Joe Dexter
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Ohio State Wrestle-Offs Preview: Top-Notch Competition Expected Thursday
Joe Dexter via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
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A true sign of a high-level wrestling program is when you can head into a national title defense with a lot of ammunition, despite the fact that you have to replace a 4-time national champion and the best 197 pounder in the world.
Logan Stieber helped put the Ohio State wrestling program on the map.
Kyle Snyder, who took an Olympic redshirt for the upcoming season to focus on Rio in 2016, continues to show just how quick great wrestlers can develop into elite stars inside the Ohio RTC and Buckeye wrestling program.
The kid who once went 179-0 at the High School level, was humbled last march, when Iowa State’s Kyven Gadson pinned him in the national championship finals. Since then, he’s gone on a personal revenge tour, taking out the greatest freestyle wrestlers in the United States and the world.
There is no doubt that it will be impossible to replace that type of production on the mat. Head coach Tom Ryan still has a ton of talent in his program though, surrounded by the great veteran leaders that have helped put this program on the map. The beautiful thing is that while Snyder isn’t competing at the college level, he’s still working out in the same wrestling room.
So is Logan Stieber, as he pushes towards being an Olympic champion.
The road to repeating as National Champions will be a tough one. Yet, Ohio State, behind the leadership of 125 pound champ Nate Tomasello, still matches up well with the best teams in the country.
The Buckeyes have a lot of youngsters vying for key positions, with the season starting just around the corner.
The season gets underway tonight at approximately 7:45 PM ET inside French Fieldhouse, when the Buckeyes hold their final wrestle-offs before the start of the regular season.
Here is a preview of each match at every individual weight.
125: Nathan Tomasello vs. Mike Manuche
It’s amazing that Tomasello is returning to 125 to defend his title. When you look at his frame, it’s pretty clear that he won’t be able to maintain dropping that much weight for very long. If there is anything to know about Tomasello though is that he is one of the most disciplined wrestlers in the country.
You have to be in order to be a team captain as a redshirt freshman. Now as a sophomore, he enters the year as the team’s sole captain alongside senior Hunter Stieber.
On Thursday, he’ll compete for the top spot at 125.
Mike Manuche is a veteran of the program and will challenge Tomasello without a doubt.
The real battle though will be on Sunday, when he takes on West Virginia’s Zeke Moisey in a rematch at the 2015 NWCA All-Star Classic in Atlanta.
133: Jose Rodriguez vs. Johnni DiJulius
This match could be a lot closer than people anticipate. Rodrguez is one of the three highly-touted freshman entering the program this year and already has a preliminary wrestle-off tech fall under his belt.
The two time state champion for Masillion Perry High School finished the year ranked 9th in Intermat’s high school rankings at 126th. The top 100 recruit is on the fast track to time on the mat, but in the way is the veteran DiJulius, who has proven over his three-year career to not count him out.
The redshirt senior was seeded 4th in the NCAA tournament a year ago, after finishing the regular season tied for the second most amount of wins on the Ohio State team. There are a lot of expectations on the three-time NCAA championships qualifier to take the next step during the final season of his career.
I think he does that and starts the season off with a sound win over Jose Rodriguez.
141: Micah Jordan vs. Ke-Shawn Hayes
This is without a doubt, the match of the night. Micah Jordan enters the year as one of those dark horse wrestlers that everyone knows that is going to do well, but his talent can’t quite be projected into a certain win-total yet, because we haven’t seen him at the highest level.
Last year, Jordan wrestled at 149 and 141, and nearly burned his redshirt after Hunter Stieber’s two elbow injuries. Micah went 31-3 in the open tournament circuit a year ago and is highly regarded throughout the program.
Ke-Shawn Hayes also has had the spotlight shining on him since committing to Ohio State just over a year ago. The top 138 pounder in the class of 2015 already has some big wins over his belt and has also been projected as the next great champion in the Ohio State program.
This is a must-watch match without a doubt.
Whoever wins will be the king of 141, but if Jordan loses, I wouldn’t be surprised if he manned 149 until Hunter Stieber makes his way back from his two elbow surgeries. If Jordan wins, it might be the best thing for the program if Hayes redshirts for a year and dominates the open circuit, like Jordan did a year ago.
149: Blake Riley-Hawkins vs. Matt Davis
The battle for 149 could be an important one until January, when senior captain Hunter Stieber returns from having surgery on all four limbs this off-season.
Riley-Hawkins gained experience at the varsity level a year ago in dual meets, wrestling against Kent State and Arizona State. Davis didn’t have any varsity matches a year ago but did go 4-1 in the open circuit as a freshman.
