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

[GrizzlyBuck]

Looks to be a tough year for the Buckeye Grapplers. You never know though, there is enough individual talent on this years squad that they could suprise come tournament time. It looks like they'll struggle in duals, but when a couple hot wrestlers racking up the points can push the team totals up, they may finish ok.

This is the year when the youngsters need to grow, so that when more help arrives, they'll be ready to shine.

 

[stkoran]

Day 1 results from Cliff Keen Las Vegas:

125 - Logan Steiber won both his matches, the first 2-1 and the second 9-0. The first match was closer than expected, but he bounced back well to get the major. Rumors of a potential back injury - we will see how he looks tomorrow against better competition. Would love to see him take on Robles in the finals.

133 - Paddock with a pin, then loses 9-4 to #10 seed Bernard Futtrell from Illinois. Unexpected to say the least. Won 9-3 in the wrestle back.

141 - Colin Palmer is sitting out this weekend, so freshman Randy Languis is in the lineup. Got pinned in his first match by a very tough Borislav Novachkov, won his first consi match 11-3, then got pinned by Cornell's Chris Villalonga, another very solid wrestler.

149 - Nemec won his pigtail 6-5, picked up an 11-0 win, then lost 10-2 to #1 seed Jason Chamberlain. Came back to pick up an 8-1 decision in the wrestle back. Solid tournament so far. Has a decent chance of placing if he continues to wrestle well.

157 - This is the Colt Sponsellor we've been waiting for. Picked up a 16-4 MD and a fall en route to the round of eight.

165 - Nice showing for Jared Kusar today. This weight looked bleak for OSU (and still isn't so hot) but Kusar had a very nice day. Got a 5-3 win in the pigtail before winning again 8-2. Lost 6-0 to #4 seed Paul Gillespie and then got a huge 3-2 win over #7 seed Kurt Swartz (of Boise State!!!) in the wrestlebacks. This day really couldn't have gone any better for Kusar - great job!

174 - Glad to see Heflin back in action after injuring his back at the Buckeye Duals. After a 5-3 opening round victory, Heflin came up big against Purdue's #6 seed Luke Manuel (#13 in the country), winning 3-1 in sudden victory. Another tough match awaits tomorrow when he takes on #3 seed (#6 in the country) Bob Bennett from Central Michigan.

184 - Capone picked up a fall before getting pinned himself by #7 seed Andrew Saunders. Bounced back in the consis to pick up and 8-5 win and stay alive.

197 - Magrum also sitting out for the Bucks today. He was replaced by Dominic Jontony, who was completely over matched, getting pinned twice.

285 - Hiles had a tough draw, losing 6-1 to #7 seed David Morgan (#18 nationally) and then falling 3-2 to #8 seed Kurt Klimek (#19 nationally).

 

[stkoran]

Cliff Keen Las Vegas Day 2

Well, ummm, might as well get to it:

125: Three losses in a row for Steiber. Falls 2-1 to #2 seed Patterson in the semis, 5-0 to #8 seed Jason Lara, and then 9-8 to #10 seed Frank Perrelli to finish 6th. Thoughts that Logan was never going to lose were obviously misplaced, but I don't think anyone envisioned this. Like I said yesterday, rumors of an injury, very likely might be the case. College wrestling is tough, especially as a true freshman, and losses happen. Hopefully Logan can get healthy, grow from the experience, and go on to have a successful season.

133: Paddock wins by medical default and then 11-3 over Jose Mendozo before falling 3-0 to Lou Ruggirello (#8 nationally), then took a medical default to freshman stud Devin Carter to finish 6th. An ok tournament for Ian, but the main thing is his health. Hopefully he is ok after taking that default.

141: Out of tournament.

149: Nemec won 7-5 last night to move within one match of placing, but fell to Wisconsin's Cole Schmitt 8-5 in the round of 12. Decent tournament for Nemec as he finds his way at 149.

157: After winning by medical default to move to the semis last night, Colt fell 5-2 to #2 seed (#3 nationally) Adam Hall. He then lost 9-2 to unranked Walter Peppleman, before winning the 5th/6th place bout by medical default. Pretty poor showing for Colt. Losing to Hall is one thing, but getting drilled by Peppleman is not good, and two of his wins were by default. Not sure what's going on with Colt, but he is definitely struggling thus far.

