Wrestling Recap: Buckeyes Down Badgers 23-15

Ohio State’s No. 4 ranked wrestling team won its first of two matches this weekend, posting a 23-15 victory over the Wisconsin Badgers on Friday night. The Buckeyes won six of ten matches and were able to overcome a loss at heavyweight with Kyle Snyder out of the lineup and an upset at 125 to give Wisconsin their first loss of the season. 

Cody Burcher got the action started for the Buckeyes, but he had the unenviable task of facing No. 3 ranked Isaac Jordan of Wisconsin at 165. Burcher was only able to muster a single escape against Jordan’s takedown and late reversal and the Badgers took an early 3-0 lead with the decision victory.

Top-ranked Bo Jordan started slowly against No. 20 Ryan Christensen, but the redshirt junior found his stride in the third period, Bo managed a 15-7 major decision on the strength of a six point third period and gave the Buckeyes a 4-3 lead after a pair of matches.

Myles Martin appears to have put the letdown of the eighth place finish at the Midlands tournament behind him as he rolled to a 22-6 technical fall. Martin used a variety of takedowns and backpoints from a number of tilts to keep the scoreboard operator busy. The tech fall was Martin’s sixth of the season and gave the Buckeyes a 9-3 lead.

Kollin Moore continued his impressive season as he racked up a major decision over No. 13 Ricky Robertson. Moore was able to take Robertson down seemingly at will, which led to a 12-3 major decision.

Kyle Snyder was out of the lineup due to a trip to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, so Josh Fox stepped into the lineup to face No. 2 ranked Connor Medbery at heavyweight. Fox fought hard, but Medbery is simply on another level and the Badger senior rolled to a 15-0 technical fall to pull the host Badgers to within five points of the Buckeyes at intermission.

The Badgers got a major shot in the arm to start the second half of the dual as Johnny Jiminez upset No. 9 Jose Rodriguez by major decision. Jiminez had intended to redshirt, but stepped into the lineup against Rodriguez. Jiminez locked up a cradle in the end of the second period and looked for a pin for much of the period. Jiminez pulled Wisconsin to within a point and they trailed 13-12 with four matches remaining.

Nathan Tomasello attacked Wisconsin’s Michael Cullen as soon as the whistle blew to start the match and wound up with a major decision. Tomasello kept his undefeated season intact and gave the Buckeyes a 17-12 lead heading into 141.

Luke Pletcher failed to place at the Midlands, but he managed to earn a minor upset over No. 14 Cole Martin with an 8-4 decision. Pletcher gave up the opening takedown, but battled back and won by a comfortable margin as the match was never really in doubt. Pletcher improves to 17-2 with the decision victory.

Micah Jordan attacked early against Andrew Crone at 149 but seemed to take his foot off of the gas in the second period. Jordan earned an 8-2 victory and sealed the victory for the Buckeyes.

In the final bout of the evening, Jake Ryan dropped a 6-2 decision to TJ Ruschell as the Badger senior was able to secure a number of takedowns and prevent Ryan from getting comfortable in the match. Ryan falls to 9-7 on the year with the loss, but the team stayed perfect in dual meets with the 23-15 victory.

The Buckeyes come back to Columbus for a home dual on Sunday where they will host Rutgers. Rutgers is currently ranked No. 11, so the dual figures to be a competitive affair.