Ohio State Wrestlebucks Finish as Big Ten Co-Champions

With two sessions in the books, the host Ohio State Buckeyes held a\ slim lead over second place Iowa heading into the consolation semifinals, consolation finals, and finals on Sunday. When I say “slim lead,” I mean that the Buckeyes held just a 1.5 point advantage over the Hawkeyes with a great deal of wrestling left. By comparison, Ohio State and Iowa each had four finalists with a pair of head to head matchups in the championship finals.

Johnni DiJulius started Session III for the Buckeyes in the consolation semifinals against Penn State’s Jimmy Gulibon. DiJulius’ MO for the tournament (and much of the year actually) was to score in the first period to get his confidence up. The turning point in the match came late when DiJulilus executed a lat throw and took Gulibon directly to his back. Johnni was unable to secure the pin, but won the match and advanced to the consolation finals against Iowa’s Cory Clark.

At 149 lbs, Hunter Stieber’s status was in question after injury defaulting out of the semifinals last night. While Illinois’ Kyle Langenderfer waited on the mat, Stieber burst out of the locker room and to the center circle. While many may question why Hunter would wrestle despite a nagging injury, all it took was a glance at the team score to see why Hunter would chase valuable team points. Hunter worked hard, scoring a couple of takedowns, but Langenderfer was torquing on the elbow (not unnecessarily, I’d say. Wrestling is a full contact, full body sport and Langenderfer didn’t look to be maliciously attacking the elbow any more than he was the non-injured elbow). Regardless, Stieber looked to finish a double leg, but Langenderfer countered with a headlock straight to his back and earned the pin. Stieber was obviously disappointed at the loss and the missed opportunity for team points. Hunter dropped to the 5th place match for a battle with Zack Beitz, of Penn State, whom Hunter beat 5-4 in the quarterfinals.

While the Stieber match was unfolding, Josh Demas methodically took out Purdue’s Doug Welch at 157 lbs for a trip to the 3rd place match. Winning the other consolation semifinal was James Green, which will set up a rematch from the quarterfinals which Green won 8-2.

In the consolation semifinal match at 174 lbs, Mark Martin took Logan Storley to the limit, demonstrating a great deal of top control for much of the match. After a scoreless first period, Martin escaped quickly in the second and managed to ride Storley for almost the duration of the third period. Storley initiated a scramble with under a minute to go and caught Martin on his back for a reversal and set of backpoints. Martin’s loss put him into the 5th place match where he’d meet Illinois’ Zach Brunson.

Kenny Courts was the lone Buckeye wrestling for 7th place in the 184 lb division following a pair of losses. Courts started fast against Illinois’ Nikko Reyes, scoring a takedown in the first ten seconds. Ultimately, as has been the case time and again for Courts, he wasn’t able to finish with the same level of intensity as he used in the opening period. Courts fell 7-3, earning him 8th place and a trip to the NCAA tournament in two weeks.

In his first trip to the Big Ten Championships, redshirt freshman Nathan Tomasello impressed many with a crazy run through the bracket. Tomasello knocked off the 125 lbers from Wisconsin and Michigan before defeating two-time NCAA champion Jesse Delgado (Illinois) in the semifinals on Saturday night. The only opponent standing between Tomasello and a Big Ten title was Iowa’s Thomas Gilman, who defeated Tomasello 2-1 in a tiebreaker earlier in the season. Tomasello struck first with a first period takedown and rode Gilman out to end the period. The two wrestlers traded escapes and Tomasello gave up a point for stalling, but Gilman was unable to score a takedown at the end of the period, and Tomasello held for a 3-2 victory. In his last two matches, the redshirt freshman defeated the top two seeds in the tournament. Tomasello will likely earn a top three seed at the NCAA tournament later this month.

Johnni DiJulius, like Tomasello before him, met a familiar foe from Iowa in his placement match with JDJ meeting Iowa’s Cory Clark. DiJulius defeated Clark earlier in the season in the dual won by Ohio State, but the stakes were higher as third place in the 133 lb division and a team title were on the line. DiJulius ultimately dropped a decision to Clark thanks to a riding time point for the Hawkeye. DiJulius earned 4th place and will get an opportunity to avenge the loss in the NCAA tournament in two weeks. Chris Dardanes of Minnesota won the title at 133 lbs over Ohioan and Wisconsin Badger Ryan Taylor by a score of 7-2.

