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Ohio State Wrestling: NCAA Championships preview
Josh Dooley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Nine Buckeyes will compete in Kansas City as the Scarlet and Gray eye another top-10 national finish.
For the eighth time in his 18-year Ohio State coaching career, Tom Ryan will be sending at least nine Scarlet and Gray grapplers to the NCAA Championships, which begin Thursday in Kansas City (MO).
There, Big Ten champ Jesse Mendez will be joined by two seniors and six(!) freshmen, as OSU seeks its 15th top-10 NCAA finish under Ryan. Granted, three of the six freshmen competed unattached last season, making them redshirt freshmen. But either way, it is (and has been) clear that a youth movement is underway – and thriving – for the Buckeyes.
Among the talented group of freshmen competing in KC (for OSU) are Nick Feldman and Rocco Welsh, both first-year competitors and recipients of a top-10 seed.
Although Feldman was with the program last year, a neck injury caused him to miss the entire 2022-23 season. His return to the mat has been nothing short of spectacular, and the same could be said for Welsh’s rapid ascension. He began the season as a backup to 2022 All-American Carson Kharchla but was thrust into Ryan’s lineup midseason when Kharchla suffered an unfortunate injury. Welsh went on to place third at the Big Ten Championships, earning a 6-seed for the NCAAs, the second-highest seed among all Buckeyes heading to Missouri.
Brendan McCrone, Nic Bouzakis, Ryder Rogotzke, and Luke Geog are the other freshmen making the trip for Ohio State, with Bouzakis surprisingly earning this group’s highest seed. Although he was great throughout the regular season, Bouzakis struggled at the Big Ten Championships and failed to place. But he is a fierce and talented competitor who boasts a handful of wins over ranked opponents — including his first-round opponent in KC, Maryland’s Braxton Brown.
Rogotzke is another Buckeye to watch this (extended) weekend, due to his seemingly all-or-nothing mentality. The true freshman has racked up 19 wins this season, with 15 coming via pin/fall. He is coming off a fifth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships.
Isaac Wilcox and Dylan D’Emilio are the “old heads” of the group, in their fourth and fifth seasons, respectively. Wilcox is a first-time NCAA qualifier who has admirably and unselfishly filled several roles during his OSU career, while D’Emilio is making his fourth appearance at the national tournament. The latter earned All-American status and finished eighth last year, despite entering as a 17-seed. He will be looking to replicate or improve upon that finish as a 14-seed this time around.
And then there’s Mendez in a class or group of his own. The super sophomore is hoping to win his first and Ohio State’s 24th individual NCAA Championship, the last coming in 2018 courtesy of Kyle Snyder. Mendez took sixth at the NCAAs a year ago, after doing the same at Big Ten Championships. So if his B1G finishes foreshadow NCAA success, well then that would mean... Exactly.
Below are seeds and opening matchups for all Buckeyes competing in Kansas City:
McCrone drew a tough first opponent in 4-seed Matt Ramos of Purdue, the 2023 NCAA runner-up.
Bouzakis gets 17-seed Braxton Brown of Maryland, who Bouzakis defeated via tech fall on Jan. 19.
Mendez will face the winner of the match between 32-seed Todd Carter of Gardner-Webb and 33-seed Kal Miller of Maryland.
D’Emilio opens against 19-seed Joseph Zargo of Wisconsin, who D’Emilio defeated at last year’s Big Ten Championships
Wilcox will go up against 33-seed Nick Stampoulos of Buffalo
Welsh gets 27-seed Danny Wask of Navy. Interestingly, the latter should have some inside info on Welsh, as OSU’s true freshman defeated Wask’s teammate Sammy Starr in his (Welsh’s) first official match as a Buckeye.
Rogotzke was arguably deserving of a higher seed. As it stands, he will face 15-seed Reece Heller of Pitt.
Geog is another Buckeye who drew a very tough first-round opponent. He is set to take on 10-seed Silas Allred of Nebraska, the 2023 Big Ten champ at 197.
Feldman opens against 24-seed Keaton Kluever of Hofstra, a team Tom Ryan coached to several CAA conference championships before coming to Columbus.
Continue reading...
Josh Dooley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Nine Buckeyes will compete in Kansas City as the Scarlet and Gray eye another top-10 national finish.
For the eighth time in his 18-year Ohio State coaching career, Tom Ryan will be sending at least nine Scarlet and Gray grapplers to the NCAA Championships, which begin Thursday in Kansas City (MO).
