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

[Delaware Buck]

Does the 'they' refer to PSU? If so, considering they had won 3 NCAA titles in a row what do you mean by being as lethal a tourney team. They seems pretty good in the tourney to me.

I think they won 4 in a row but during that streak they had dual loses to Iowa and some others. But they were a bonus point machine when it came to the tournaments. Right now they have 4 number one guys and another 2 in the top 3. If that plays out to rankings or close to it, they will be tough to beat

 

[RB07OSU]

Good point, they were pretty damn good at NCAAs in the past 5 years. I was moreso thinking just last year's perception...they looked unbeatable but I knew once NCAAs rolled around, we could very well beat them. This year...not likely if Nolf and Nickal keep wrestling at this level. Heard McIntosh is pretty dinged up but even if he AA's, pretty tough to overcome either way. I really think by the time nationals roll around, Micah Jordan and Johnny D are the biggest x-factors.

Speaking of the OSU vs. PSU dual though...already sold out. BJC will be rocking. I truly hope we are full strength for that dual. Snyder can get us bonus, as can both the Jordans. Could be an incredible match if everyone is full strength.

 

[Delaware Buck]

Good point, they were pretty damn good at NCAAs in the past 5 years. I was moreso thinking just last year's perception...they looked unbeatable but I knew once NCAAs rolled around, we could very well beat them. This year...not likely if Nolf and Nickal keep wrestling at this level. Heard McIntosh is pretty dinged up but even if he AA's, pretty tough to overcome either way. I really think by the time nationals roll around, Micah Jordan and Johnny D are the biggest x-factors.

Speaking of the OSU vs. PSU dual though...already sold out. BJC will be rocking. I truly hope we are full strength for that dual. Snyder can get us bonus, as can both the Jordans. Could be an incredible match if everyone is full strength.

I think it's Matt McCutcheon that's dinged up right now. I don't know much about their number 2 184 but Courts would have to be a big favorite in that match if McCutcheon can't go.

I can't get a gauge on Hunter. He lost tonight at IU 6-2 to someone that was a former walk on. He looked like he was really favoring the elbow.

Also, unless Nevills is back from the torn muscle I think PSU either forfeits 285 to OSU or they wrestle Johnson who has no shot against Snyder.

 

[RB07OSU]

I think it's Matt McCutcheon that's dinged up right now. I don't know much about their number 2 184 but Courts would have to be a big favorite in that match if McCutcheon can't go.

I can't get a gauge on Hunter. He lost tonight at IU 6-2 to someone that was a former walk on. He looked like he was really favoring the elbow.

Also, unless Nevills is back from the torn muscle I think PSU either forfeits 285 to OSU or they wrestle Johnson who has no shot against Snyder.

You're right, it is McCutcheon that is injured. But unfortunately I think Hunter is just too injured over the course of years to get to AA status. Kids heart and commitment can never be questioned, his body just can't follow suit.

 

[Delaware Buck]

You're right, it is McCutcheon that is injured. But unfortunately I think Hunter is just too injured over the course of years to get to AA status. Kids heart and commitment can never be questioned, his body just can't follow suit.

With the kind of injuries Hunter has endured it's so tough to come back and compete at the highest level of the sport. I hope the kid comes back and proves everyone wrong but he's really facing some tough odds.

 

[OSU_D/]

Is this a case where they could leave him out of the matches until the Big 10s? If he loses to an unranked IU kid then perhaps he is not likely to be seeded highly if he continues to wrestle. Thus it seems like it won't hurt him in terms of seeding if he doesn't wrestle for now.

 

[RB07OSU]

Is this a case where they could leave him out of the matches until the Big 10s? If he loses to an unranked IU kid then perhaps he is not likely to be seeded highly if he continues to wrestle. Thus it seems like it won't hurt him in terms of seeding if he doesn't wrestle for now.

I was thinking the same thing but from what I am told, this is what 100% is going to look like for Hunter. Sitting out matches is not going to bring his elbow strength back by the time B1G's roll around unfortunately, so wrestling and knocking some rust off looks like the plan.

But on the IU dual, we had some really nice wins. Toms smoked a very good wrestler in Oliver and Courts looked very good. But Myles Martin defeating #8 Nate Jackson again was huge, really good win and his offense looks explosive. At one point I think Jackson was #3 or #4 in the country, so it is a really great win.

