justin Kresevic could get his hand raised with relative ease if he wrestles aggressively against Sam Rowell.

In the past, Tom Ryan generally doesn’t place much emphasis in easily winnable dual meets, sitting his starters at a number of weight classes. I have a feeling that the Buckeyes will work to put a ton of points on the board in a dual that is being used as a showcase for Kyle Snyder.

The Terps just lost on Friday night 29-6 against lowly Purdue, so the Buckeyes should coast through this match before setting their sights on upcoming matches with Iowa, Penn State, and Rutgers in the next two weeks.