There is a lot riding on this match because head coach Tom Ryan is looking for someone to be able to fill some pretty big shoes until Hunter Stieber returns in early 2016. These two aren’t just competing for the spot, they are battling to impress and prove they can wrestle at the highest level.
157: Jake Ryan vs. Anthony DeCarlo
There is more to prove than how good of a wrestler you are when you are the coach’s son. Even if it isn’t intentional, the road is going to be harder because there are more expectations. For me, Jake Ryan has lived up to those so far and has shown continued improvement throughout his time at Ohio State.
Part of that success has been through the inner-rivalry (on the mat) that he has built with Cody Burcher, who he defeated in the preliminaries 5-2. Burcher went 10-3 last year as a redshirt, while Ryan went 19-5.
Many might consider this spot a weakness, but all I see is an improved weight class with a lot of depth.
Anthony DeCarlo went 10-11 in open tournaments a year ago. The redshirt freshman won over 130 matches during his high school career at Springfield Catholic Central.
Ryan is the favorite in this match and I have a feeling he is going to surprise some people this year with a strong first year in the Ohio State lineup.
165: Seth Williams vs. Justin Kresevic
Many thought heading into the year that this spot would be Ryan Harris’ to lose if Bo Jordan decided to wrestle at 174. Now, things get even more interesting because the two-time Ohio state champion has been banged up in practice and won’t compete for the open spot.
Stepping in are two relatively inexperienced wrestlers in Kresevic and Williams. Williams probably has more prestige overall as a state champion at 170 pounds, but Kresevic has more experience on the intercollegiate level
Kresevic has over 30 matches in open tournament action and has been on the mat with championship level wrestlers before.
There is a reason though that the coaching staff is having two wrestle-offs at 174. They are hoping that Bo Jordan can return to 165, where he finished third last season in the NCAA Championships. And that Myles Martin can step up at 174 and compete right away as a true freshman, in one of the most brutal weight classes in the country.
174: Bo Jordan vs. Jacob Bresciani
What is there to say that already hasn’t been said? Bo Jordan is a very unique wrestler that has the “it” factor that coaches are always looking for. He is brutally physical, yet he uses whatever moves are available to get an advantage. He is so smart on his feet and that is the biggest advantage you can have in this sport.
Bresciani went 7-10 last year in open tournaments as a sophomore. Five of those came via the pin.
174: Myles Martin vs. Dominic Prezzia
This is a moment that Ohio State and collegiate wrestling fans around the world have been excited about for quite some time. Can Myles Martin step right into the collegiate wrestling arena and dominate like he did the Maryland prep circuit?
The first test of that will come against Prezzia, who wrestled in 18 matches and started for times for the Buckeyes a year ago.
Martin came into the program as the highest ranked 182 pounder in the country and third best recruit in the country in the class of 2015. Martin dominated in Maryland a lot of the times because he was just so much more physically dominant than his opponent.
At McDonough High School, Martin went 171-15 in his career, was a two-time Beast of the East Champion, and also brought home a junior national freestyle championship.
So even if he did have the physical advantage, his national track record speaks for itself.
I fully expect Martin to compete at 174 all season, if Bo Jordan can make 165 frequently. Down the stretch run of the year especially, when the Buckeyes are trying to fine tune their lineup for a conference and national title run.
184: Kenny Courts vs. Jack Rozema
After last year’s run in the national finals, I have a lot of faith in Kenny Courts the wrestler. Anybody that watched him before his run a year ago knew that he had the physical talents to compete with the best in the country.
What he found at the end of the year though was consistency and staying in matches late.
That was proven when he cinched up the team title for Ohio State in the 5th place match at 184-pounds in the NCAA Championships. After a tough consolation loss, Courts battled North Dakota State’s Hayden Zilmer to the very end, securing a final takedown with a few ticks left on the clock to bring home the 4-3 win.
The confidence that was instilled in him during that tournament is going to carry over into the season. Even if he does struggle a bit in the first half.
There is no denying though that Kenny Courts is a proven wrestler at 184 pounds. You can call me crazy all you want, but I think that Courts can put a run together at the end of the year and be in the championship match against Gabe Dean of Cornell.
With all that being said, Jack Rozema is a great athlete to have competing against Courts. I think his athleticism will be a good test for Courts tonight, even though he is the heavy underdog.
197: Mark Martin vs. Kollin Moore
How do you replace a World Champion? How do you live up to the expectations of what Kyle Snyder did as a freshman a year ago in the Scarlet and Gray?
