The Ohio State wrestling team took a short trip up I-71 on Tuesday night, and returned home with a pair of victories over in-state foes.
In an alternating tri-meet wrestled on two mats, the Buckeyes faced both the Kent State Golden Flashes and the Cleveland State Vikings on Tuesday night inside the MAC Center on Kent State's campus.
The Buckeyes dominated the Vikings from the opening bout, winning all ten matches on the way to a 52-0 shutout. Six Buckeyes pinned their Cleveland State counterparts while two others scored technical fall victories.
Kent State put up more of a fight, but the Buckeyes still earned a hard-fought 36-13 decision over the Golden Flashes. Kent State wrestlers won the first two matches to jump out to an early lead.
Kent State's Anthony Tutulo showed that he did his homework on Brendan Fitzgerald. Tutulo kept Fitzgerald out of his comfort zone and scored a decisive 15-2 major decision at 133. Casey Sparkman followed that win up with an upset of Jake Ryan at 157. Aside from a fall at 174, the Buckeyes controlled the Flashes and won three matches by pin and three by tech fall to distance themselves from the hosts.
Assistant coach J Jaggers noted the team’s toughness and preparation, especially at the upper weights. “Our three big men really set the tone for us as far as pushing each other in the practice room, and that is clearly paying off in the matches,”Jaggers said. He that the non-starters (Fitzgerald, Kresevic, and Williams) wrestled hard, but they need to be more reliable when the time comes to step into the lineup.
Regarding the projected starters, both Jaggers and head coach Tom Ryan indicated Nathan Tomasello and Bo Jordan will be back in the lineup for the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in two weeks.
Ryan said Tomasello could have wrestled in the tri-meet, but was held out as a precaution. “Nate is as tough as they come,” claimed Ryan. “I know he wanted to be out there tonight, but we wanted to give him a little bit more time to get healthy before we set him loose.”
In all, the Buckeyes had seven wrestlers go 2-0 on the evening and won 17 out of a possible 20 matches. The staff was pleased with the results, but noted the competition is set to get much stiffer in the coming weeks.
Ohio State will return to the mat for the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas next month.
| Wt | Result | OSU | KSU |
|---|---|---|---|
| 133 | Anthony Tutolo major decision over Brendan Fitzgerald (OSU), 14-2 | 0 | 4 |
| 157 | Casey Sparkman decision over Jake Ryan (OSU), 6-4 | 0 | 7 |
| 184 | Myles Martin (OSU) fall over Jerald Spohn (2:08) | 6 | 7 |
| 125 | Jose Rodriguez (OSU) technical fall over Beard Seth, 16-0 | 11 | 7 |
| 149 | Micah Jordan (OSU) technical fall over Tim Rooney, 26-6 | 16 | 7 |
| 141 | Ke-Shawn Hayes (OSU) fall over Ethan McCoy (4:13) | 22 | 7 |
| 174 | Jairod James fall over Seth Williams (OSU) (6:38) | 22 | 13 |
| 285 | Kyle Snyder (OSU) fall over Devin Nye (2:16) | 28 | 13 |
| 197 | Kollin Moore (OSU) technical fall over Stephen Suglio, 21-4 | 33 | 13 |
| 165 | Cody Burcher (OSU) decision over Isaac Best, 5-2 | 36 | 13 |
| Wt | Result | OSU | CSU |
|---|---|---|---|
| 141 | Ke-Shawn Hayes (OSU) decision over Evan Cheek, 7-3 | 3 | 0 |
| 165 | Cody Burcher (OSU) fall over John Vaughn (2:00) | 9 | 0 |
| 197 | Kollin Moore (OSU) fall over Collin Kelly (1:22) | 15 | 0 |
| 133 | Brendan Fitzgerald (OSU) fall over Terrell Grant (1:04) | 21 | 0 |
| 157 | Jake Ryan (OSU) fall over Grant Turnmire (4:17) | 27 | 0 |
| 184 | Myles Martin (OSU) technical fall over Nick Corba, 24-9 | 32 | 0 |
| 125 | Jose Rodriguez (OSU) fall over Spencer Dusi (1:26) | 38 | 0 |
| 149 | Micah Jordan (OSU) technical fall over Nick Montgomery, 18-3 | 43 | 0 |
| 285 | Kyle Snyder (OSU) fall over Mike Furbee (1:30) | 49 | 0 |
| 174 | Justin Kresevic (OSU) decision over Devon Pingel, 12-8 | 52 | 0 |
