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Ohio State Wrestling (2015/2017/2018 B1G Champs, 2015 National Champs, 2019 National Runners-up)

SAMMY SASSO ONLY WANTS TO RETURN TO COMPETITION IF IT'S AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL, GRATEFUL TO BE WRESTLING AT ALL​

Sammy Sasso’s entire Ohio State career has been spent competing for and winning championships.

He won his first Big Ten Championship in 2021 as a redshirt sophomore and followed it up with another Big Ten title in 2023. He’s a four-time All-American and two-time NCAA runner-up.

If he’s going to return to competition in the sport he loves after being shot on Aug. 18 – an incident that nearly left him paraplegic – Sasso doesn’t want it to be at anything short of that level.

“If I’m not competing at the level that I was before, then I won’t come back,” Sasso said. “I had a great career. I never lost a Big Ten dual meet. I wouldn’t come back a lesser version of myself and tarnish my record or just what I’ve done in the sport. If I’m not competing at what I was or better, then it’s not happening.”


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NO. 6 OHIO STATE STEAMROLLS NO. 22 INDIANA 32-6 ON SENIOR DAY​

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Indiana was made into a Senior Day doormat for Ohio State on Sunday.

The No. 22 Hoosiers (6-3, 3-3 Big Ten) offered little resistance to No. 6 Ohio State (14-2, 6-1) in the Covelli Center. The Buckeyes won eight of 10 matchups in the dual and cruised to a 32-6 victory.
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No. 6 Ohio State Cruises to 32-6 Win over Hoosiers Sunday​

197-No. 22 Luke Geog (OSU) def. Gabe Sollars (IND) | D, 9-6
Sollars struck first with a takedown in the first 20 seconds. Geog got a quick escape point and a takedown for a 4-3 lead. Sollars tied it with an escape before the end of the first. Sollars added an escape early in the second before a Geog takedown made it 7-5 Buckeyes. Sollars added another escape to go to the third with Geog leading 7-6. From the bottom, Geog got a penalty point awarded for a technical violation before an escape made it 9-6 for a win by decision.

HWT-No. 7 Nick Feldman (OSU) def. Nick Willham (IND) | MD, 12-3
Feldman got the first takedown and then a second for a 6-1 lead midway through the first. After a Willham escape, the bout went to the second with the Buckeyes leading 6-2. Feldman escaped quickly early in the middle period for a 7-2 lead after five minutes. Willham got an escape point before being called for stalling to make it 8-3 Feldman. Willham was called for stalling again before a Feldman takedown made it a win by major decision, 12-3.

125-No. 23 Brendan McCrone (OSU) def. Blaine Frazier (IND) | MD, 14-4
The Buckeyes went up 3-0 on a McCrone takedown. McCrone added a four-point nearfall for a 7-0 lead with more than two minutes of riding time after the first period. McCrone added a reversal to start the second before a Frazier escape made it 9-1 Buckeyes headed to the third. Frazier scored a takedown early in the third before a McCrone escape made it 10-4 Ohio State. McCrone added a takedown for a win by major decision, 14-4.

133-No. 11 Nic Bouzakis (OSU) def. Isaac Thornton (IND) | Fall, 4:03
Bouzakis led 6-1 after two early takedowns around a Thornton escape. After another takedown, Bouzakis led 9-2 after three minutes. A reversal to open the second made it 11-2 Buckeyes. Bouzakis then got the pin at 4:03 for the six team points.

141-No. 3 Jesse Mendez (OSU) def. No. 23 Dan Fongaro (IND) | MD, 19-6
A quick scramble resulted in a 3-0 lead for the Buckeyes after a Mendez takedown. Fongaro was awarded a pair of escape points around a Mendez takedown for a 6-2 OSU lead three minutes. Fongara added an escape before a Mendez takedown upped the lead to 9-3 headed to the third. Mendez added an escape point before another takedown to up the advantage to 13-3. Fongaro scored a reversal before a Mendez escape made it 14-5. Mendez added a takedown before a Fongaro escape. Mendez finished with a 19-6 win by major decision.