The best way is to make the weight class very competitive with two very evenly matched wrestlers battling for the spot.
As a former wrestler, I get even more satisfaction than most in sacrifice. What Mark Martin is doing for this team is a move that only an ultimate team player can make. A guy that cares more about the success of his team than what he can do as an individual on the mat.
The X-factor though is Mark Martin can flat out wrestle.
Yes, the senior is going to be severely outweighed in matches against guys at the top of the weight class (J’Den Cox, Morgan McIntosh, Conner Hartmann). What people forget is that the former 174 pounder is going to be faster than all three of those guys as well.
Martin isn’t even getting love in the top 20 rankings of many media outlets. It’s okay though, you can go ahead and sleep on him.
He’ll wake you up in January when he’s competing at a high level against some of the best in the 197 pound class.
I believe Martin proves that tonight against the very talented true freshman Kollin Moore. The Burbank native didn’t give up an offensive point last season as a state champion for Norwayne. To cap off a 51-win season, Moore won the Division II title by tech fall, 23-8. By the way, he’s also one of just 11 wrestlers in OHSAA history to win 200+ matches in his career.
So tonight won’t be a cake walk for Martin, but I think his hard work and sacrifice pays off tonight.
285: Nick Tavanello vs. Thomas Haines
Back in May, I wrote about how this would be the most anticipated match in wrestle-offs, because of the regression of Nick Tavanello as the starter for the Buckeyes last season. The only thing that perturbs me is the fact that people didn’t recognize that his regression came because of injury. After winning 13 of his first 15, the Wadsworth native lost his last 11 to end the season.
The fact that he stepped back on the mat a month after tearing his MCL, is a bigger win than those 11 losses though.
Tavanello is now completely healthy and will get a true test in Thomas Haines, who many thought was going to start the season a year ago as the top heavyweight.
Haines battled his own injuries last season, and ended up sitting out the whole year. Now, the 4-time Pennsylvania state champ is right in the thick of things and is without a doubt a true challenger for the heavyweight spot.
This might be the most even match up tonight and come down to an overtime.
With that being said, I still like Tavanello in this match. He is a much better wrestler than people give him credit for.
The post Ohio State Wrestle-Offs Preview: Top-Notch Competition Expected Thursday appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...
Joe Dexter via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
A true sign of a high-level wrestling program is when you can head into a national title defense with a lot of ammunition, despite the fact that you have to replace a 4-time national champion and the best 197 pounder in the world.
Logan Stieber helped put the Ohio State wrestling program on the map.
Kyle Snyder, who took an Olympic redshirt for the upcoming season to focus on Rio in 2016, continues to show just how quick great wrestlers can develop into elite stars inside the Ohio RTC and Buckeye wrestling program.
The kid who once went 179-0 at the High School level, was humbled last march, when Iowa State’s Kyven Gadson pinned him in the national championship finals. Since then, he’s gone on a personal revenge tour, taking out the greatest freestyle wrestlers in the United States and the world.
There is no doubt that it will be impossible to replace that type of production on the mat. Head coach Tom Ryan still has a ton of talent in his program though, surrounded by the great veteran leaders that have helped put this program on the map. The beautiful thing is that while Snyder isn’t competing at the college level, he’s still working out in the same wrestling room.
So is Logan Stieber, as he pushes towards being an Olympic champion.
The road to repeating as National Champions will be a tough one. Yet, Ohio State, behind the leadership of 125 pound champ Nate Tomasello, still matches up well with the best teams in the country.
The Buckeyes have a lot of youngsters vying for key positions, with the season starting just around the corner.
The season gets underway tonight at approximately 7:45 PM ET inside French Fieldhouse, when the Buckeyes hold their final wrestle-offs before the start of the regular season.
Here is a preview of each match at every individual weight.
125: Nathan Tomasello vs. Mike Manuche
It’s amazing that Tomasello is returning to 125 to defend his title. When you look at his frame, it’s pretty clear that he won’t be able to maintain dropping that much weight for very long. If there is anything to know about Tomasello though is that he is one of the most disciplined wrestlers in the country.
You have to be in order to be a team captain as a redshirt freshman. Now as a sophomore, he enters the year as the team’s sole captain alongside senior Hunter Stieber.
On Thursday, he’ll compete for the top spot at 125.
Mike Manuche is a veteran of the program and will challenge Tomasello without a doubt.
The real battle though will be on Sunday, when he takes on West Virginia’s Zeke Moisey in a rematch at the 2015 NWCA All-Star Classic in Atlanta.