165: Out of tournament.

174: Nick Heflin came to wrestle. Lost 3-0 last night to Ben Bennett (#6 nationally), then today beat Michigan's Justin Zeerip 5-1, lost to Illionois' Jordan Blanton (#5 nationally) 4-2, then finished 7th by again beating Purdue's Luke Manuel by a 5-2 count. Only two losses, by 5 total points, against two top 6 guys and two wins over Manuel (#13 nationally) is a great showing for Nick.

184: Out of tournament.

197: Out of tournament.

285: Out of tournament.

Who did the best this weekend for OSU (relative to ability) IMO:
1. Nick Heflin
2. Jared Kusar
3. Ian Paddock
4. Sean Nemec
5. Logan Steiber
6. Peter Capone
7. Randy Languis
8. John Hiles
9. Colt Sponseller
10. Domonic Jontony

Don't dispair, though. There is a lot of season left for OSU. Remember, Magrum and Palmer were both out this weekend leaving big holes at 141 and 197. Hopefully Logan and Colt can right the ship, Ian keeps getting better, maybe Nemec gets hot, and Heflin keeps improving.

And next year =

125: Triggas (returning AA)
133: Paddock (#12 ranked currently), Hunter Steiber (#7 overall HS) or Johnny DiJulius (#23 overall HS)
141: Colin Palmer, Hunter Steiber, or Cam Tessari (#13 HS)
149: Colin Plamer, Hunter Steiber, or Cam Tessari
157: Josh Demas (#42 overall HS last year)
165: Derek Garcia (#8 overall HS last year)
174: Heflin
184: Kenny Courts (#4 overall HS)
197: Magrum
285: Hiles or Orry Elor (#7 ranked HS seinor heavyweight)

We will be extremely young, but teeming with potential. But for now, let's enjoy watching them do their thing this year. It can only get better!

 

[smitty03]

The news keeps getting worse for Buckeye Wrestling. Logan Stieber injured his wrist/hand during practice this week and will most likely miss the remainder of the year. He will be applying for a medical redshirt.

 

[stkoran]

I've been slacking - this is old:

http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/Vi...8&SPID=10403&ATCLID=205057543&DB_OEM_ID=17300

No. 22 Ohio State (1-3; 0-1 Big Ten) 3, No. 5 Penn State (7-0; 1-0 Big Ten) 42
Dec. 19, 2010
Rec Hall
University Park, Pa.

Individual Matches
125 Frank Martellotti (Penn State) MD Bo Touris (Ohio State) 9 - 1
133 Bryan Pearsall (Penn State) DEC Ian Paddock (Ohio State) 9 - 4
141 Andrew Alton (Penn State) FALL Randy Languis (Ohio State) (:31)
149 Frank Molinaro (Penn State) FALL Sean Nemec (Ohio State) (5:56)
157 David Taylor (Penn State) MD Colt Sponseller (Ohio State) 14 - 1
165 Nick Fischer (Penn State) DEC Jared Kusar (Ohio State) 5 - 1
174 Jake Kemerer (Penn State) For Forfeit (Ohio State)
184 Edward Ruth (Penn State) MD Peter Capone (Ohio State) 18 - 6
197 C.J. Magrum (Ohio State) DEC Justin Ortega (Penn State) 8 - 2
285 Cameron Wade (Penn State) FALL Zach Stolarsky (Ohio State) (2:06)

As Coach Tom Ryan said, somehow, the match was even worse than the score. OSU is certainly using a patchwork lineup right now, but even so, there was still lots to be disappointed about.

At 125, Touris took over for Logan Steiber, who is out for the year. Touris himself is just coming off of an injury and was thrown into the lineup unexpectedly.

At 133, Paddock had't practiced leading up to the match due to injury, but even so, a very disappointing result, as he is better than Pearsall by a wide margin. Coach Ryan felt that Ian started feeling sorry for himself during the match and lacked fire. Still, hopefully when Paddock regains his health he also regains his form.

At 141, Languis, a true frosh, is someone who frankly shouldn't be wrestling right now, but the team just doesn't have anyone else. Not a knock on him, but he's just not ready, and Alton is one of the best.

