Dispatch
OHIO STATE WRESTLING
Freshman makes his mark quickly
Pucillo already up to No. 3 at 184 in national rankings
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Jeremy McLaughlin
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Hofstra transfer Mike Pucillo is off to a surprising 7-0 start in his first season with the Buckeyes.
In the midst of a grueling wrestling season, in which aches and pain can bring down the most ardent wrestler, Ohio State redshirt freshman Mike Pucillo struts into practice every day grinning from ear to ear.
"He?s got a smile on his face all the time," assistant coach Ross Thatcher said. "Mikey cares about getting good grades, cares about being nice to people, cares about improving himself, and when you are an overall good person, good things happen."
Pucillo, a transfer from Hofstra, has given his coaches and teammates plenty of reasons to smile in his short time at Ohio State. He has won his first seven matches, including five to win the 184-pound class at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. He has jumped from No. 13 to No. 3 in the national rankings and recently was named Big Ten wrestler of the week, the first Buckeye to receive the honor since 2003.
"When he first transferred in, we were told he was good," Thatcher said, "but none of us knew he was this good. ? Everyone around the country knows (Pucillo) is going to be a guy to beat."
Pucillo has compiled some impressive wins. He has three victories over wrestlers who were ranked in the top five at the time of the match, including two against Raymond Jordan of Missouri.
He has been successful even though he had little time to prepare for the season. He suffered a broken ankle during preseason drills in mid-September and missed six weeks. The time off the mat didn?t hamper him. Ten days after returning to practice, he beat Jordan 3-2 in the Buckeyes? opener.
"(Winning) hasn?t really surprised me because I feel like I work pretty hard," Pucillo said. "It?s never surprising to me that I win, but as a freshman coming into college, there?s a big difference.
"I still don?t feel I?m in the best shape yet. It?s all about peaking at the right time, the end of the season."
Pucillo was not recruited by Ohio State after he won a state championship at 189 pounds his senior year at Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit. He signed with Hofstra, where current Ohio State coach Tom Ryan was at the time. He practiced at the New York school last season, but by December decided Hofstra wasn?t suited for him.
Pucillo was released from his scholarship last spring ? about the same time Ryan was hired by Ohio State. He is able to wrestle now because, unlike college basketball or football, transfers do not have to sit out a year as long as they don?t enroll at a school within its conference.
"When he got (the Ohio State job), I was like, I?m going with you," Pucillo said. "I got kind of lucky (the way it turned out)."
Ohio State assistant coach Joe Heskett said luck has nothing to do with Pucillo?s success.
"I?ve known Mikey since he was a little kid," Heskett said, "and his mentality and the direction and the workout partners he?s had since a young age have prepared him for this."
Heskett and Thatcher are most impressed that Pucillo has remained level-headed even with his early success. Ohio State has yet to start Big Ten action and Pucillo realizes he has much to learn before then.
"Just (last Wednesday) I was in here working on front headlocks, and I think I?ve got a pretty good front headlock, but we have the best coaching staff in the nation and anything you do, they can pick it apart," Pucillo said.
"No matter how good you are, you?ve always got to keep working."
And smiling.
Dispatch
CPD
OHIO STATE WRESTLING
Freshman makes his mark quickly
Pucillo already up to No. 3 at 184 in national rankings
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Jeremy McLaughlin
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
In the midst of a grueling wrestling season, in which aches and pain can bring down the most ardent wrestler, Ohio State redshirt freshman Mike Pucillo struts into practice every day grinning from ear to ear.
"He?s got a smile on his face all the time," assistant coach Ross Thatcher said. "Mikey cares about getting good grades, cares about being nice to people, cares about improving himself, and when you are an overall good person, good things happen."
Pucillo, a transfer from Hofstra, has given his coaches and teammates plenty of reasons to smile in his short time at Ohio State. He has won his first seven matches, including five to win the 184-pound class at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. He has jumped from No. 13 to No. 3 in the national rankings and recently was named Big Ten wrestler of the week, the first Buckeye to receive the honor since 2003.
"When he first transferred in, we were told he was good," Thatcher said, "but none of us knew he was this good. ? Everyone around the country knows (Pucillo) is going to be a guy to beat."
Pucillo has compiled some impressive wins. He has three victories over wrestlers who were ranked in the top five at the time of the match, including two against Raymond Jordan of Missouri.