133: Jose Rodriguez vs. Johnni DiJulius
This match could be a lot closer than people anticipate. Rodrguez is one of the three highly-touted freshman entering the program this year and already has a preliminary wrestle-off tech fall under his belt.
The two time state champion for Masillion Perry High School finished the year ranked 9th in Intermat’s high school rankings at 126th. The top 100 recruit is on the fast track to time on the mat, but in the way is the veteran DiJulius, who has proven over his three-year career to not count him out.
The redshirt senior was seeded 4th in the NCAA tournament a year ago, after finishing the regular season tied for the second most amount of wins on the Ohio State team. There are a lot of expectations on the three-time NCAA championships qualifier to take the next step during the final season of his career.
I think he does that and starts the season off with a sound win over Jose Rodriguez.
141: Micah Jordan vs. Ke-Shawn Hayes
This is without a doubt, the match of the night. Micah Jordan enters the year as one of those dark horse wrestlers that everyone knows that is going to do well, but his talent can’t quite be projected into a certain win-total yet, because we haven’t seen him at the highest level.
Last year, Jordan wrestled at 149 and 141, and nearly burned his redshirt after Hunter Stieber’s two elbow injuries. Micah went 31-3 in the open tournament circuit a year ago and is highly regarded throughout the program.
Ke-Shawn Hayes also has had the spotlight shining on him since committing to Ohio State just over a year ago. The top 138 pounder in the class of 2015 already has some big wins over his belt and has also been projected as the next great champion in the Ohio State program.
This is a must-watch match without a doubt.
Whoever wins will be the king of 141, but if Jordan loses, I wouldn’t be surprised if he manned 149 until Hunter Stieber makes his way back from his two elbow surgeries. If Jordan wins, it might be the best thing for the program if Hayes redshirts for a year and dominates the open circuit, like Jordan did a year ago.
149: Blake Riley-Hawkins vs. Matt Davis
The battle for 149 could be an important one until January, when senior captain Hunter Stieber returns from having surgery on all four limbs this off-season.
Riley-Hawkins gained experience at the varsity level a year ago in dual meets, wrestling against Kent State and Arizona State. Davis didn’t have any varsity matches a year ago but did go 4-1 in the open circuit as a freshman.
There is a lot riding on this match because head coach Tom Ryan is looking for someone to be able to fill some pretty big shoes until Hunter Stieber returns in early 2016. These two aren’t just competing for the spot, they are battling to impress and prove they can wrestle at the highest level.
157: Jake Ryan vs. Anthony DeCarlo
There is more to prove than how good of a wrestler you are when you are the coach’s son. Even if it isn’t intentional, the road is going to be harder because there are more expectations. For me, Jake Ryan has lived up to those so far and has shown continued improvement throughout his time at Ohio State.
Part of that success has been through the inner-rivalry (on the mat) that he has built with Cody Burcher, who he defeated in the preliminaries 5-2. Burcher went 10-3 last year as a redshirt, while Ryan went 19-5.
Many might consider this spot a weakness, but all I see is an improved weight class with a lot of depth.
Anthony DeCarlo went 10-11 in open tournaments a year ago. The redshirt freshman won over 130 matches during his high school career at Springfield Catholic Central.
Ryan is the favorite in this match and I have a feeling he is going to surprise some people this year with a strong first year in the Ohio State lineup.
165: Seth Williams vs. Justin Kresevic
Many thought heading into the year that this spot would be Ryan Harris’ to lose if Bo Jordan decided to wrestle at 174. Now, things get even more interesting because the two-time Ohio state champion has been banged up in practice and won’t compete for the open spot.
Stepping in are two relatively inexperienced wrestlers in Kresevic and Williams. Williams probably has more prestige overall as a state champion at 170 pounds, but Kresevic has more experience on the intercollegiate level
Kresevic has over 30 matches in open tournament action and has been on the mat with championship level wrestlers before.
There is a reason though that the coaching staff is having two wrestle-offs at 174. They are hoping that Bo Jordan can return to 165, where he finished third last season in the NCAA Championships. And that Myles Martin can step up at 174 and compete right away as a true freshman, in one of the most brutal weight classes in the country.
174: Bo Jordan vs. Jacob Bresciani
What is there to say that already hasn’t been said? Bo Jordan is a very unique wrestler that has the “it” factor that coaches are always looking for. He is brutally physical, yet he uses whatever moves are available to get an advantage. He is so smart on his feet and that is the biggest advantage you can have in this sport.
