Wrestling Recap: Bonus Points Propel No. 4 Ohio State Over No. 14 Illinois 29-18

The No. 4 ranked Buckeye wrestlers fed off of some of the Columbus mojo on Sunday as they came back from a late deficit to down the Fighting Illini at St. John Arena. In the ten matches contested, all but one of the bouts was won by bonus points. Of those nine bonus point victories, the Buckeyes earned five of them, racking up three pins and a pair of major decisions to go along with Luke Pletcher's decision victory. The Buckeyes improved to 7-0 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten with the 29-18 victory. 

The action started off at 125 with No. 12 Jose Rodriguez losing his second consecutive major decision to an unranked wrestler. He was previously defeated by Wisconsin's Johnny Jimenez and was blanked 10-0 by Illinois' Travis Piotrowski to give the Illini a 4-0 lead after one match. 

In the marquee match of the day, No. 2 ranked Nathan Tomasello put a one-sided beating on No. 4 Zane Richards at 133. Tomasello scored early and often, frustrating Richards in the process. Tomasello won a 12-4 major decision, in part thanks to his aggression from the neutral position. Tomasello was able to push the pace enough to score penalty points due to Richards being hit for stalling throughout the match. Following the match, Tomasello mentioned that he anticipated going out and being aggressive early, which seemed to have Richards on the defensive throughout the match. 

Luke Pletcher scored the lone victory by regular decision at 141 as he downed Mousa Jodeh by the score of 10-4. 

Micah Jordan scored the Buckeyes' first pin of the day when he pinned Eric Barone late in the third period. Jordan entered the match ranked No. 5 in InterMat's latest rankings of 149 and he gave the Buckeyes a 13-4 lead heading into 157. 

Anthony DeCarlo stepped into the lineup at 157 in the place of Jake Ryan, but was handily picked apart by Kyle Langenderfer. Langenderfer rolled to an 18-3 technical fall to draw his team within four points at the midpoint of the dual. 

Top-ranked Isaiah Martinez of Illinois demonstrated why he has won a pair of NCAA titles with his 22-7 technical fall over Cody Burcher at 165. IMar took Burcher down at will and gave Illinois its first lead of the day. 

No. 1 ranked Bo Jordan was replaced in the lineup by Justin Kresevic at 174, and Illinois' No. 12 Zac Brunson made the Buckeye backup pay on his way to a 19-8 major decision. 

Myles Martin appeared to be getting back on track after struggling at the end of December. Martin came into the match ranked No. 10 by InterMat and easily dispensed the No. 13 Emory Parker by 11-3 major decision. The major decision pulled the Buckeyes to within a point of the Illini with just two matches remaining. 

Kollin Moore was having little trouble with Andre Lee at 197 and was on his way to a major decision before the Buckeye freshman pinned Lee with seconds on the clock in the second period. Moore utilized a knee pick and transitioned from what appeared to be a turk to a half nelson to a headlock before ultimately pinning Lee. Moore mentioned after the match that he has focused more in practice on working for pins, and the extra effort paid off. The six team points from Moore nearly sealed the victory for the Buckeyes with just Kyle Snyder left to wrestle. 

Snyder didn't let the team down, scoring his fourth pin in five matches to date this season. The Buckeye junior had just one pin in his first two seasons, but has really improved his mat wrestling. Snyder's victory put a bow on the Buckeye victory with a score of 29-18. 

Speaking of Snyder, the Buckeyes will be traveling to his alma mater next Sunday as they wrestle Maryland at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney, Md. Check back next weekend for a full preview of the upcoming action in what will be Snyder's triumphant homecoming of sorts.