Ohio State’s wrestling team took a blow to its depth on Wednesday when heavyweight Thomas Haines announced he was leaving the team. The Pennsylvania native will be transferring to Lock Haven, located a short drive from his childhood home.
Haines competed in just one varsity match in his season and a half for Ohio State, but made quite a splash in his lone start. He defeated then-No. 17 Brooks Black of Illinois in a dual meet that the Buckeyes won 22-17.
Haines is opting to move on from Columbus largely based on Kyle Snyder’s decision to return to the Buckeye lineup at heavyweight. Both Snyder and Haines came to Ohio State as top 10 recruits nationally in the Class of 2014, but Haines redshirted behind Nick Tavanello last season while Snyder finished 2nd at the NCAA tournament at 197 lbs as a true freshman.
Haines came to Ohio State after initially committing to Penn State. The Nittany Lions received a commitment from another top heavyweight and pulled their offer to Haines, who then chose to wrestle for Tom Ryan and Ohio State. In an interesting turn of events, that other heavyweight (Nick Nevills) was injured early in the season and left Penn State without a quality starter during a season when it'd like to make a run at a national title.
It’s hard to fault Haines, who won four state titles in Pennsylvania, for choosing to transfer from Ohio State. As one of the most sought-after recruits in the country, he was undoubtedly licking his chops at the chance to start for Ohio State against Big Ten competition. With Snyder’s decision to compete at heavyweight, the writing was on the wall for Haines, who must have taken a long look in the mirror after a world champion elected to take his spot in the lineup. Snyder currently has two more seasons (three if he opts to redshirt) of eligibility, so Haines may have only gotten a single season in the starting lineup for the Buckeyes.
Haines will get the opportunity to compete for the Bald Eagles of Lock Haven with his remaining eligibility, and shouldn’t have many hurdles in doing so as Ohio State opted to release him from his scholarship. The incumbent Lock Haven heavyweight, Brad Emerick, placed fourth at last season’s EWL Championships and did not qualify for the NCAA tournament, so Haines will have a great chance to earn the starting nod for the Bald Eagles.
Though the decision comes at the expense of some fantastic depth on the Buckeye bench, Lock Haven is getting an exceptional wrestler and a quality person in Haines. Haines will likely be eligible to compete in the fall of 2016, when he is likely to enroll at Lock Haven.
The Buckeyes, without Haines, will be in action on Sunday at Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls when they host the Michigan State Spartans.