Bresciani went 7-10 last year in open tournaments as a sophomore. Five of those came via the pin.
174: Myles Martin vs. Dominic Prezzia
This is a moment that Ohio State and collegiate wrestling fans around the world have been excited about for quite some time. Can Myles Martin step right into the collegiate wrestling arena and dominate like he did the Maryland prep circuit?
The first test of that will come against Prezzia, who wrestled in 18 matches and started for times for the Buckeyes a year ago.
Martin came into the program as the highest ranked 182 pounder in the country and third best recruit in the country in the class of 2015. Martin dominated in Maryland a lot of the times because he was just so much more physically dominant than his opponent.
At McDonough High School, Martin went 171-15 in his career, was a two-time Beast of the East Champion, and also brought home a junior national freestyle championship.
So even if he did have the physical advantage, his national track record speaks for itself.
I fully expect Martin to compete at 174 all season, if Bo Jordan can make 165 frequently. Down the stretch run of the year especially, when the Buckeyes are trying to fine tune their lineup for a conference and national title run.
184: Kenny Courts vs. Jack Rozema
After last year’s run in the national finals, I have a lot of faith in Kenny Courts the wrestler. Anybody that watched him before his run a year ago knew that he had the physical talents to compete with the best in the country.
What he found at the end of the year though was consistency and staying in matches late.
That was proven when he cinched up the team title for Ohio State in the 5th place match at 184-pounds in the NCAA Championships. After a tough consolation loss, Courts battled North Dakota State’s Hayden Zilmer to the very end, securing a final takedown with a few ticks left on the clock to bring home the 4-3 win.
The confidence that was instilled in him during that tournament is going to carry over into the season. Even if he does struggle a bit in the first half.
There is no denying though that Kenny Courts is a proven wrestler at 184 pounds. You can call me crazy all you want, but I think that Courts can put a run together at the end of the year and be in the championship match against Gabe Dean of Cornell.
With all that being said, Jack Rozema is a great athlete to have competing against Courts. I think his athleticism will be a good test for Courts tonight, even though he is the heavy underdog.
197: Mark Martin vs. Kollin Moore
How do you replace a World Champion? How do you live up to the expectations of what Kyle Snyder did as a freshman a year ago in the Scarlet and Gray?
The best way is to make the weight class very competitive with two very evenly matched wrestlers battling for the spot.
As a former wrestler, I get even more satisfaction than most in sacrifice. What Mark Martin is doing for this team is a move that only an ultimate team player can make. A guy that cares more about the success of his team than what he can do as an individual on the mat.
The X-factor though is Mark Martin can flat out wrestle.
Yes, the senior is going to be severely outweighed in matches against guys at the top of the weight class (J’Den Cox, Morgan McIntosh, Conner Hartmann). What people forget is that the former 174 pounder is going to be faster than all three of those guys as well.
Martin isn’t even getting love in the top 20 rankings of many media outlets. It’s okay though, you can go ahead and sleep on him.
He’ll wake you up in January when he’s competing at a high level against some of the best in the 197 pound class.
I believe Martin proves that tonight against the very talented true freshman Kollin Moore. The Burbank native didn’t give up an offensive point last season as a state champion for Norwayne. To cap off a 51-win season, Moore won the Division II title by tech fall, 23-8. By the way, he’s also one of just 11 wrestlers in OHSAA history to win 200+ matches in his career.
So tonight won’t be a cake walk for Martin, but I think his hard work and sacrifice pays off tonight.
285: Nick Tavanello vs. Thomas Haines
Back in May, I wrote about how this would be the most anticipated match in wrestle-offs, because of the regression of Nick Tavanello as the starter for the Buckeyes last season. The only thing that perturbs me is the fact that people didn’t recognize that his regression came because of injury. After winning 13 of his first 15, the Wadsworth native lost his last 11 to end the season.
The fact that he stepped back on the mat a month after tearing his MCL, is a bigger win than those 11 losses though.
Tavanello is now completely healthy and will get a true test in Thomas Haines, who many thought was going to start the season a year ago as the top heavyweight.
Haines battled his own injuries last season, and ended up sitting out the whole year. Now, the 4-time Pennsylvania state champ is right in the thick of things and is without a doubt a true challenger for the heavyweight spot.
This might be the most even match up tonight and come down to an overtime.
With that being said, I still like Tavanello in this match. He is a much better wrestler than people give him credit for.
The post Ohio State Wrestle-Offs Preview: Top-Notch Competition Expected Thursday appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
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