Wrestling: Buckeyes Sit in Second Place After Day One at the NCAA Tournament

Entering Session II trailing first-place Penn State by just two points, but a few upsets in the second round may have done some damage to the Buckeyes' championship hopes. Nathan Tomasello, Micah Jordan, Bo Jordan, Kollin Moore, and Kyle Snyder helped the cause by advancing to the quarterfinals, but Luke Pletcher and Myles Martin stumbled on Thursday night. 

Nathan Tomasello showed why he's the top-seeded wrestler at 133, rolling to a major decision over Cam Sykora of North Dakota State. Tomasello was on the offensive from the opening whistle and rolled to a 26-7 major decision. Tomasello will face a familiar opponent in Friday morning's quarterfinals in No. 8 Zane Richards of Illinois, who won a nailbiter in the second round. All of the other top eight seeds advanced at 133, with exception to No. 6 Dom Forys of Pitt, who lost to No. 11 Brian Lantry of Buffalo. 

Luke Pletcher met Rutgers' two-time All-American Anthony Ashnault in the second round, hoping to avenge the two earlier losses to Ashnault, but it just wasn't to be for the Buckeye true freshman.

Pletcher held a late lead, but gave up a takedown to Ashnault with over a minute left in the match. Pletcher wasn't able to escape, despite a few close calls, and Ashnault took the 8-7 decision. Pletcher falls down into the wrestlebacks, where he'll meet Iowa's Topher Carton. 

Micah Jordan joined Nathan Tomasello as Buckeyes punching their ticket to the quarterfinals, winning a 10-2 major decision over Maryland's Alfred Bannister. Jordan stuck to the script he's followed all year, staying in great position and capitalizing on opportunities to score.

Jordan will look for another big win over Iowa's Brandon Sorensen in the quarterfinals on Friday morning. The winner of Jordan vs. Sorensen will likely meet Penn State's No. 1 Zain Retherford, who continues his march to a second NCAA title. 

Bo Jordan advanced to the quarterfinals with a workmanlike 10-4 decision over Iowa State's No. 14 Lelund Weatherspoon. The elder Jordan remains on track to make it to his third NCAA semifinal in his career, but would like to advance to his first championship match.

Bo will face Iowa's Alex Meyer in a match with team implications as well as individual bragging rights. Top seeded Zahid Valencia of Arizona State advanced to the quarterfinals, as did No. 2 Brian Realbuto of Cornell, No. 4 Zach Epperly of Virginia Tech, and No. 5 Mark Hall of Penn State. 

Myles Martin took a huge upset loss in the second round at 184, surrendering a devastating six-point move late in the match. Martin tried to mount a comeback, but fell short, losing 14-9. Martin actually yielded a late takedown making the score look more in favor of Illinois' Emery Parker.

Parker came in as the No. 11 seed, which interestingly enough, was the seed Martin held last year when he won at 174. Martin will face Joe Heyob of Penn on Friday and will need to win four matches to earn a spot on the All-American podium. 

Freshman Kollin Moore was able to swing the momentum back in favor of the Buckeyes with a 16-4 major decision over Oregon State's Corey Griego. Moore looked winded in his opening match, but was able to stay aggressive throughout the second match and advanced to the quarterfinals at 197.

In Friday morning's quarterfinals, Moore will face Oklahoma State's Preston Weigel, the No. 6 seed at 197 with big team points on the line. Two-time defending champ J'Den Cox of Missouri and Brett Pfarr also advanced to the quarterfinals as did No. 4 Jared Haught of Virginia Tech, keeping the bracket at 197 relatively upset-free. 

Kyle Snyder came. Kyle Snyder saw. Kyle Snyder dominated. The Buckeye junior heavyweight rolled over No. 16 Garrett Ryan of Columbia with a 22-7 tech fall in the second round.

The tech fall was Snyder's second of the day and set up a Big Ten semifinal rematch against Minnesota's No. 8 Michael Kroells in the NCAA quarterfinals. The only notable upsets in the heavyweight division have come thanks to Northwestern's Conan Jennings, who defeated the No. 11 and then No. 6 seeds on his way to a surprising quarterfinal appearance. Jennings' luck has probably run out as he'll meet Virginia Tech's No. 3 Ty Walz in the quarters. 

In the consolation first round, Jose Rodriguez stayed alive in the tournament with a first period pin over Oklahoma's Christian Moody. Rodriguez advances to the second round where he has a tough test in No. 5 Tim Lambert of Nebraska. 

Cody Burcher was the first Buckeye eliminated from the NCAA tournament, dropping a 2-1 decision to Oklahoma's Yoance Mejias. Burcher had a rough stretch to end the season, scoring just a single point in the NCAA tournament while not ending the Big Ten tournament on a hot streak. 

The Buckeyes end the second session in second place, trailing Penn State 30.5 to 26.0. Oklahoma State is in third place with 25.5 points. 

Session III starts on Friday at 11 a.m. ET, while Session IV starts at 8 p.m. ET.