After a successful Session I effort that left them in second place, Ohio State picked up where it left off in the afternoon session at the Big Ten Tournament.
Jose Rodriguez started the second session with a 9-2 decision over Maryland's Michael Beck but took his lumps against Ethan Lizak of Minnesota in the third consolation round. Rodriguez couldn't get anything going and lost 16-0. Rodriguez will wrestle for seventh place on Sunday against Ben Thornton of Purdue. The winner will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
In the championship at 125 on Sunday afternoon, No. 1 Thomas Gilman of Iowa is scheduled to face No. 3 Tim Lambert of Nebraska.
Nathan Tomasello advanced to his third Big Ten final with a 6-5 decision over No. 5 Stevan Micic of Michigan. Micic was a game opponent, but Tomasello held on to a late lead to seal the deal. Tomasello will face No. 3 seed Cory Clark of Iowa in the finals. Clark defeated No. 7 Mitch McKee of Minnesota to advance.
Luke Pletcher advanced to the semifinals but was unable to upend defending Big Ten champion Anthony Ashnault of Rutgers at 141. Ashnault showed his experience in outfoxing Pletcher in several positions to earn a 5-1 decision. Pletcher will wrestle Sunday afternoon in the consolation semifinals against upset-minded Ryan Diehl of Maryland, who knocked off Topher Carton of Iowa before pinning No. 2 Jimmy Gulibon in 46 seconds. Ashnault will face Javier Gasca III of Michigan State, who upended No. 3 Tommy Thorn of Minnesota 5-1.
Micah Jordan became the second Buckeye of the night to advance to Sunday's finals with a minor upset of Iowa's Brandon Sorensen at 149. In the dual late in the season, Jordan was unable to finish on shots, but he took a 2-1 decison in the Big Ten semis behind a solid finish. Since Jordan is avenging prior losses, he'll get another chance on Sunday as he'll face No. 1 Zain Retherford of Penn State for the Big Ten title. Jordan took Retherford down twice in their dual meet, but Retherford capitalized on some mistakes and tech falled Jordan.
Jake Ryan lost a 3-1 decision to Kyle Langenderfer of Illinois in the second consolation round, but his tournament wasn't over just yet. With nine automatic qualifiers allotted to the Big Ten at 157, Ryan then took part in a four-man bracket for ninth place and a shot at the qualifier. Ryan looked like he did last season with an 8-6 decision over a tough TJ Ruschell of Wisconsin to move a match away from another NCAA berth. No. 1 seeded Jason Nolf of Penn State advanced to the finals with a pin over No. 4 Jake Short of Minnesota. Nolf will face No. 2 Michael Kemerer of Iowa, who stole a victory over No. 6 Brian Murphy of Michigan at the last possible second.
Cody Burcher started Session II the right way, taking a 5-1 decision over Iowa's Joey Gunther before his luck ran out. Burcher lost a 1-0 decision to Michigan State's Drew Hughes in a real snoozer. Hughes rode Burcher for the entire third period, often flattening Burcher to the mat in the process for the deciding point. Burcher will face Northwestern's Johnny Sebastian on Sunday for seventh place, but will just miss out on the six automatic qualifiers allotted to the Big Ten at 165. As Burcher has just a 16-15 record heading into the match on Sunday, it's unlikely that he will earn one of the wild card selections to the NCAA tournament. Two-time NCAA champion Isaiah Martinez of Illinois will face Michigan's Logan Massa on Sunday for the title at 165.
Bo Jordan punched his ticket to his third consecutive Big Ten final, this time at 174, with a 14-8 decision over Myles Amine of Michigan. Though he's been hampered by ankle and foot injuries all season, Bo looked back to normal in this match and was back to his impressive takedowns almost at will. Bo's win sets up an anticipated match against No. 2 Mark Hall of Penn State, who advanced to the final with a 4-2 decision over Zac Brunson of Illinois. In his third trip, Bo will be looking for his first Big Ten title as he lost in each of the two previous years to his cousin Isaac Jordan of Wisconsin.
Myles Martin was feeling the momentum on Saturday night, pulling off yet another upset of No. 1 Bo Nickal of Penn State. Martin previously defeated Nickal for last year's NCAA title at 174 but struck back again in the Big Ten semis at 184. Martin won 6-4 with some explosive finishes to his takedowns, the difference between Saturday and the dual where Nickal stymied Martin for seven straight minutes. Martin will meet Iowa's Sammy Brooks in the finals after Brooks handled Indiana's Nate Jackson 13-6.
WATCH: Myles Martin takes out undefeated Bo Nickal. pic.twitter.com/Fl1pTVYvC5
— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) March 5, 2017
If you feel like you've read enough about Buckeyes winning in the semis, you'd probably better stop now.
Still with me? Good. Kollin Moore put on an electrifying performance over No. 3 Aaron Studebaker of Nebraska, winning a 10-8 decision on his way to the finals. Moore will face Minnesota's Brett Pfarr, who rolled over Matt McCutcheon of Penn State 11-3. Moore will look to avenge two previous losses at the hands of Pfarr, though their last meeting was nearly won by Moore in the closing seconds.
Kyle Snyder made it six Buckeyes in the finals with a 14-7 decision over Minnesota's Michael Kroells. Snyder scored takedowns early and often on his way to the finals on Sunday, where he will face No. 2 Connor Medbery of Wisconsin. Medbery edged No. 3 Nick Nevills of Penn State 3-2 in their half of the bracket to advance.
The Buckeyes lead all teams after two sessions with 117 points. Penn State trails with 98.5 and Iowa is in third with 95 points. The Buckeyes are in great shape in the team race with six finalists and four still alive in the consolation bracket. The Nittany Lions will be tough to hold off because they are going to score big points with guys like Bo Nickal and Nick Nevills in the consolations, but the if the Buckeyes wrestle like they did today, they won't have anything to worry about.
Session III begins on Sunday at noon with the consolation bracket wrapping up. Those matches will be streamed live on BTN Plus (subscription required), with the first, third, and fifth place matches in each weight class taking place at 3 p.m. The finals will air live on BTN, making it the only round of the tournament airing on television, so be sure to check it out.