149 - Molinaro is very good, but Nemec is also not wrestling very well. Does not seem to be dealing well with the weight cut.

157 - This is the match that really taints the whole result I think. Colt was supposed to be our best guy this year, and here he is suffering the worse loss of his career to a true freshman. Not doing well with the weight cut at all.

165 - Again, Kusar is someone who should not be starting, but there is no one else. He is also wrestling above weight, where he has actually been putting up a decent fight.

174 - This also really hurt. Heflin woke up with a skin infection and was not cleared to compete, so OSU had to forfeit this weight, allowing Ruth to move up to 184 and take on Capone.

184 - What would have been a winnable match for Capone turned into a bad situation as Ruth moved up. Capone is ok, but again, is someone we probably shouldn't have to have in the lineup at this stage in his career.

197 - A win! Nice victory for C.J.

285 - Hiles was out with an injury and Stolarsky was completely over matched by a very good Wade. Hiles likely would have lost, though probably not via pin.

Coming in, OSU was going to have to wrestle very well to beat an excellent Penn State team. It looked like wins could be had at 125 (Steiber), 133 (Paddock), and 197 (Magrum), with tossups at 157 (Sponseller), 174 (Heflin), and 184 (Capone), giving OSU a decent shot of winning. But with Steiber going down, Paddock being hurt, and Helfin getting a skin infection allowing Ruth to move up, there was no chance.

Season Outlook/Team Update

As stated above, Steiber is out for the year. More bad news is that 4-time Ohio state champions Tony Jameson and Colin Palmer are done forever due to injury. These two would have been the starters at 157 and 141 this year, and likely for several years to come. Also, Colt will be moving back up to 165 and Magrum will be moving down to 184. There will be a wrestle off for the 157 spot between Nemec, Kusar, and a I believe Demas as well. With the loss of Steiber, an already thin OSU squad will really struggle in duals, but Paddock, Sponseller, Heflin and Magrum can all make noise at nationals.

 

[BengalsAndBucks]

As stated above, Steiber is out for the year. More bad news is that 4-time Ohio state champions Tony Jameson and Colin Palmer are done forever due to injury. These two would have been the starters at 157 and 141 this year, and likely for several years to come. Also, Colt will be moving back up to 165 and Magrum will be moving down to 184. There will be a wrestle off for the 157 spot between Nemec, Kusar, and a I believe Demas as well. With the loss of Steiber, an already thin OSU squad will really struggle in duals, but Paddock, Sponseller, Heflin and Magrum can all make noise at nationals.

That really hurts the program big time...

 

[LitlBuck]

With those types of updates, stkoran can be late more often. That's just terrible stuff.

 

[stkoran]

If there is one "positive" out of the losses of Jameson and Palmer it's that more scholarship money is opened up. OSU already has the #1 class coming in next year, and they are still on the recruiting trail. Tyler Lehmann is a guy who could come in and make an impact at 197 if we can bring him. Committed to Minnesota last year but decided to to the Olympic Training Center instead and has apparently been extremely impressive.

 

[tmporter]

What were the career ending injuries to Jameson and Palmer? I had high hopes for those 2 kids.

 

[stkoran]

January 7, 2011 Cliff Keen National Duals

Match 1: Ohio State 6 - #1 Cornell 27

http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/Vi...8&SPID=10403&ATCLID=205074132&DB_OEM_ID=17300

COLUMBUS, Ohio ? With the revelation of the Cliff Keen/NWCA National Duals brackets Thursday, the No. 24 Ohio State wrestling team knew another tough task against a Top 5 team awaited when it drew No. 1 Cornell. In a match that featured 10 Top 20 wrestlers, the Buckeyes dropped a 27-6 decision to the Big Red at the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Ohio State will return to action at 2 p.m. ET Saturday when it faces host Northern Iowa. The Panthers lost a 27-9 round of 16 match to No. 8 Missouri.

Sophomore Ian Paddock and redshirt-freshman Peter Capone earned wins for the Buckeyes (1-4; 0-1 Big Ten) at 133 and 197 pounds, respectively.

Cont.