149-No. 11 Dylan D'Emilio (OSU) def. No. 14 Graham Rooks (IND) | D, 4-2
D'Emilio entered the second period with a 3-0 lead after a late takedown. He added an escape to open the second for a 4-0 lead after five minutes. Rooks made it 4-1 Buckeyes with a third-period escape. After Rooks was awarded a point for stalling against Ohio State, D'Emilio got the win by decision, 4-2.

157-No. 19 Brayton Lee (IND) def. Isaac Wilcox (OSU) | D, 4-2
Neither wrestler put points on the board in the first period. Wilcox escaped for a 1-0 lead early in the second. Lee made it 3-2 Indiana with a takedown and another Wilcox escape. In the third, Lee escaped to earn a 4-2 win by decision.

165-No. 19 Bryce Hepner (OSU) def. Robert Major (IND) | D, 14-6
Major scored first with a takedown. Hepner escaped and added a takedown for a 4-3 lead after the first period. Hepner added a reversal to open the second. Major escaped before a Hepner takedown made it 9-4 Buckeyes after five minutes. A Major escape before a Hepner takedown upped the lead to 12-6 Buckeyes after another Major escape. Hepner added a riding time point for a 14-6 win by major decision.

174-No. 11 Rocco Welsh (OSU) def. Nick South (IND) | MD, 14-5
Welsh led 3-1 after the first. South escaped before a quick Welsh takedown made it 6-2 Buckeyes. South added another escape to send the bout to the third with Welsh leading 6-3. Welsh opened with an escape early in the third and then added a takedown before a South escape made it 10-4 Buckeyes. Welsh added another escape to win the match by major decision, 14-5.

184-Roman Rogotzke (IND) def. Gavin Bell (OSU) | D, 18-11
Bell got the early takedown for a 3-0 lead. Rogotzke scored with a reversal before Bell countered with one of his own for a 5-2 lead. Rogotzke added another reversal to send the bout to the second with Bell leading 5-4. Rogotzke tied it at 5-all with an escape to open the second. Bell went up 8-5 with a takedown and then added a two-point nearfall for a 10-5 advantage. Rogotzke escaped to make it 10-6 after five minutes. Bell got an escape point in the third before a Rogotzke takedown and two-point nearfall tied it at 11-all after three periods. With the match in sudden victory, Rogotzke to the late takedown and four-point nearfall for an 18-11 win by decision.

Up Next:
The Buckeyes travel to Michigan State Friday for the final dual match of the season. Match time is scheduled for 7 p.m. The Big Ten Network will broadcast the match to a national audience.
 
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Honestly, pretty damn nice performance. Great way to close out at the Covelli. Proud of our guys. Can't wait for the B1G Tourney.

Edit: Forgot we do have one more dual at MSU on Friday. In my head this was the last one, but it was just the last home dual. Should pick up that win and finish at 15-2 in dual meets, pretty damn good considering no Sasso or Kharchla.
 
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Honestly, pretty damn nice performance. Great way to close out at the Covelli. Proud of our guys. Can't wait for the B1G Tourney.

Edit: Forgot we do have one more dual at MSU on Friday. In my head this was the last one, but it was just the last home dual. Should pick up that win and finish at 15-2 in dual meets, pretty damn good considering no Sasso or Kharchla.
Isn't this a year ahead of schedule? Damn good season without those two studs
 
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I think Kharch will make it back finally with a clean bill of health next year. It's been a long road for that dude, he should've got that knee fixed 3 years ago. Sasso I am more skeptical about after hearing him speak and watching him limping around the mat. I'd say about 40/60 he doesn't return, but Coach Ryan is still very positive Sammy will wrestle competitively again so we'll see. God knows he's been through a lot. Good luck Bucks in East Lansing!
 
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Season is almost over and I'm still seeing new names in singlets. Well shoot. Appreciating that the Buckeyes are playing for second place in the B10 (not defeatist, just realist), may we qualify at least one (can we get more?) in every weight class, for the Nati's. Go Bucks!
 
