Wrestling Recap: No. 4 Buckeyes Fire on All Cylinders to Earn Road Win Over No. 5 Nebraska

The No. 4 Buckeye wrestling team started off the weekend on the right foot, taking out No. 5 Nebraska on the road by the score of 24-13. Ohio State won all three of the matches contested between two top-ten ranked wrestlers and scored minor upsets at 184 and 141 to help clinch the victory. 

Micah Jordan started the dual by putting the Buckeyes on the board with a 12-4 major decision over Collin Purinton at 149. The fifth-ranked Jordan had a tough go of it early in the match, but found his groove in the second period and earned the major decision. 

Anthony DeCarlo had the unenviable task of filling in for Jake Ryan at 157, and DeCarlo took his lumps against the No. 3 Tyler Berger throughout the match. Berger roughed DeCarlo up before getting pinned late in the third period. 

Cody Burcher showed some life early on, but a reversal in the second overtime period was the difference in the match as Dustin Williams earned the 7-6 victory. After several lackluster outings, Burcher a glimpse of his potential, but was unable to finish an early lead. The Huskers took a 9-4 lead after three matches. 

Top-ranked Bo Jordan returned to the lineup at 174, but struggled to break through Micah Barnes' defense for much of the first period. In the second and third periods, Jordan found the necessary angles and earned an 11-1 major decision to draw the Buckeyes to within a point of the host Huskers. 

In the first of several matches between top-ten wrestlers, No. 10 Myles Martin got back to his winning ways with an impressive decision victory over No. 3 TJ Dudley. Martin had little difficulty in getting to the opponent's legs in the last two matches, but he was unable to finish and lost to Brooks of Iowa and Nickal of Penn State. Martin finished nicely on his shots and surprised the Nebraska crowd with an impressive showing. A late takedown made the score look more lopsided than it really was, but Martin gave the Buckeyes an 11-9 lead heading into the match at 197. 

No. 4 ranked Kollin Moore attacked No. 6 Aaron Studebaker with his usual aggression in the neutral position, but Studebaker held his ground nicely and prevented several close takedowns for Moore. In a back and forth affair, both wrestlers were in deep on multiple shots, but were unable to finish. Moore earned the deciding takedown and held off Studebaker's frantic attempts for a 3-2 victory. 

Nebraska's No. 14 Collin Jensen showed no fear when facing top-ranked Kyle Snyder at heavyweight, but Snyder eventually had his way with Jensen en route to a 17-6 major decision. Jensen rode Snyder tough and made Snyder earn the first few takedowns, but Snyder's prowess on the feet was too much for the Nebraska senior. Snyder's major decision gave the Buckeyes an 18-9 lead. 

Jose Rodriguez looked to snap himself out of a late-season funk against No. 5 Tim Lambert with an aggressive first period, but Lambert's defense won the battle against Rodriguez' attacks. Lambert eventually got on the board and used some near fall points to earn the 8-0 major decision over Rodriguez. 

Nathan Tomasello faced a stiff test in No. 5 Eric Montoya at 133, but Tomasello was able to get his hand raised after seven grueling minutes of action. Montoya was ready for Tomasello's attacks and almost seemed to encourage scramble positions, which nearly paid off late in the match for the Husker senior. Tomasello held on for the decision victory, much to the dismay of the Nebraska crowd, and the Buckeyes took an insurmountable 21-13 lead with just one match remaining. 

Though he's wrestled well of late, Luke Pletcher was able to get a nice win for his efforts, upending No. 10 Colton McCrystal to put a cap on the match. After a scoreless first period, Pletcher rode McCrystal for the entire second period before tacking on an escape and a late takedown to seal the deal at 141. 

Ohio State improves to 10-2 on the season and 6-2 in the Big Ten with the victory. They will wrap up the conference dual meet season on Sunday when they head to Minnesota to take on the No. 13 Golden Gophers.