Individual Matches
125:# 15 Frank Perrelli (Cornell) MD Bo Touris (Ohio State), 12 - 4

Best Touris could really have hoped for was holding this to a decision. He just missed.

133:# 16 Ian Paddock(Ohio State) DEC Joseph Stanzione (Cornell), 9 - 7

Mike Grey was out of the lineup for Cornell opening the door for this win. A bit closer than Ian probably would have liked.

141:Michael Nevinger (Cornell) DEC Randy Languis (Ohio State), 4 - 2

Solid performance from Languis, though Villalonga also sat for Cornell.

149:#2 Kyle Dake (Cornell) TF5 Mike Fee (Ohio State), 21 - 6 (7:00)

Kusar is apparently not down to 149 yet, so Fee it is. Really nothing Fee could have done against the national champion Dake. Glad he didn't get pinned.

157:#10 DJ Meagher (Cornell) DEC Sean Nemec (Ohio State), 8 - 2

Not horrible, especially as Nemec adjusts to the new weight.

165:# 3 Justin Kerber (Cornell) DEC #10 Colt Sponseller (Ohio State), 8 - 3

Last year Colt wins this match. Not disappointed, though. Kerber is very good and Colt is still getting back into the swing of things at 165.

174:# 3 Mack Lewnes (Cornell) DEC #14 Nick Heflin (Ohio State), 11 - 4

Holding this to a decision against a national finalist is solid result. Nick actually opened the match with a TD, and only trailed by 2 going int the 3rd period.

184:# 4 Steve Bosak (Cornell) DEC #20 C.J. Magrum (Ohio State), 3 - 0

Boask's points were on a penalty, an escape, and riding time, so not a bad showing from C.J. against a top guy in his first match at 184.

197:Peter Capone (Ohio State) DEC Maciej Jochym (Cornell), 7 - 0

Simaz was out, but a win is a win. Especially impressive as Capone is very undersized for this weight.

285:Stryker Lane (Cornell) DEC Zach Stolarsky (Ohio State), 5 ? 2

Stolarsky kept it a lot closer than imagined he would.



Match 2: Ohio State 19 - Northern Iowa 20

http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/Vi...8&SPID=10403&ATCLID=205074263&DB_OEM_ID=17300

COLUMBUS, Ohio ? The No. 24 Ohio State wrestling team dropped a heartbreaking 20-19 decision to Northern Iowa Saturday afternoon in a first consolation match at the Cliff Keen/NWCA National Duals in the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Buckeyes fell to No. 1 Cornell, 27-6, in Round of 16 action earlier in the day.

With the loss, Ohio State (1-5; 0-1 Big Ten) is eliminated from the National Duals, while host UNI will move on to the next round where it will wrestle either No. 2 Oklahoma State or No. 7 Virginia Tech.

In a match that featured four lead changes and three ties, the Buckeyes led the Panthers, 19-16, heading into the final match at heavyweight. However, UNI?s Christian Brantley was able to record the 12-3 major decision over redshirt-sophomore Dominic Jontony to give Northern Iowa the one-point win.

Cont.

125 Flores, Caleb (UNI) DEC Bo Touris (Ohio State) 7 - 3

Meh.

133 Ian Paddock (Ohio State) DEC Ryan Jauch (UNI) 8 - 5

Again, not an impressive win, but a win nonetheless.

141 Randy Languis (Ohio State) MD Alec Hoffman (UNI) 12 - 0

Great job here by Languis. He had a very nice weekend. Huge win for the team.

149 Brett Robbins (UNI) MD Mike Fee (Ohio State) 11 - 3

Would have been nice if Fee could have held this to a decision. No Kusar here really hurt.

157 David Bonin (UNI) FALL Sean Nemec (Ohio State) 3:34

This was really too bad. Nemec was winning when he got caught making an attack for the pin. This cost OSU the match, as likely wins this match, let alone giving up 6. Oh well.

165 Colt Sponseller (Ohio State) DEC Nick Pickerell (UNI) 4 - 0

Nice to see Colt get a win under his belt.

174 Nick Heflin (Ohio State) DEC Brice Wolf (UNI) 3 - 2

Close, but a win's a win.