There, Big Ten champ Jesse Mendez will be joined by two seniors and six(!) freshmen, as OSU seeks its 15th top-10 NCAA finish under Ryan. Granted, three of the six freshmen competed unattached last season, making them redshirt freshmen. But either way, it is (and has been) clear that a youth movement is underway – and thriving – for the Buckeyes.
Among the talented group of freshmen competing in KC (for OSU) are Nick Feldman and Rocco Welsh, both first-year competitors and recipients of a top-10 seed.
Although Feldman was with the program last year, a neck injury caused him to miss the entire 2022-23 season. His return to the mat has been nothing short of spectacular, and the same could be said for Welsh’s rapid ascension. He began the season as a backup to 2022 All-American Carson Kharchla but was thrust into Ryan’s lineup midseason when Kharchla suffered an unfortunate injury. Welsh went on to place third at the Big Ten Championships, earning a 6-seed for the NCAAs, the second-highest seed among all Buckeyes heading to Missouri.
Brendan McCrone, Nic Bouzakis, Ryder Rogotzke, and Luke Geog are the other freshmen making the trip for Ohio State, with Bouzakis surprisingly earning this group’s highest seed. Although he was great throughout the regular season, Bouzakis struggled at the Big Ten Championships and failed to place. But he is a fierce and talented competitor who boasts a handful of wins over ranked opponents — including his first-round opponent in KC, Maryland’s Braxton Brown.
Rogotzke is another Buckeye to watch this (extended) weekend, due to his seemingly all-or-nothing mentality. The true freshman has racked up 19 wins this season, with 15 coming via pin/fall. He is coming off a fifth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships.
Isaac Wilcox and Dylan D’Emilio are the “old heads” of the group, in their fourth and fifth seasons, respectively. Wilcox is a first-time NCAA qualifier who has admirably and unselfishly filled several roles during his OSU career, while D’Emilio is making his fourth appearance at the national tournament. The latter earned All-American status and finished eighth last year, despite entering as a 17-seed. He will be looking to replicate or improve upon that finish as a 14-seed this time around.
And then there’s Mendez in a class or group of his own. The super sophomore is hoping to win his first and Ohio State’s 24th individual NCAA Championship, the last coming in 2018 courtesy of Kyle Snyder. Mendez took sixth at the NCAAs a year ago, after doing the same at Big Ten Championships. So if his B1G finishes foreshadow NCAA success, well then that would mean... Exactly.
Below are seeds and opening matchups for all Buckeyes competing in Kansas City:
Brendan McCrone (125 pounds, R-Fr.) – 29-seed
McCrone drew a tough first opponent in 4-seed Matt Ramos of Purdue, the 2023 NCAA runner-up.
Nic Bouzakis (133, R-Fr.) – 16-seed
Bouzakis gets 17-seed Braxton Brown of Maryland, who Bouzakis defeated via tech fall on Jan. 19.
Jesse Mendez (141, So.) – 1-seed
Mendez will face the winner of the match between 32-seed Todd Carter of Gardner-Webb and 33-seed Kal Miller of Maryland.
Dylan D’Emilio (149, R-Sr.) – 14-seed
D’Emilio opens against 19-seed Joseph Zargo of Wisconsin, who D’Emilio defeated at last year’s Big Ten Championships
Isaac Wilcox (157, Sr.) – 32-seed
Wilcox will go up against 33-seed Nick Stampoulos of Buffalo
Rocco Welsh (174, Fr.) – 6-seed
Welsh gets 27-seed Danny Wask of Navy. Interestingly, the latter should have some inside info on Welsh, as OSU’s true freshman defeated Wask’s teammate Sammy Starr in his (Welsh’s) first official match as a Buckeye.
Ryder Rogotzke (184, Fr.) – 18-seed
Rogotzke was arguably deserving of a higher seed. As it stands, he will face 15-seed Reece Heller of Pitt.
Luke Geog (197, R-Fr.) – 23-seed
Geog is another Buckeye who drew a very tough first-round opponent. He is set to take on 10-seed Silas Allred of Nebraska, the 2023 Big Ten champ at 197.
Nick Feldman (285/Heavyweight, R-Fr.) – 9-seed
Feldman opens against 24-seed Keaton Kluever of Hofstra, a team Tom Ryan coached to several CAA conference championships before coming to Columbus.
Continue reading...