For the third match in a row, an Ohio State wrestler faced off against an Iowa Hawkeye with the team race hanging in the balance. Logan Stieber became the first Ohio State Buckeye to win four career Big Ten titles and just the 14th wrestler to ever achieve the feat. Stieber started quickly, earning a takedown in just a blink of an eye. Stieber utilized his trademark claw ride and armbar to turn Dziewa time and again, yielding only a single escape to the Hawkeye. After the first period (three minutes), Stieber led 14-1. A takedown just seven seconds into the second period earned Stieber a 16-1 technical fall (the match ends when one wrestler has an advantage of 15 points or more). Stieber’s tech fall cemented his fourth Big Ten title and put big points on the board for the Buckeyes in the team race.

At 149 lbs, Hunter Stieber’s nagging elbow injury prevented him from competing against Penn State’s Zach Beitz. Stieber’s medical forfeit earned him 6th place at 149 lbs, but he had already secured one of the allotted automatic qualifier spots to the NCAA tournament. Huge in the team race, Iowa’s Brandon Sorensen lost to defending NCAA champion Jason Tsirtsis, preventing any more placement points for the Hawkeyes.

Buckeye senior Josh Demas was unable to turn the tides in the rematch against Nebraska’s James Green,, but will wrestle at the NCAA wrestling championships in two weeks based off of his fourth place finish. Isaiah Martinez of Illinois won the title at 157 lbs with a victory over NCAA runner-up Dylan Ness of Minnesota. Martinez is a redshirt freshman, but maintains his undefeated record.

In the hugely anticipated match at 165 lbs, Buckeye redshirt freshman Bo Jordan took his first loss of his career to the most familiar of opponents. Bo dropped a 3-2 decision to his first cousin, Isaac Jordan of Wisconsin. Bo was in on deep shots, but was unable to finish, including one in the third period when he had Isaac flat on his back, but Bo did not have control. Though disappointed with the finish, Bo will get a chance to avenge the loss with a trip to the NCAA tournament in two weeks.

The 174 lb weight class remained predictably chalky with the top four seeds earning the top four places. Top seeded Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) beat No. 2 seed Matt Brown (Penn State) in the championship match. No. 3 seed Mike Evans of Iowa took on No. 4 seed Logan Storley of Iowa in the 3rd place match, with Evans winning 2-1 in overtime.Mark Martin has had a history of struggles in big matches throughout his career, but turned that bad habit on it’s ear with a 5th place finish. Martin scored a dynamic takedown in overtime to take out Illinois’ Zack Brunson. Martin will compete at the NCAA tournament in two weeks.

With a brief break in action for the Buckeyes, Dominic Abounader of Michigan won the title at 184 lbs over Minnesota’s Brett Pfarr.

In Ohio State’s last chance at crucial team points, true freshman Kyle Snyder took on Penn State’s Morgan McIntosh at 197 lbs for the Big Ten title. Snyder had beaten McIntosh previously this season in a dual meet, but the Nittany Lion earned his revenge in the Big Ten championship final with a 4-1 victory.

Snyder’s loss pinned the Buckeyes team title hopes upon the heavyweight match between Mike McMullan of Northwestern and Bobby Telford of Iowa. Ohio State’s Nick Tavanello failed to place in the heavyweight division, putting his chances at earning an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament in serious jeopardy. Telford and McMullan engaged in your typical heavyweight action and remained scoreless through the first period. McMullan showed some serious courage and earned a 4-3 decision, sealing the co-Championship for the Buckeyes and Hawkeyes.

The Buckeyes earned a co-Champion finish, giving them a share of their first Big Ten title since the Truman administration.

The at-large bids to the NCAA tournament will be announced on Wednesday, but nine Buckeyes earned outright bids to the NCAA championship.

Ohio State Placers

125 Nathan Tomasello – Big Ten Champion*

133 Johnni DiJulius - 4th place *

141 Logan Stieber – Big Ten Champion*

149 Hunter Stieber – 6th place*

157 Josh Demas – 4th place *

165 Bo Jordan- Big Ten runner-up*

174 Mark Martin- 5th place*

184 Kenny Courts - 8th place *

197 Kyle Snyder- Big Ten runner-up*

HVY Nick Tavanello- DNP

*Denotes finish earned an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament

Ohio State coach Tom Ryan (L) and Iowa's Tom Brands (R) share Big Ten Team trophy due to a tie score following championships.