184 Ryan Loder (UNI) DEC C.J. Magrum (Ohio State) 6 - 4

Disappointing. May have been running low on energy in this one due to the cutting weight.

197 Peter Capone (Ohio State) FALL Joe Johnson (UNI) (2:57)

Fabulous weekend for Capone. Already light at 184, he moves up to 197 and gets a win and pin. His opponents weren't the best, but this is a 174 getting it done at 197.

285 Christian Brantley (UNI) MD Dominic Jontony (Ohio State) 12 - 3

Brantley is good, so the major was not unexpected. A bit surprised Ryan didn't go with Stolarsky here after he kept it close against Lane.

 

[stkoran]

January 16, 2011

Ohio State 19 - Michigan State 16

A win!!! OSU took on MSU at West Holmes High School, alma matter of Colt Sponseller. Here is quick rundown:

125: Touris gets majored (11-2) by a pretty average guy. Not a good result and not the start tOSU wanted.

133: Paddock gets the pin in 44 seconds. A big six points for tOSU. Very nice to see from Ian.

141: Languis picks up a big 6-5 win. His opponent hadn't won a match all year, but a win is a win, and this one was much needed.

149: Mike Fee lost an 11-4 decision to Dan Osterman, who is a pretty decent wrestler. Keeping it to a decison was a win in my book.

157: Nemec losses a back and forth match 11-8 to Sean McMurray, who is ok, but this is a match Nemec should probably win. He is really struggling right now.

165: Colt wiped the floor with Ben Boudro, majoring him 11-2. Great to see Colt getting back to being himself and picking up a nice win in front of the hometown crowd.

174/184/197: Lumping these all together because they all started the same - no scoring in the 1st, escape in the second and escape in the third, so all 1-1 going into sudden victory. Great fun for the fans. In the 174 match, there was no scoring in SV, so they went to the tiebreak, where MSU's Curran Jacobs (who is very solid) took down in the first period and picked up an escacpe. In the second TB period, Heflin got the reversal with only 3 seconds left to pick up a very very important 3-2 decision. At 184, Magrum got taken down in SV to lose 3-1. Magrum is really struggling to get any sort of offense going right now. Hoping its the weight cut and that he will get better as he adjusts. Thought this loss might cost tOSU the match.

Luckily, Peter Capone has been wrestling extremely well, and continued that excellent wrestling today, as he picked up the match winning 3-1 decision against MSU's #19 ranked Tyler Dickenson, taking him down in SV, putting tOSU up 19-13. If there was a vote for team MVP right now, I think Capone would be the winner.

At 285, Zach Stolarsky took on MSU's #16 ranked Mike McClure. He needed only to not get pinned, and he did just that and more, holding McClure to a 3-0 decision. Still not quite sure why Stolarsky didn't wrestle against UNI, as it seems his odds of keeping the score low are much better than those when Johntony wrestles.

In any event, great for the Bucks to get a win over a 7-1 MSU squad. MSU was without #17 David Cheza at 157, which I thought would open the door for an OSU win at that weight. MSU won anyway, but lost the match. This might be the only win for the rest of the season, so let's relish it.

OSU heads to Iowa next weekend. They have little to no chance of winning, but OSU should be favored at 133, 165 and 174. Potential wins can also be had at 157 and 184, but with the way Nemec and Magrum are wrestling, I wouldn't count on it. However, with the way Capone is wreslting, an upset at 197 isn't out of the question, either (though I don't see it happening).

Match results are here: http://www.nwcaonline.com/nwcaonlin...hoolYear=2011&ID=752469&ID2=30045&ResultID=-1

 

[OSU_D/]

Watched OSU Iowa.... Congrats to Colt for battling back and winning in OT. The rest of the afternoon was not pretty.

 

[LitlBuck]

Watched OSU Iowa.... Congrats to Colt for battling back and winning in OT. The rest of the afternoon was not pretty.

I watched some of it also and if her were not for Colt we would have been shut out so props to him. Get meatchicken here this coming Friday and it will be on the BTN. I wonder what our chances are but after watching the Iowa match they cannot be very good:( I guess it's wait till next year.

