A pair of Buckeyes won championships at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Saturday night with Nathan Tomasello and Micah Jordan winning at 125 and 141 pounds, respectively. As a team, the undermanned Buckeyes finished fifth with the Missouri Tigers taking the team title behind a pair of individual champions.
Tomasello began his march to the title with a dominant Friday before facing a tough task in the finals on Saturday. The defending NCAA champ used a pair of major decisions, a pin, and a decision to advance to the championship bout.
In the championship bout at 125, the Buckeye sophomore avenged a loss from last year by defeating Virginia Tech's Joey Dance by a 5-4 score. Tomasello struck first with the opening takedown before Dance knotted the score at 4-4 with a takedown of his own.
The deciding point for Tomasello came thanks to his attacking nature, which caused a second stalling call against Dance, earning a point for the Buckeye. The victory extended Tomasello's winning streak to 26 matches, including several wins over wrestlers that had beaten him previously.
Also winning his first CKLV title, Micah Jordan rose from the fifth seed to knock off a pair of higher-seeded wrestlers on Saturday. The younger Jordan bumped top seed Solomon Chisko (Virginia Tech) into the wrestlebacks with a 5-2 decision. Jordan notched a pair of early takedowns to knock off the Hokie, who was previously unbeaten.
In the finals at 141, Micah defeated No. 3 seed Todd Preston of Harvard with a 7-3 score. Jordan's three takedowns were the difference in the match as Preston was completely outgunned.
In addition to the two champions, Kenny Courts and Nick Tavanello each earned fifth place.
Injuries greatly impacted the Buckeyes in the team race as Bo Jordan and Jake Ryan were scratched from the tournament beforehand, while Johnni DiJulius dropped out of the tournament prior to his quarterfinal match.
DiJulius was rolling in the 133-pound bracket before being halted by injury. JDJ won a pair of decisions to set up a rematch with old for George DiCamillo of Virginia, but an unspecified upper body injury shelved him for the remainder of the weekend. Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) defeated NCAA champ Cody Brewer (Oklahoma) for the title by 14-9 decision.
Cody Burcher scored a few wins at 149, but ultimately fell short of the podium. Despite losing his opening bout to Geo Martinez (Boise State), Burcher scored a pair of first period pins and accepted a medical forfeit. Burcher's tournament came to an end when he lost to Michigan's Alec Pantaleo 7-3 and fell just a match short of placement. Missouri's Lavion Mayes lived up to his top seed by winning the title at 149.
Filling in for Jake Ryan, Anthony Decarlo went 1-2 at 157, picking up his lone win in the wrestlebacks. Kent State's Ian Miller rolled through the competition on his way to a title at 157.
Justin Kresevic resumed his role at 165-pound, and won a pair of matches, but fell short of placement. Wisconsin's Isaac Jordan managed to thwart a few upset bids and won the title at 165.
Ryan Harris stepped into the lineup at 174, but failed to make any waves on his way to an 0-2 finish. Brian Realbuto (Cornell) became the second Big Red wrestler to claim a championship, cruising to a title at 174.
Kenny Courts started out hot with an early tech fall and decision before falling in the quarterfinals to Michigan's Domenic Abounader. In the wrestlebacks, Courts won a pair of decisions before getting steamrolled by Willie Miklus (Missouri) in the wrestleback semifinals. Courts fought back to place 5th at 184 with a first period pin. Cornell's Gabe Dean stayed perfect on his way to a title.
Mark Martin continued to have growing pains at his new weight class, going just 1-2 at 197. Martin won his first match before dropping two straight to be eliminated. J'Den Cox (Missouri) earned the title at 197.
Nick Tavanello scored a pin and decision before losing in the quarterfinals to Ross Larson (Oklahoma). Tavanello won two more bouts in the wrestlebacks before losing to an opponent he'd previously beaten (Tanner Hall of Arizona State). Tav won 5th place win a first period pin against the heavyweight from Harvard. Ty Walz of Virginia Tech stayed undefeated as he won the title at heavyweight.
Missouri won the team title with an impressive 154 points. Cornell finished in a distant second with 113 points. The Buckeyes took fifth as a team with 96.5 points.
Ohio State has several days to heal up before taking the mat in a road dual at Missouri, the same Missouri that won the CKLV even before the placement rounds began.
Check back with Eleven Warriors for a preview of the upcoming dual at Missouri later in the week.