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Season is almost over and I'm still seeing new names in singlets. Well shoot. Appreciating that the Buckeyes are playing for second place in the B10 (not defeatist, just realist), may we qualify at least one (can we get more?) in every weight class, for the Nati's. Go Bucks!
Yeah we had a few odd lineup decisions in the MSU dual on the back of the lineup, might be injuries or wanting guys fresh. Gavin Brown, Carter Chase and to some extent Shumate. Maximum roster strength would be Wilcox at 157, Hepner at 165, Welsh at 174, Rogotzke at 184 and Geog at 197.

Shooting for 2nd indeed, which is a tall task in itself with Nebraska, Iowa and ttun out there.
 
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Well, here's hoping that tOSU wrestlers can pull some upsets. Do believe that a second at the B10's means a second/third in the Nationals. As the B10 is the best wrestling league in the nation, and using the old adage, 'iron sharpens iron', then the murders row on our wrestling circuit, and a one-loss record means that we're doing something pretty darn right. As I understand it, every B10 team can/will put forward one person in each weight class. However, can a school or two, PSU and tOSU come to mind, put forward an 'independent' wrestler as well? Would opine that both schools have 'extras' that are better than the wrestlers from other schools. If not the B10's, how about the Nationals? Just musing, thanks for helping me clear away the fog.
 
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Well, here's hoping that tOSU wrestlers can pull some upsets. Do believe that a second at the B10's means a second/third in the Nationals. As the B10 is the best wrestling league in the nation, and using the old adage, 'iron sharpens iron', then the murders row on our wrestling circuit, and a one-loss record means that we're doing something pretty darn right. As I understand it, every B10 team can/will put forward one person in each weight class. However, can a school or two, PSU and tOSU come to mind, put forward an 'independent' wrestler as well? Would opine that both schools have 'extras' that are better than the wrestlers from other schools. If not the B10's, how about the Nationals? Just musing, thanks for helping me clear away the fog.
The B1G team results are roughly equivalent to nationals, so they are insanely important for sure. This year Oklahoma State, Iowa State, NC State and Cornell could all the in the Top 10 though. We actually had two losses in duals, PSU and Pitt.

Each school gets one wrestler per weight in conference and national finals. They don't allow any unattached (independent) wrestlers, they don't really allow it at any regular season meet as far as I know. You can go to open tournaments unattached, but the official invitational tourneys you can't have more than one per weight.
 
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NCAA allocations usually come out the last week of February. Last season the B1G received in order by weight class; 9,9,9,9,10,8,7,9,9,9 automatic bids to the NCAA tournament. The allocations change every year per weight class. If it's similar to what it's been the last few years we could qualify all ten unless someone has a really bad B1G tourney and even then they have 'at large bids.'
For example if D'Emilio or Feldman "tank" at the B1G, there's a pretty good chance they will get an at large bid to the NCAA Tourney.
Team wise...Who knows. No one was expecting a top four finish last season. OSU could finish third or thirteenth.

GO BUCKS!
 
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NCAA allocations usually come out the last week of February. Last season the B1G received in order by weight class; 9,9,9,9,10,8,7,9,9,9 automatic bids to the NCAA tournament. The allocations change every year per weight class. If it's similar to what it's been the last few years we could qualify all ten unless someone has a really bad B1G tourney and even then they have 'at large bids.'
For example if D'Emilio or Feldman "tank" at the B1G, there's a pretty good chance they will get an at large bid to the NCAA Tourney.
Team wise...Who knows. No one was expecting a top four finish last season. OSU could finish third or thirteenth.

GO BUCKS!
If everyone is healthy, we should qualify everyone, which is awesome. McCrone came to mind as someone that could have a bad tourney but get an at-large based on the big wins he has...obviously I hope he just places well and gets a better seed. Hopefully Wilcox, Hepner and Geog are healthy and get automatic bids. Geog in particular, he could be a toss-up for an at-large bid if he doesn't automatically qualify. Wilcox too.

All that said, the extra week to rest up and get healthy should be big. Always way more fun if you have someone at every weight.
 
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Coaches poll has Ohio State at #6. Can't say I disagree with those rankings. Going to be a real logjam from #3-10 honestly. Maybe even #2 with OK State. Could go any which way at Nationals behind PSU.
 

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