 

[stkoran]

January 22, 2011

Iowa 33 v. Ohio State 3

http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/Vi...8&SPID=10403&ATCLID=205081323&DB_OEM_ID=17300

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio State wrestling team dropped a 33-3 decision to No. 8 Iowa Saturday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.

The Buckeyes return to action at 7 p.m. Jan. 28 in St. John Arena vs. No. 11 Michigan. The match will air on BigTenNetwork.com and will serve as Alumni Night.

Senior captain Colt Sponseller was the lone winner for the Buckeyes at 165 pounds with his 5-3 sudden-victory decision over Aaron Janssen. Sponseller was down 3-1 in the third period, but scored a takedown with 35 seconds left in regulation to force extra time. In the one-minute sudden victory, Sponseller recorded a takedown with just 37 seconds left on the clock.

Cont.

The match started at 184, as I'm sure Iowa was trying to set this up to get the shutout (hope Colt and Helfin get depressed at watching everyone else lose and fall themselves).

184 - No. 17 Grant Gambrall (I) dec. C.J. Magrum (OSU), 10-3

Magrum has not been wrestling well, to put it mildly. Really no offense to speak of and not a lot of energy. Disappointing, after a very solid freshman campaign.

197 - No. 15 Luke Lofthouse (I) dec. Peter Capone (OSU), 6-4

Again, Capone comes to compete, giving Lofthouse all he could handle. A late reversal was the difference in this one.

285 - Blake Rasing (I) maj. dec. Zach Stolarsky (OSU), 12-1

After doing a good job of keeping the margin of defeat low against some solid guys the last few matches, Stolarskly gets destroyed by Blake Rasing, who is not very good at all.

125 - No. 2 Matt McDonough (I) pinned Bo Touris (OSU), 4:37

McDonough absolutely demolished Touris before finally putting him out of his agony. Unlike heavyweight where we really have no answers for next year, this weight will be drastically improved by the return of Triggas and Steiber.

133 -Tony Ramos (I) dec. No. 16 Ian Paddock (OSU), 5-2

Paddock gave up an early TD and that was the difference in this one. Paddock went into the 3rd down 3-1 with the 1:17 of riding time but couldn't escape in under 17 seconds. Eventually got out, and was caught for a late TD when he was pushing for a TD of his own.

141 - No. 16 Mark Ballweg (I) maj. dec. Randy Languis (OSU), 10-2

As expected.

149 - Matt Ballweg (I) maj. dec. Mike Fee (OSU), 12-3

Same as above.

157 - No. 15 Derek St. John (I) dec. Sean Nemec (OSU), 9-3

Nemec looked very flat. Not much more to say.

165 - No. 8 Colt Sponseller (OSU) dec. No. 16 Aaron Janssen (I), 5-3 sv

Even this one almost ended in disaster, but Colt prevailed. Going into the 3rd period down 2-1 after giving up a TD, Colt cut Janssen immediately to go down 3-1. Picked up a late TD for the tie and nearly got back points, but no dice. Came out hard in the OT period and got the quick TD. Nice to avoid the shutout team wise, and a good win for Colt.

With Wisconsin's defending national champion and #2 ranked Andre Howe potentially out for the rest of the season with a hamstring injury, the door is wide open for Colt to win the B1G title if he continues to wrestle well.

174 - No. 14 Ethen Lofthouse (I) dec. No. 12 Nick Heflin (OSU), 3-1

After a scoreless first period, Lofthouse started down in the 2nd and immediately got the escape. Heflin did the same to start the 3rd. Tied 1-1 with only a few seconds left Heflin gave up the winning TD.

Nick has a legitimate chance to AA this year (uphill battle to be sure, but a chance), but he is going to have to get more aggressive. He is taking very few shots, despite looking good when he does. He is going to need to develop some kind of offense.

Outside of Sponseller, a lack of aggressiveness seems to be the MO for the whole team, though I'm sure part of that is just that most of the guys are outclassed talent/experience-wise right now.