Coming up is Purdue tomorrow, who we should blow out of the water but there will be a few interesting matchups. Stieber will wrestle the #18 overall guy at 149, Jake Ryan (if he wrestles) will go against a very good #16 Doug Welch, and the headliner is Bo Jordan against #6 Chad Welch...should be Bo's biggest test of the year.

 

[RB07OSU]

Meant to do a projected lineup for next year after the White commit because I think we have a pretty set lineup for next year after his commitment...in my mind, we just need another guy that can go at 197 (Darmstadt from Elyria would have been nice but he is going to Cornell) and we call it a class for '16:

125: Tomasello (nothing more to say here)
133: Pletcher, Rodriguez (I think Pletcher wins this weight over Rodriguez if he can get his weight down there...Pletcher is a serious stud...maybe not immediately, but this will be a roster improvement at 133 by the time we hit NCAAs imo)
141: Ke-Shawn Hayes (Pletcher could be up to this weight and wrestle off here...not sure who wins that one if it happens but I would say Hayes, he can be a star here)
149: Micah Jordan (no way he can stay down at 141 again next year...he'll easily make the transition up one weight)
157: Jake Ryan (he's looked very good for us and has been a nice surprise...I think he can pretty easily stay at this weight)
165: Isiah White (I don't think Bo stays at 165 next year and White is a super star that can go right away...Bo sliding up and slotting in White makes the strongest lineup possible)
174: Bo Jordan (moves up and is likely the top guy at his weight, although Nickal will be right there presumably)
184: Myles Martin (word is he is actually cutting a bit to get down to 174, so my 165 talk for this year was not even an option...he can be great at 184)
197: Kollin Moore (I am pretty high on Moore and think he has a lot of potential...just have to see how he wrestles up at this weight...highly doubt Kyle Snyder gets back down to this weight)
HWT: Kyle Snyder (I think he stays up at heavy and is an obvious improvement here...but if he does go down, I would still be happy with Tav at heavy and Kyle at 197)

 

[Delaware Buck]

I was thinking the same thing but from what I am told, this is what 100% is going to look like for Hunter. Sitting out matches is not going to bring his elbow strength back by the time B1G's roll around unfortunately, so wrestling and knocking some rust off looks like the plan.

But on the IU dual, we had some really nice wins. Toms smoked a very good wrestler in Oliver and Courts looked very good. But Myles Martin defeating #8 Nate Jackson again was huge, really good win and his offense looks explosive. At one point I think Jackson was #3 or #4 in the country, so it is a really great win.

Coming up is Purdue tomorrow, who we should blow out of the water but there will be a few interesting matchups. Stieber will wrestle the #18 overall guy at 149, Jake Ryan (if he wrestles) will go against a very good #16 Doug Welch, and the headliner is Bo Jordan against #6 Chad Welch...should be Bo's biggest test of the year.

Agree. Holding Hunter out is not going to improve anything. Let him wrestle and see what happens. If he injurers the elbow(s) again he's probably done and with no eligibility left that's unfortunate but at least they gave it a shot. If he is able to hang in there and gut out a few wins maybe he gets a few points for the team and it ends up making a difference in some team race. The match against Retherford could get ugly so people should reserve some judgement until after B1G's.

Myles Martin is a local kid and I've been following him since he was wrestling for the Pennsgrove junior club. The kid has a ton a talent and will thrive at OSU under Ryan. Really looking forward to watching him in the next 4 years. FWIW his dad Greg posts over on the Ohio wrestling forum.

 

[RB07OSU]

Agree. Holding Hunter out is not going to improve anything. Let him wrestle and see what happens. If he injurers the elbow(s) again he's probably done and with no eligibility left that's unfortunate but at least they gave it a shot. If he is able to hang in there and gut out a few wins maybe he gets a few points for the team and it ends up making a difference in some team race. The match against Retherford could get ugly so people should reserve some judgement until after B1G's.

Myles Martin is a local kid and I've been following him since he was wrestling for the Pennsgrove junior club. The kid has a ton a talent and will thrive at OSU under Ryan. Really looking forward to watching him in the next 4 years. FWIW his dad Greg posts over on the Ohio wrestling forum.

Agreed 100% on everything there. I think Martin is going to be big time here in the future. If he wrestles to his potential, I really think he is an AA this year.

