Just six months after becoming the youngest American to ever win a World Championship, Ohio State's Kyle Snyder completed his sophomore season with a national championship in the heavyweight division. The No. 2 seed upset No. 1 seed Nick Gwiazdowski of North Carolina State, handing the favorite his first loss of the season (33-1) in sudden victory.
The win gives Ohio State two individual national championships in 2016, as true freshman Myles Martin won the 174-pound weight class earlier tonight.
Gwiazdowski, a two-time defending champion, was riding an 88-match winning streak — the nation’s longest. That didn’t deter the youngest American to ever win a world championship, which Snyder became over the summer.
That streak for Gwiazdowski is history, thanks to Snyder, who won 7-5 at Madison Square Garden in the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship.
Snyder, giving up about 30 pounds to Gwiazdowski, wrestled to a scoreless first period, trying to use his quickness but he was unable to take the advantage. Gwiazdowski earned the first point with an escape to start the second period and built a 3-0 lead before Snyder escaped to get on the board. Kyle trailed 3-1 entering the third.
“It was a fun match. I think it will go down as one of the most exciting heavyweight matches in NCAA history.”– Kyle Snyder
Snyder chose bottom to open the third and got an escape to pull within 3-2, but a Gwiazdowski takedown made things tough. However, the Buckeye sophomore got a late takedown of his own to force overtime. In the overtime, Snyder earned another takedown. North Carolina State challenged the takedown but the call was confirmed after review.
The Woodbine, MD, product out of Our Lady of Good Counsel finishes the season unbeaten at 11-0. He backed up last season’s appearance in the 197-pound finals with tonight’s national championship, making the lifting of his Olympic redshirt worthwhile.
Snyder's victory put Ohio State on the podium in the team standings in third place.