OSU return to action Friday night at 7 p.m. against Michigan. Not exactly sure what scUM's lineup will be, but here is my best guess and prediction:

125: Sean Boyle MD over Bo Touris; 0-4
133: Ian Paddock D over Zac Stevens; 3-4
141: Kellen Russell MD over Randy Languis; 3-8
149: Eric Grajales MD over Mike Fee; 3-12
157: Brandon Zeerip D over Sean Nemec; 3-15
165: Colt Sponseller D over Dan Yates; 6-15
174: Nick Heflin D over Justin Zeerip; 9-15
184: Hunter Collins D over C.J. Magrum; 9-18
197: Anthony Biondo D over Peter Capone; 9-21
285: Ben Apland MD over Zach Stolarsky; 9-25

Gonna be tough to win this one. Even if Magrum and Nemec can pull out wins I still see scUM having the edge bonus wise.

 

[stkoran]

January 28, 2011

The Ohio State University 9 - Michigan 27

http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/Vi...8&SPID=10403&ATCLID=205085705&DB_OEM_ID=17300

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Despite jumping out to an early 6-0 lead, the Ohio State wrestling team dropped a 27-9 decision to No. 13 Michigan Friday night in St. John Arena. A trio of Buckeyes in Nick Heflin (174), C.J. Magrum (184) and Colt Sponseller (165) secured wins for the Scarlet and Gray.

Ohio State (2-7; 1-3 Big Ten) will return to action Feb. 4 and 5 when it first travels to Champaign to wrestle No. 14 Illinois at 8 p.m. ET. The following day, the Buckeyes will return to St. John Arena where they will host No. 4 Minnesota at 7 p.m. The match at Illinois will air live on BigTenNetwork.com, while the matchup vs. the Gophers will air live on the Big Ten Network.

Cont.

174 #14 Nick Heflin (Ohio State) DEC Justin Zeerip (Michigan), 2 - 1

Match started at 174. Both guys pushed on each other for the entire first period. Zeerip took down to start the second, got the escape, and then neither guy did anything. Nick took down to start the third, got the reversal, and rode out Zeerip to get the win.

Loved the ride to end the match and the excitement Heflin showed after the win, but he really needs to start taking some shots.

184 C.J. Magrum (Ohio State) DEC Hunter Collins (Michigan), 4 - 1

C.J. got an early TD and then rode Collins out to end the period. Both got escapes after starting down and Magrum picked up the riding time point for the very controlled 4-1 victory. Best C.J. has looked in a while.

197 #11 Anthony Biondo (Michigan) DEC Peter Capone (Ohio State), 10 - 5

Capone picked up an early TD, but it was all Biondo after that. Capone was game, however, and showed more aggressiveness than any other OSU wrestler, despite being at a size disadvantage and taking on a very good wrestler in Biondo. Love the effort here.

285 #8 Ben Apland (Michigan) FALL Zach Stolarsky (Ohio State), 6:26

Stolarsky was seriously outclassed by Apland, but he showed some fight. Zach really had no offense, but was able to reverse Apland a few times as Apland got sloppy in trying to go for the fall. Stolarksy looked pretty gassed toward the end of the match and Apland was able to turn him for the fall with 30 seconds left.

125 Sean Boyle (Michigan) DEC Bo Touris (Ohio State), 7 - 6

This match did not start out well. Boyle got the 1st period TD and then rode Bo out. Boyle took down in the 2nd, escaped, and picked up another TD before Touris escaped to go into the 3rd with a 5-1 advantage and lots of riding time. But a new Bo Touris emerged in the 3rd period. He started down, escaped, took down Boyle and went hard for the turn but couldn't get it. Cut Boyle, then took him down again and was even closer to a turn this time, but couldn't quite get it. The riding time point gave Boyle the win. Though it's a loss in the books, I counted this match as a win, as I thought there was a huge momentum shift towards OSU after Touris' inspired 3rd period. Hopefully he continues to wrestle with this intensity for the rest of the year.

133 Zac Stevens (Michigan) DEC #17 Ian Paddock (Ohio State), 10 - 3

While I was inspired by Touris' effort, Paddock apparently was not. He mainly stood around and then got taken down by Stevens in the first, quickly escaping. The period ended 2-1. Paddock again escaped quickly to start the second, then continued to do nothing and the period ended with the score tied at 2-2. Stevens started down in the third, took injury time, then escaped soon after to go up 3-2. The two then got into a huge scramble where it looked like Paddock was going to emerge with the TD, but Stevens came out on top and got a the near fall. After escaping Paddock found himself down 7-3. He made a desperate TD attempt which Stevens converted into his own TD and then rode Ian out and picked up the riding time point for a 10-3 win. Paddock really needs to get things turned around. Perhaps finding some sort of intensity and offense would help.