 

[OSU_D/]

Meant to do a projected lineup for next year after the White commit because I think we have a pretty set lineup for next year after his commitment...in my mind, we just need another guy that can go at 197 (Darmstadt from Elyria would have been nice but he is going to Cornell) and we call it a class for '16:

125: Tomasello (nothing more to say here)
133: Pletcher, Rodriguez (I think Pletcher wins this weight over Rodriguez if he can get his weight down there...Pletcher is a serious stud...maybe not immediately, but this will be a roster improvement at 133 by the time we hit NCAAs imo)
141: Ke-Shawn Hayes (Pletcher could be up to this weight and wrestle off here...not sure who wins that one if it happens but I would say Hayes, he can be a star here)
149: Micah Jordan (no way he can stay down at 141 again next year...he'll easily make the transition up one weight)
157: Jake Ryan (he's looked very good for us and has been a nice surprise...I think he can pretty easily stay at this weight)
165: Isiah White (I don't think Bo stays at 165 next year and White is a super star that can go right away...Bo sliding up and slotting in White makes the strongest lineup possible)
174: Bo Jordan (moves up and is likely the top guy at his weight, although Nickal will be right there presumably)
184: Myles Martin (word is he is actually cutting a bit to get down to 174, so my 165 talk for this year was not even an option...he can be great at 184)
197: Kollin Moore (I am pretty high on Moore and think he has a lot of potential...just have to see how he wrestles up at this weight...highly doubt Kyle Snyder gets back down to this weight)
HWT: Kyle Snyder (I think he stays up at heavy and is an obvious improvement here...but if he does go down, I would still be happy with Tav at heavy and Kyle at 197)

Is it me or does it seem like we are better next year (assume Snyder returns after the Olympics)?
Same guys, but a year more experienced:
125
157
Heavyweight

Guys switching classes but should be in the top couple of seeds in the weight class
149
174
184

New guys but better by NCAA time
133

Not as good but a total match-day roster upgrade made possible by guys switching weights
141
165

Question mark guy
197

Now the key to me is how does Penn State do next year. They lose seniors McIntosh (1), Megaludis (4), and Conaway (5) according to Intermat in their classes

 

[RB07OSU]

Buckeyes win it but we wrestled really poorly overall, even considering the guys we had out. Felt like a loss even though we won. Breakdown below:

125: Toms wins by fall. That kid was outmatched out of the gate but to get pinned on a tilt? I am happy with the outcome but I would be furious if I coached Purdue.
133: Piss poor match by Johnny to be brutally honest with a 3-1 loss. Did absolutely nothing on his feet but cling to an elbow...he is so easy to scout and if his opponent doesn't let him into a high crotch, they usually win.
141: Mic is dominant as usual. Not the pin-machine like Bo but he dominates on his feet and is super heavy on top. Great match
149: What happened to Burcher? I am assuming he is hurt because he looked pretty darn good at 149. Hozan got worked.
157: Kressevic wrestled a great six and a half minutes, but lapsed at the end. He is pretty darn good but I was disappointed in not seeing Ryan wrestle here. Either way, have to wrestle that one out after getting the riding time.
165: Bo is just an absolute hammer...he flat out dominated a very good wrestler the entire match. Pound for pound one of the best out there and I think Dieringer has to have his eye on this match in the future. Bo is the only guy that could pull off the upset imo and he is so focused right now.
174: Awful loss for Myles...really should not have lost that match. Put himself in really bad positions on top and did not wrestle smart. He will wrestle Morrisey again and take it to him, that was just a bad match.
184: Really lazy match from Courts...he won it at the end but it should not have even been close.
197: Not sure where Martin is but that kills us. Rozema was giving up a ton of weight and that was apparent.
HWT: Glad to see Tav get the win for us. Wrestled a smart match.

 

[RB07OSU]

Is it me or does it seem like we are better next year (assume Snyder returns after the Olympics)?
Same guys, but a year more experienced:
125
157
Heavyweight

Guys switching classes but should be in the top couple of seeds in the weight class
149
174
184

New guys but better by NCAA time
133

Not as good but a total match-day roster upgrade made possible by guys switching weights
141
165

Question mark guy
197

Now the key to me is how does Penn State do next year. They lose seniors McIntosh (1), Megaludis (4), and Conaway (5) according to Intermat in their classes

I think we are absolutely better next year, that is a big reason I posted that projected lineup...on paper, we look stacked. The only real question mark to me is 197 but I do like Moore there to be solid. My thought is if we do not win it this year, we have a great shot the next year.

