St. John Arena was alive on a cold November night as the Buckeye wrestling team took a great first step into the 2014-15 season by dropping the hammer on No. 21 Kent State 38–3.
Young guns Nathan Tomasello and Kyle Snyder notched big wins in their highly anticipated Ohio State debuts and Justin Kresevic made the most of his opportunity, stepping in for Bo Jordan by notching a late pin.
The match began at 125, where redshirt-freshman Nathan Tomasello quickly validated all of the hype that he's living in. He was masterful on his feat, as he took Kent State's Del Vinas down at will, earning a tech fall in the second period. The 20–5 tech spotted the Buckeyes a 5–0 lead.
| WT | Result |
|---|---|
| 125 | TOMASSELLO (OSU) TF over Vinas (KS) 20-5 |
| 133 | DiJULIUS (OSU) defeated McGuire (KSU) 2-1 |
| 141 | STIEBER (OSU) TF over Bauer (KSU) 15-0 |
| 149 | Depalma (KSU) major decision over RILEY-HAWKINS (OSU) 12-0 |
| 157 | DEMAS (OSU) medical default over Miller (KSU) |
| 165 | KRESSEVIC (OSU) pinned Buckwalter (KSU) 6:44 |
| 174 | MARTIN (OSU) defeated Marsh (KSU) 3-1 |
| 184 | COURTS (OSU) major decision over Campbell (KSU) 17-5 |
| 197 | SNYDER (OSU) defeated Baxter (KSU) 11-6 |
| HWT | TAVANELLO (OSU) won an overtime tiebreaker over Lytle (KSU) |
At 133, Johnni DiJulius utilized a pair of near-fall points to edge Mack McGuire by the score of 2–1 and pushed the Buckeye lead to 8–0 over Kent State.
Logan Stieber kicked off his quest to become just the fourth wrestler in NCAA history to win four individual titles when he took on Kyle Bauer. Stieber wasted no time, running up a 10-point advantage at the end of the first period. He then used two separate sets of near-fall points in the second period to earn the 15–0 technical fall, which drove the Buckeye lead to 13–0.
His brother, on the other hand, did not wrestle as Blake Riley-Hawkins stepped in at 149 for Hunter Stieber to face Kent State's Michael DePalma. DePalma used a quick takedown and a pair of near-fall counts to take an 8–0 lead. Riley-Hawkins was unable to mount any offense at all, but managed to yield only four points over the final two periods. In the end, DePalma won by a score of 12–0, putting the Flashes on the board and earning their only victory of the night.
In what was the most anticipated match of the night, Josh Demas locked horns with returning All-American Ian Miller at 157. After scoring the opening takedown, Miller suffered an injury and was forced to default out of the match. Despite being down on the scoreboard at the time the match was called, Demas was awarded the win (and the subsequent six team points). Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery for Miller and that the two will meet again down the road.
Hunter Stieber was not the only notable Buckeye missing from the lineup as Bo Jordan was also inactive. Not one to waste the opportunity to shine, Solon native Justin Kresevic knotted the score with Tyler Buckwalter at one before scoring a late takedown and pin. After the pin, the Buckeyes held a 25–3 advantage.
In the match at 174, Mark Martin was unable to score in the opening stanza against Kent’s Caleb Marsh. During the second period, however, Martin scored an escape and a takedown, which were all the points that he would need. Though Marsh was able to muster an escape in the third period, Martin held on for the 3–1 decision.
At 184, Kenny Courts put on quite a show against Cory Campbell, amassing six takedowns en route to a 17–5 major decision. After seven matches, the Buckeyes held a 32–3 edge over the Flashes.
Freshman sensation Kyle Snyder was victorious in his home debut, winning 11–6 over Kent State's Cole Baxter. Snyder started slowly at first, holding a mere 5-2 lead after two periods, but the Maryland native picked up steam in the third period when he scored three takedowns to close out the match.
In the heavyweight bout, Kent State’s Mimmo Lytle took Nick Tavanello to the limit, but Tav was able to earn the win after 11 minutes of wrestling. As is often the case in heavyweight matches, the score was tied 1–1 at the end of regulation. After two overtimes and two top/bottom periods, the score remained even, but Tavanello held a five second advantage in riding time and, thus won the match.
The Buckeyes took nine of 10 on the night, rolling to the impressive 38–3 win.
Great opening night for the bucks. Thanks for all the support from all the fans at the match and watching on the Internet!! #GoBucks
— Logan Stieber (@_LogieBear_) November 14, 2014
Up next for Ohio State is a trip to New York for the Journeymen Tussle on Saturday, where they will meet up with the Army Black Knights and the Arizona State Sun Devils.
Stay tuned for more on the Buckeye wrestling team as they chase history.