141 #1 Kellen Russell (Michigan) MD Randy Languis (Ohio State), 12 - 2

Not much to say here. Russell has beaten #2, #3, #4, and #5 (twice) this year. Randy had no chance. Kellen picked up the major decision in about as boring a fashion as possible. Good job by Languis to avoid the pin. He even took a shot, which I thought was bold for a raw freshman against the top guy in the country.

149 Eric Grajales (Michigan) TF5 Mike Fee (Ohio State), 19 - 2 (7:00)

Grajales was the the #1 recruit in the country last year. Fee qualified for the OHSAA state tournament one time. Hence, 19-2. Grajales is really starting to look good at this weight.

157 #19 Brandon Zeerip (Michigan) DEC Jared Kusar (Ohio State), 10 - 6

This one hurt. Kusar got the start over Nemec, a move I was all for, as Jared has fought extremely hard this year at 165 before getting bumped for Colt. Kusar came out swinging, picking up two quick takedowns, before getting taken down by Zeerip and then escaping to lead 5-4 after the 1st. That intensity seemed to wane a bit in the second, as Zeerip started down and escaped and then nothing much happened. Kusar escaped to start the 3rd and go up 6-5. After not doing much, Kusar took a shot with about 45 seconds left which Zeerip was able to fight off. Jared took another shot and looked like he was going to get the TD, but Zeerip was able to convert into into and TD and near fall to take the 10-6 win. Disappointing after a great effort from Kusar. He may have been gassing a bit.

165 #7 Colt Sponseller (Ohio State) DEC Aaron Hynes (Michigan), 5 - 1

Colt was supposed to be matched up with #19 Dan Yates, but UM's backup Hyne's took the mat with the match wrapped up. After two 1st period TDs, Colt found himself up 4-1. He started the 2nd down, and, story of his life, could not get out. Yes, he was ridden the entire 2nd period by UM's backup. He HAS to get this figured out by NCAAs, as his inability to get out from the bottom has kept him from AAing the last two years. In the 3rd period, Colt returned the favor, riding Hynes out and picking up the RT point to win 5-1.

Good win for Magrum, meh wins for Colt and Heflin, nice efforts from Kusar, Capone, and I guess Stolarsky. Huge effort from Touris in the 3rd period, needs to do that all match. Fee and Languis had no chance. Paddock looked bad.

Next up is #14 Illinois on Friday. My best guess:

125 - Bo Touris v. Logan Arlis: Toss up. I'll say Dec for Bo. 3-0 OSU

133 - Ian Paddock v. #6 Bernard Futrell: Futrell by MD. 4-3 ILL

141 - Randy Languis v. Daryl Thomas: #3 Jimmy Kennedy has been out, so I'm assuming Thomas will wrestle. I'll say Thomas by Dec, much worse if Kennedy wrestles. 7-3 ILL

149 - Mike Fee v. #12 Eric Terazzas: TF for Terazzas. 12-3 ILL

157 - Jared Kusar v. Jackson Morse: Dec for Morse. 15-3 ILL

165 - Colt Sponseller v. Conrad Polz: Colt by Dec. 15-6 ILL

174 - Nick Heflin v. Ben Friedl: #10 Jordan Blanton has been out for Illinois, so I'm assuming Friedl will wrestle. Heflin by Dec, Blanton by Dec if he wrestles. 15-9 ILL

184 - C.J. Magrum v. Tony Dallago: Magrum by Dec. 15-12 ILL

197 - Peter Capone v. Joseph Barczak: Toss up. I'll take Capone by Dec. 15-15

285 - Zach Stolarsky v. Patrick Walker: Walker by Dec. 18-15 ILL

If Kennedy and Blanton are out, OSU has a chance to win this match if they wrestle tough. 125 and 197 will be huge weights, and the ability of Paddock, Languis, and Fee to not give up bonus will be huge. I don't want to sleep on Kusar either, but Morse is pretty good.