Wrestling: Ohio State Wins First Outright Big Ten Title Since 1951

Ohio State entered Sunday at the Big Ten tournament locked in a heated battle with Penn State for conference supremacy. But the Buckeyes dominated the final day and pulled away to earn the 2017 Big Ten tournament championship, the program's first since 1951.

The Buckeyes had six wrestlers in the finals and ended with four individual titles to win their first outright conference championship since President Harry S. Truman lived in the White House. Tom Ryan coached Nathan Tomasello to his third conference championship at 133 pounds and Kyle Snyder to his second straight at heavyweight. With titles at 174 and 197, Bo Jordan and Kollin Moore each earned their first Big Ten championships in hard fought battles.

Jose Rodriguez got the Buckeyes started on Sunday and scored a big pin over Ben Thornton of Purdue to finish in seventh place at 125. Rodriguez caught his opponent in a scramble in the second period and had great presence of mind to stick Thornton. Rodriguez capped off an inconsistent regular season with an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, where he will get a chance to end his freshman year on a high note.

Jake Ryan fell just a match short of earning an automatic qualifier spot to the NCAA tournament after he dropped a 3-1 decision to fellow Ohioan Jake Danishek of Indiana. Danishek scored a takedown in sudden victory after fending off a number of Ryan’s takedown attempts to clinch a trip to the NCAA tournament. Ryan is still a candidate for an at-large wild card bid to the NCAA tournament, but he’ll have to wait until Wednesday night for the at-large bids to be announced.

Cody Burcher was unable to earn one of the six automatic qualifiers to the national championships at 165 as he found himself on the outside looking in of the top six with his performance Saturday. Still alive for a placement on Sunday, Burcher fell 2-1 to Northwestern’s Johnny Sebastian.

It was Burcher’s second consecutive match without any offensive points as he lost 1-0 in the consolation quarterfinals. Burcher, like Jake Ryan at 157 pounds, is still alive for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, but his odds are far longer with a 16-16 record.

Nathan Tomasello got the Buckeyes started in the finals as the first of six Ohio State wrestlers to vie for a Big Ten title, and he was the first successful in the attempt. Tomasello earned his third Big Ten title in as many seasons with a 5-4 decision over Iowa’s Cory Clark at 133 pounds.

Each wrestler scored a third period takedown, but Tomasello earned an escape with just one second left on the clock for the deciding point. Tomasello enters the NCAA tournament undefeated in his junior campaign, and will likely earn another No. 1 seed to the national tournament. Tomasello was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament at the conclusion of the action.

Luke Pletcher left his first Big Ten tournament with a fourth place finish, earning a trip to the NCAA tournament in the process. Pletcher started Sunday at 149 with a 5-2 decision over Ryan Diehl of Maryland, but fell short in the third place match to No. 4 Colton McCrystal of Nebraska. Pletcher defeated McCrystal 6-4 in the championship quarterfinals, but was unable to duplicate the performance. Anthony Ashnault of Rutgers won his second straight Big Ten title at 141 with a 15-2 major decision over Michigan State’s Javier Gasca III.

Micah Jordan had reason to feel optimistic when facing Penn State’s Zain Retherford in the Big Ten championship at 149 after taking Retherford down twice in the dual in February, but it just wasn’t to be for the Buckeye sophomore. Jordan couldn’t fend off Retherford’s relentless attacks and gave up a 16-1 tech fall to the Nittany Lion junior. Retherford earned his second Big Ten title, but the Buckeyes held onto a slight lead in the team race.

With Jake Ryan out of the tournament at 157, the Buckeyes didn’t earn any additional points. Jason Nolf stayed undefeated and earned his first Big Ten title with an 8-2 victory over Iowa’s Michael Kemerer.

Isaiah Martinez of Illinois won his third Big Ten title in three tries and stayed perfect on the season with an 8-4 decision over Michigan’s outstanding freshman Logan Massa. Martinez will likely be the No. 1 seed at 165 for the NCAA tournament.

Bo Jordan joined Nathan Tomasello atop the podium with a nail-biter at 174. Bo gave up a takedown to Penn State’s Mark Hall in a scramble early in the match, but the Buckeye junior fought back and tied the match at the end of regulation. Hall tried to counter a Jordan shot in overtime, but Bo was waiting for it and scored the takedown to earn the 6-4 victory. Amazingly enough, the win gave Jordan his first Big Ten title and he’ll advance to the NCAA tournament with a 14-1 record.

Myles Martin was unable to keep the Buckeye momentum going at 184, dropping a 12-2 major decision to Iowa’s Sammy Brooks. Brooks turned the tide and put Martin to his back to earn six big points off of a foot sweep. Martin was unable to close the gap and lost by major decision.

Moore avenged two losses earlier in the season to Brett Pfarr of Minnesota with a 15-10 victory for a Big Ten title. The highlight of the match was when Moore caught Pfarr in a scramble and put the Golden Gopher to his back. Moore nearly pinned Pfarr, but settled for a set of nearfall points on his way to a Big Ten title.

Moore will likely earn the No. 2 or No. 3 seed at the NCAA tournament, opposite J’Den Cox of Missouri, an Olympic bronze medalist that gave Moore his other loss not from Pfarr. Moore was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, which is just icing on the cake after an outstanding tournament.

Kyle Snyder put a bow on the Buckeye team title with his second Big Ten title at heavyweight. Snyder defeated Wisconsin’s No. 2 Connor Medbery 8-5 despite giving up a late takedown. Snyder winning a title has almost become expected at this point, but he was able to put some extra excitement into it as his win sealed the Buckeye’ second conference title in three years, and the first outright team title since 1951 and just the fourth overall in program history.

With four individual champions, the Buckeyes won the Big Ten title with 139.5 points. Penn State earned runner-up in the Big Ten tournament with 130 points.

Eight Buckeyes earned outright qualifications to the NCAA tournament in two weeks, while Ryan at 157 and Burcher at 165 will have to earn at-large bids to participate. The at-large bids will be announced on Wednesday night, but the Buckeyes will spend their time between now and then enjoying their Big Ten title and preparing for the NCAA tournament.