 

[Delaware Buck]

Buckeyes win it but we wrestled really poorly overall, even considering the guys we had out. Felt like a loss even though we won. Breakdown below:

125: Toms wins by fall. That kid was outmatched out of the gate but to get pinned on a tilt? I am happy with the outcome but I would be furious if I coached Purdue.
133: Piss poor match by Johnny to be brutally honest with a 3-1 loss. Did absolutely nothing on his feet but cling to an elbow...he is so easy to scout and if his opponent doesn't let him into a high crotch, they usually win.
141: Mic is dominant as usual. Not the pin-machine like Bo but he dominates on his feet and is super heavy on top. Great match
149: What happened to Burcher? I am assuming he is hurt because he looked pretty darn good at 149. Hozan got worked.
157: Kressevic wrestled a great six and a half minutes, but lapsed at the end. He is pretty darn good but I was disappointed in not seeing Ryan wrestle here. Either way, have to wrestle that one out after getting the riding time.
165: Bo is just an absolute hammer...he flat out dominated a very good wrestler the entire match. Pound for pound one of the best out there and I think Dieringer has to have his eye on this match in the future. Bo is the only guy that could pull off the upset imo and he is so focused right now.
174: Awful loss for Myles...really should not have lost that match. Put himself in really bad positions on top and did not wrestle smart. He will wrestle Morrisey again and take it to him, that was just a bad match.
184: Really lazy match from Courts...he won it at the end but it should not have even been close.
197: Not sure where Martin is but that kills us. Rozema was giving up a ton of weight and that was apparent.
HWT: Glad to see Tav get the win for us. Wrestled a smart match.

Spot on. Nothing to disagree with. It's gotten to the point where I tune out JDJ's matches. I keep expecting something different but it never changes. How is he ranked 8th and how is it that he's had historically great wrestlers on both sides of him at 125 and 141 all four years but he's improved very little?

Martin's loss is one of those that you chalk up to experience. A solid year in a college wrestling program and Martin would tech someone like Morrisey. But right now he's just inexperienced.

 

[RB07OSU]

OSU vs. PSU dual coming up on Friday and despite looking shaky lately, I think we will go all in on having a full strength lineup and it will be close. My prediction:

125: #1 Tomasello over #4 Nico Megaludis by decision. OSU 3, PSU 0 (this will be the first really big match for Toms this year and it could be a tough one on the road)
133: #5 Conaway over #15 DiJulius by decision. OSU 3, PSU 3 (not out of reach here but a likely loss the way Johnny is wrestling...just hope for no bonus)
141: #6 M. Jordan over NR Gulibon by decision. OSU 6, PSU 3 (no idea how Gulibon is not ranked on Flo but this may not be an easy win...bonus would be huge but I think that would be asking a lot)
149: #1 Retherford over NR Stieber/backup by tech fall. PSU 8, OSU 6 (Retherford is a stud and avoiding a pin would be a "win" here)
157: #1 Nolf over #11 Ryan by decision. PSU 11, OSU 6 (I know Nolf is super tough but if Ryan is healthy, I think he can keep him out of bonus with his leg defense...if Ryan can't go, that could be the difference in the dual and it will be massive bonus here most likely)
165: #2 B. Jordan over #11 Rasheed by fall. OSU 12, PSU 11 (Bo is on fire and is a pin machine...I think we get bonus here but I will be bold and pick the fall)
174: #1 Nickal over Myles Martin by major decision. PSU 15, OSU 12 (huge wildcard...Nickal is probably not going down but if Myles wrestles smart, we could stay away from bonus here...I will still say a major though)
184: #13 Courts over McCutcheon's backup by major decision. OSU 16, PSU 15 (McCutcheon is a scratch and this is a big opportunity for bonus...Courts has to at least get a major here and he is not a turner, so I am guessing a major decision at best)
197: #1 McIntosh over Mark Martin by major decision. PSU 19, OSU 16 (hopefully Mark can go because I think he can hold off a tech/pin...if not, it will get ugly here)
HWT: #2 Snyder over NR Johnson by major decision. OSU 20, PSU 19 (having Snyder back here is huge, even after a narrow international loss...he is not a pinner though and usually is always a major decision guy, even though he will WAY overmatch Johnson...I could see him going for a pin if we need it though)

- I know, BOLD prediction. But hey, we have a full strength lineup and McCutcheon is out, so I don't think the above is all that unrealistic. Feel free to call me crazy though because I could also see this one getting out of hand in a sold-out Rec Hall, particularly if the dual would start at a bad weight to get the ball rolling for them...149 would be really bad but I hope it starts at 125 because I want us to know what we need with Snyder up last.