The Buckeyes began the 2015-16 campaign with a number of dominant performances at the Eastern Michigan Open on Saturday. Seven wrestlers won a tournament championship. Johnni DiJulius, Micah Jordan, Cody Burcher, Jake Ryan, Myles Martin, Mark Martin, and Nick Tavanello each won their respective weight classes while three Buckeyes earned runner-up (each to a teammate).
Johnni DiJulius began his senior season with a title at 133 pounds with four wins by decision. While DiJulius didn’t rack up any bonus points, he only yielded three points in four matches and defeated Kent State’s Anthony Tutolo 4-1 in the championship bout.
Micah Jordan started scoring points as soon as he got off the bus, winning the 141-pound championship with a tech fall and three second period pins before accepting a medical forfeit against teammate Ke-Shawn Hayes in the finals.
Hayes, who was not actually injured, earned a trip to the finals with a pair of tech falls and a pair of major decisions before beating DII runner-up (and Twinsburg graduate) Michael Labry of Ashland in the TB2 period.
Cody Burcher appears to have staked his claim for the 149-pound spot in the lineup in Hunter Stieber’s absence with a championship effort at that weight. Burcher notched a pin and a major decision to go with three decisions en route to first place. Three of Burcher’s victories were against Big Ten opponents, though likely non-starters.
The hits kept coming as Jake Ryan won the title at 157 pounds. Ryan rattled off two tech falls and a major decision to go with a trio of decisions on his way to the championship.
The string of championships ended for the Buckeyes at 165 pounds as neither Seth Williams nor Justin Kresevic were able to reach the top of the podium. Kresevic dropped a pair of matches to MAC wrestlers and placed sixth. Williams dropped a pair of matches by pin before taking 8th place.
Bo Jordan’s season at 174 pounds picked up where he left off at 165 pounds. The elder Jordan started the tournament with a dominating tech fall and a decision in the second round. After two wins, Coach Tom Ryan opted to default Jordan out of the tournament as a precaution. With Bo out of the tournament, Myles Martin was left to his own devices and ran roughshod over the competition. Myles began his collegiate career with a tech fall before tacking on a major decision, pin, and decision to earn a trip to the finals. Once in the finals, Myles met probably the toughest non-Buckeye in the tournament in Indiana’s Nate Jackson. Martin defeated Jackson 7-5 to earn the title. Buckeye Dominick Prezzia also took 6th place at 174 pounds.
Following his wrestle-off upset over Kenny Courts, Jack Rozema’s stock was incredibly high. Despite the high hopes, the Buckeye sophomore failed to earn a place after going 2-2 in the tournament. Courts, on the other hand, took 3rd place in the 184 lb bracket, but his trend of losing winnable matches continued. Courts lost to eventual champion Riley Lefever of Wabash College in the semifinals by a score of 5-2. Lefever previously won the DIII national title, but Courts is coming off of an All-American finish in D I. With Rozema winning the wrestle-off but failing to place, Courts may again stake his claim to the starting slot at 184 pounds. for the Buckeyes.
At 197 pounds, a pair of Buckeyes steamroll the competition before meeting in the championship bout. Mark Martin, up from his previous weight of 174, showed no signs of being outmuscled at his new weight. Martin notched a pair of tech falls and a pair of major decisions to advance to the finals. Kollin Moore had a tech fall and two major decisions to go with a decision to meet Martin in the championship bout. Once in the finals, Moore forfeited to Martin as Martin won the wrestle-off between the two last week.
Heavyweight saw another pair of Buckeyes roll to the finals with Nick Tavanello and Thomas Haines meeting in the championship bout. Tav earned a tech fall, a major decision, and a pair of pins (including a 15 second pin in the semifinals) to advance to the finals. Haines, coming back from injury, won a pair of decisions and had two pins to meet Tav in the finals. Tav edged Haines 5-3 to earn the championship.
Nathan Tomasello was notably absent from the tournament as he was competing at the Bill Farrell International (a senior level freestyle tournament) to vie for a chance to earn a trip to the US Olympic Trials in 2016. Tomasello convincingly won a pair of matches before losing to Daniel Dennis in the quarterfinals. In the consolation bracket, Tomasello beat Nick Simmons and Obe Blanc before losing in the consolation semifinals.
Also standing out at the Bill Farrell International were Buckeye alums J.D. Bergman and Logan Stieber. Bergman rolled to the finals, where he defeated Ohioan and Kent State grad Dustin Kilgore 7-5. Stieber tech falled his way to the final before dropping an 8-5 decision to old foe Jordan Oliver. Oliver was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler.
While the Buckeyes demonstrated a great deal of success at the EMU Open, this tournament can’t be used as a measuring stick for the upcoming season. The opposition at EMU was largely made up of lesser teams or backups from Big Ten teams. Quite frankly, I was a little surprised to see the Buckeye starters in action at the tournament once registration revealed that teams like Michigan weren’t sending their starters. Much like the football team, it is good to get some easy wins in the early going before the season gets going. The Buckeyes will face a much stiffer test on Friday when they play host to the Virginia Cavaliers.
Full Buckeye results for the EMU Open can be found HERE while the Bill Farrell Invitational results are courtesy of Track Wrestling.
