Ohio State’s No. 4 ranked wrestling team improved to 1-0 in the Big Ten after rolling to a 43-3 victory over the hapless Northwestern Wildcats. The Buckeyes won eight of the nine contested matches, scoring bonus point victories in seven of them to polish off the Wildcats in short order.
Jose Rodriguez demonstrated why he is ranked No. 10 in the latest InterMat poll by racking up three four-point near falls in the first period to go with an opening takedown against Anthony Rubinetti. Rodriguez scored a quick escape to start the second period to earn a 15-0 tech fall and give the Buckeyes an early 5-0 lead.
No. 3 Nathan Tomasello stayed undefeated on the season with a 20-4 tech fall of his own. Like Rodriguez, Tomasello amassed a 14 point lead after the first period and needed just a takedown in the second period to seal the tech fall.
Luke Pletcher was unable to bottle the early points from the previous two matches and only lead Alec McKenna 2-0 after the first period. Pletcher, however, found his groove and rolled to an 18-6 major decision at 141.
Micah Jordan accepted a forfeit at 149, giving the Buckeyes a 20-0 lead.
Jake Ryan got back in the win column with a first period pin over Ben Sullivan at 157. Ryan cradled his opponent and pinned him just over a minute into the match.
In the lone Buckeye victory without bonus points, Cody Burcher earned a 7-6 victory in a wild match at 165 against Johnny Sebastian. Burcher scored a third period escape after a wild second period by Sebastian tied the score at 6.
Bo Jordan made short work of Braxton Cody, pinning the Wildcat in just 64 seconds. Prior to the pin, the top-ranked Jordan notched four takedowns. The second Buckeye pin of the day gave Ohio State a 35-0 lead with three matches remaining.
In the lone match of the afternoon between ranked wrestlers, No. 5 Myles Martin dispatched No. 16 Mitch Sliga with a 14-5 major decision. Martin improved to 13-1 on the season with the major decision victory and gave the Buckeyes a 39-0 advantage.
No. 6 Kollin Moore struggled with Jacob Berkowitz until the third period before Moore racked up four takedowns in the final stanza. The late scoring flurry allowed the Buckeye redshirt freshman to earn a 19-9 major decision.
Northwestern was finally able to get into the win column at heavyweight as Ohioan Conan Jennings defeated his Buckeye counterpart Josh Fox 5-0.
With the victory, Ohio State moves to 5-0 overall and 1-0 in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes will next take the mat on January 6 when they visit the Wisconsin Badgers.
| Wt | result | team score |
|---|---|---|
| 125 | No. 10 Jose Rodriguez (OSU) tech fall over Anthony Rubinetti (NU), 15-0 | OSU leads 5-0 |
| 133 | No. 3 Nathan Tomasello (OSU) tech fall over Jason Ipsarides (NU) 20-4 | OSU leads 10-0 |
| 141 | Luke Pletcher (OSU) major decision over Alex McKenna (NU) 18-6 | OSU leads 14-0 |
| 149 | No. 5 Micah Jordan (OSU) wins by forfeit | OSU leads 20-0 |
| 157 | Jake Ryan (OSU) pins Ben Sullivan (NU), 1:12 | OSU leads 26-0 |
| 165 | Cody Burcher (OSU) decision over Johnny Sebastian (NU) 7-6 | OSU leads 29-0 |
| 174 | No. 1 Bo Jordan (OSU) pins Braxton Cody (NU), 1:04 | OSU leads 35-0 |
| 184 | No. 5 Myles Martin (OSU) major decision over No. 16 Mitch Sliga (NU) 14-5 | OSU leads 39-0 |
| 197 | No. 6 Kollin Moore (OSU) major decision over Jacob Berkowitz (NU) 19-9 | OSU leads 43-0 |
| HWT | Conan Jennings (NU) decision over Josh Fox (OSU), 5-0 | OSU wins 43-3 |
