| WEIGHT | MATCHUp |
|---|---|
| 125 | No. 1 TOMASELLO vs. No. 19 YOUTSEY |
| 133 | No. 8 DIJULIUS vs. No. 16 BRUNO |
| 141 | No. 9 M. JORDAN vs. FISHER |
| 149 | BURCHER or STIEBER vs. No. 8 PANTALEO |
| 157 | No. 11 RYAN vs. No. 5 MURPHY |
| 165 | No. 2 B. JORDAN vs. SUTTON |
| 174 | No. 15 MARTIN vs. No. 19 MAHOMES |
| 184 | No. 11 COURTS vs. No. 10 ABOUNADER |
| 197 | MARTIN vs. No. 6 HUNTLEY |
| HWT | TAVENELLO or THOMAS vs. No. 4 COON |
The Buckeyes haven’t wrestled in the 614 since Nov, 20, so Saturday’s dual will be a homecoming for more than one reason. Not only is a return to St. John Arena highly anticipated, but two-time All-American Hunter Stieber is likely to return from a pair of serious elbow injuries against the Wolverines.
Michigan started their weekend off on Thursday night with a 27-9 victory over Oregon State. The Beavers won the two opening weight classes before Michigan took control.
The win over Oregon State gives Michigan a 5-1 (1-0 Big Ten) record on the season, while the Buckeyes currently sit at 5-1 with a 2-0 Big Ten record. Ohio State has defeated their rivals three times out of the past four meetings and will look to earn another gold singlet on Saturday night.
The match will air live from St. John Arena on Saturday night at 5 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
Head Coach: Joe McFarland
The McFarland has been at the helm of his alma mater since 1999 and has led Wolverines to five individual NCAA titles and 49 All-American finishes. As a competitor himself, McFarland won two Ohio state championships wrestling for North Olmsted High School before four All-American finishes at Michigan. McFarland had a successful international career, earning a silver medal at the 1986 World Championships. Under his tutelage, Michigan has remained near the top of the Big Ten and has been consistently one of the better teams in the country year in and year out. Assisting McFarland is a trio of successful Michigan alums in Sean Bormet, Josh Churella, and Kellen Russell.
Ohioans on the Michigan Roster
Domenic Abounader (JR, 184)
Abounader earned three state championships while competing for St. Edward. He was a three-time freestyle All-American at Fargo and was InterMat’s No. 1 ranked 182 wrestler as a senior.
Austin Assad (FR, 125)
Assad placed four times at the state tournament for Brecksville-Broadview Heights, finishing in the top three each time. Assad twice fell in the state final to current Buckeye Jose Rodriguez. Assad is a notable freestyle wrestler, twice winning at Fargo. His older brother Aaron wrestles for Missouri.
Notable Wolverine Wrestlers
Adam Coon: HWT
Coon was one of the biggest recruits in the country as a senior, ranking No. 2 in InterMat’s top recruits behind Bo Jordan. Coon is one of the guys that any coach and fan would love to have on their team; he is a hopeful for the 2016 Olympic team for Greco Roman, finished 2nd in the NCAA tournament (in a slugfest to Nick Gwiazdowski), and is an aerospace engineering major. Leah Howard, Michigan’s Assistant Director of Athletic Communications , noted that Coon earned Academic All-Big Ten and NWCA All-Academic honors last season, so he is succeeding both on and off the mat. He’s currently ranked No. 4 in the InterMat rankings.
Max Huntley: 197
Huntley is by far the elder statesman on the Wolverine roster. He graduated from Blair Academy in 2010 and earned his bachelor’s degree from Michigan in 2015. He is now working on his Master’s degree in Public Policy. He earned an All-American finish last season and was awarded a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA due to two seasons lost due to two separate injuries. Huntley is currently ranked No. 6 in the InterMat polls and placed fifth at this year’s CKLV Invitational. Huntley married assistant coach Kellen Russell’s twin sister over the summer, further guaranteeing he’ll be spending some additional time with the two-time NCAA champ.
Brian Murphy: 157
Murphy earned All-American honors last season with a seventh place finish at the NCAA tournament. Murphy is ranked No. 5 in the latest InterMat rankings at 157, but has been hampered by injury this season.
Key Matchups
174: No. 15 Myles Martin vs No. 19 Davonte Mahomes
Myles announced his presence last weekend with a dominant performance in a tech fall win against Illinois. Mahomes started the season with a great deal of hype, but fizzled a bit once the season started. This match could be the first of many over the next three years between a pair of young, promising wrestlers.
149: Cody Burcher or Hunter Stieber vs No. 8 Alec Pantaleo
Pantaleo defeated Burcher 7-3 at the CKLV earlier in the season and qualified for last year’s NCAA tournament as a true freshman. That result could be thrown out the window if Hunter Stieber makes his triumphant return to the Buckeye lineup. Stieber has a pair of All-American finishes in his first two healthy seasons in Columbus, but Pantaleo is a tough first match coming back from injury.
125: No. 1 Nathan Tomasello vs No. 19 Conor Youtsey
Youtsey earned a spot on the All-American podium last season with a sixth place finish at the NCAA tournament. After a hot finish last season, Youtsey has dropped a number of head-scratchers to begin this season. Tomasello has been his standard, aggressive self this season and could put big points on the board against a down Youtsey.
Match Outlook
From a pure rankings standpoint, the Buckeyes will be favored in five of the ten matches. The Buckeyes are technically underdogs at 149, 157, 184, 197, and heavyweight. If Hunter Stieber wrestles at 149, I have to believe that he’s the favorite over Pantaleo. Likewise, if Murphy is unable to wrestle for Michigan at 157, Jake Ryan is the prohibitive favorite.
The Buckeyes are favored in the lighter weight classes, but DiJulius vs Bruno at 133 could be a toss-up as both guys are very streaky wrestlers. Tomasello, Micah Jordan, and Bo Jordan are certainly capable of scoring bonus points for the Buckeyes, but Max Huntley and Abounader are just as capable of scoring them back.
Regardless of the team score, a match against a tough rival is always good to gauge a team’s potential. The Buckeyes are not at all the same team as the one that won last year’s NCAA title, with Micah Jordan, Myles Martin and Jake Ryan stepping into the lineup and Mark Martin filling a new spot on the team. Kyle Snyder’s impending return has led to a huge deal of optimism, but Saturday’s match will show fans just how bullish they should feel about the Buckeyes.
All eyes in Columbus will be on Hunter Stieber and his elbows, as well as Myles Martin in his home debut as a Buckeye. With a gold singlet on the line, expect a shootout between two tough teams.
