With Session I in the books, the Buckeyes sat in a tie for third place in the team race. The Buckeyes trailed only Iowa and Minnesota and were tied with Penn State.
Session II began with a round of consolations before moving to the championship semifinals.
Johnni DiJulius tacked on some critical points for the Buckeyes at 133 lbs with an 8-0 major decision over Dom Malone of Northwestern. DiJulius opened the scoring with an early takedown and finished it with a late set of backpoints for the major decision.
Next up in the wrestlebacks, senior Josh Demas won easily over Wisconsin’s TJ Ruschell. Demas only won 11-7, but the match was not as close as the score indicated. Demas utilized every takedown he could think of on his way to the victory. The win moved him to the consolation quarterfinals and earned him a berth in the NCAA championships with a guaranteed finish of at least 8th place.
Mark Martin wasted no time advancing to the consolation quarterfinals with a 13-1 beating of Josh Snook of Maryland. Martin racked up over 5 minutes of riding time and used some tilts to give himself a trip to the NCAA tournament.
Kenny Courts followed suit with a dominating victory over Pafumi of Rutgers. Courts’ win sealed his berth in the NCAA tournament, and set up a rematch between himself and Sam Brooks of Iowa with major team implications on the line in the consolation bracket.
Nick Tavanello was the first Buckeye to bow out of the tournament (***though he is eligible for an additional spot as the Big Ten is allotted ten automatic qualifier spots) as he lost in the final seconds to Brooks Black of Illinois.
In the most anticipated match of the semifinals (for me, at least), redshirt freshman Nathan Tomasello brought the Buckeye faithful to their feet with a comeback victory against two-time NCAA champion Jesse Delgado. Tomasello was in deep on shots, but was unable to keep Delgado on the mat (a recurring theme throughout the match). Tomasello gave up a penalty point for grabbing the headgear (think of it as a facemasking penalty in football), but earned a reversal with over thirty seconds remaining and held on for the big win.
Johnni DiJulius faced familiar foe Rossi Bruno of Michigan and was able to control the top position, earning a 3-1 victory over the Wolverine. JDJ racked up nearly 3 minutes of riding time and will again wrestle at the NCAA tournament. He advanced to meet Penn State’s Jimmy Gulibon in the consolation semifinals.
Logan Stieber didn’t disappoint, advancing to his fourth Big Ten championship with a dominating 5-1 decision over Rutgers’ Anthony Ashnault. Stieber controlled from the top throughout, racking up over 5 minutes of riding time despite being unable to turn the Scarlet Knight. Stieber will look to become the first Buckeye to win four Big Ten titles on Sunday when he takes on Josh Dziewa, whom he defeated earlier in the season by 2nd period tech fall. Dziewa advanced to the finals with a minor (depending on who you ask) upset of Nick Dardanes of Minnesota.
At 149 lbs, Hunter Stieber pump faked me by coming out to the mat for a bout semifinal bout with NCAA champ Jason Tsirtsis before injury defaulting. Stieber will automatically qualify for the NCAA tournament, but will likely take a lower seed. Should he wrestle later, Stieber will meet Kyle Langenderfer of Illinois.
Josh Demas got all he could handle from Anthony Perrotti of Rutgers, but Demas was able to earn a tough 2-1 decision in overtime. Demas advanced to meet Doug Welch of Purdue in the consolation semifinals.
With the Arnolds being in Columbus as well this weekend, I’m reminded of Terminator 2: Judgment Day when Bo Jordan wrestles. He’s not simply a man. Jordan scored two takedowns in the first and pushed his riding time up over two minutes against Pierce Harger. Harger didn’t lie down, pushing Jordan, but Bo took an 8-1 victory to move to the finals. In tomorrow night’s final, Bo will lock horns with his cousin, Isaac Jordan of Wisconsin, who won a 6-5 decision over Indiana’s Taylor Walsh. If killing your brother is fratricide, what do you call it when you take out your cousin?
In the consolation quarterfinals, Mark Martin earned a 3-0 decision over Frank Cousins of Wisconsin for a trip to the consolation semifinals where he will meet Minnesota’s Logan Storley tomorrow night. In the semifinals, Robert Kokesh of Nebraska edged Minnesota’s Logan Storley and Matt Brown of Penn State beat Iowa’s Mike Evans. The loss for Iowa is huge for the Buckeyes because it means the Hawkeyes won’t earn placement points in the championship bracket at 174.
Kenny Courts was in attack mode early on against No. 1 seed Sam Brooks of Iowa, but was unable to finish a number of shots. Courts looked discouraged in the 3rd period and gave up a 4-1 decision to Brooks. He’ll wrestle for 7th place tomorrow afternoon.
At 197 lbs, freshman wunderkind Kyle Snyder showed that he’s ready to tangle with the best in the country as he gave Nathan Burak a few pointers regarding strength and athleticism. Snyder used impressive strength and balance to fend off a few takedowns on his way to a 3-2 decision. Snyder will meet Penn State’s Morgan McIntosh in the finals on Sunday as McIntosh beat Minnesota’s Scott Schiller. Snyder’s win over Burak is huge for team points, but a win tomorrow will be even better.
In the final (by an hour or more) match for the Buckeyes, Nick Tavanello met up with Collin Jensen of Nebraska in the “9th place semifinal” match. No kidding. Since the Big Ten earned more than eight automatic qualifiers, they’ll wrestle until all of the spots are filled. Tavanello surrendered an early takedown and never really looked himself all day. Not how you want to see his season end, but those are the breaks.
The team race tomorrow is going to be an absolute slugfest with the Buckeyes leading after Session II. Both Iowa and Ohio State have four finalists and they’ll square off at 125 lbs and 141.
Thanks for sticking around and be sure to check back tomorrow as Ohio State chases their first Big Ten title since 1952.