He has been successful even though he had little time to prepare for the season. He suffered a broken ankle during preseason drills in mid-September and missed six weeks. The time off the mat didn?t hamper him. Ten days after returning to practice, he beat Jordan 3-2 in the Buckeyes? opener.
"(Winning) hasn?t really surprised me because I feel like I work pretty hard," Pucillo said. "It?s never surprising to me that I win, but as a freshman coming into college, there?s a big difference.
"I still don?t feel I?m in the best shape yet. It?s all about peaking at the right time, the end of the season."
Pucillo was not recruited by Ohio State after he won a state championship at 189 pounds his senior year at Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit. He signed with Hofstra, where current Ohio State coach Tom Ryan was at the time. He practiced at the New York school last season, but by December decided Hofstra wasn?t suited for him.
Pucillo was released from his scholarship last spring ? about the same time Ryan was hired by Ohio State. He is able to wrestle now because, unlike college basketball or football, transfers do not have to sit out a year as long as they don?t enroll at a school within its conference.
"When he got (the Ohio State job), I was like, I?m going with you," Pucillo said. "I got kind of lucky (the way it turned out)."
Ohio State assistant coach Joe Heskett said luck has nothing to do with Pucillo?s success.
"I?ve known Mikey since he was a little kid," Heskett said, "and his mentality and the direction and the workout partners he?s had since a young age have prepared him for this."
Heskett and Thatcher are most impressed that Pucillo has remained level-headed even with his early success. Ohio State has yet to start Big Ten action and Pucillo realizes he has much to learn before then.
"Just (last Wednesday) I was in here working on front headlocks, and I think I?ve got a pretty good front headlock, but we have the best coaching staff in the nation and anything you do, they can pick it apart," Pucillo said.
"No matter how good you are, you?ve always got to keep working."
And smiling.
Dispatch
Wrestling: Jaggers, Pucillo shooting for rare feat
Both are taking steps toward defending their NCAA championships
Monday, November 24, 2008 3:06 AM
By Jeremy McLaughlin
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Kyle Robertson dispatch
Ohio State's J Jaggers, left, and Mike Pucillo won NCAA titles at 141 and 184 pounds, respectively. Pucillo will miss tonight's event because of injury.
A wrestler's mind tends to wander during the monotonous minutes of early-season fitness conditioning. Even a defending national champion finds it hard to maintain his focus.
"Whenever you have a tough workout, I'm thinking 'What am I doing? (My picture) is already up on the wall,' " junior Mike Pucillo said. "But you know it just didn't happen at the national tournament. It was all the little things that got you to that point."
Those things helped Pucillo (184 pounds) and teammate J Jaggers (141) win NCAA titles last season. They return this season trying to accomplish a rare feat in college wrestling -- repeating as champions.
Continued.............
CPD
Pucillo v. Herbert, Act I: Nation's top two at 184 meet for first of likely three epic matches
by Doug Lesmerises/Plain Dealer Reporter Thursday February 19, 2009, 9:14 PM
Associated Press File PhotosOhio State's Mike Pucillo, left, a Walsh Jesuit grad, is the reigning NCAA champion at 184. He's 14-0 and ranked No. 2. Northwestern's Jake Herbert, at right facing left, is the 2007 NCAA champ at 184. He's 24-0 and ranked No. 1. The two square off tonight in Illinois in a dual match, with meetings at the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments likely to follow.
COLUMBUS -- Tom Ryan's assistant coach was scouting a wrestler at a summer tournament when he called Ryan with an update.
"How's he doing?" Ryan asked.
"Well, he's on the mat right now getting beat by this short, dumpy kid."
"Who's the short, dumpy kid?" asked Ryan.
"That was me," Mike Pucillo said. "I was the fat kid from Ohio."
Tonight, the fat kid who's afraid of scary movies and snakes, who eats candy bars and starts practice each season with a spare tire, who was bribed with Starburst and summer passes to Cedar Point to practice wrestling as a kid, will take part in maybe the biggest individual match of college wrestling's regular season.
Strongsville native and Ohio State junior Pucillo, the 2008 NCAA champion at 184 pounds, is 14-0, on a 41-match winning streak and ranked No. 2 in the country.
Northwestern senior Jake Herbert, the 2007 NCAA champion at 184 pounds, is 24-0, on a 56-match winning streak and ranked No. 1 in the country.
For two wrestlers who too often face opponents just trying to avoid a pin, who receive forfeits when the other guy wants to protect his record, a match like this is a reward for the sweat.
Cont...
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