Ohio State University wrestlers made quite an impression on the international stage this summer, with a bevy of Buckeyes bringing home medals from several prestigious international tournaments. Nathan Tomasello added to his collection Saturday with a silver medal at the Alexander Medved International Tournament in Minsk, Belarus, in the 57kg freestyle division.
Tomasello, a three-time All-American and former 125-pound NCAA champion, made quick work of the field, earning technical falls over Azamat Toibek of Kazakhstan and Armen Arakelian of Ukraine in the early rounds. In the semifinals, he stopped two-time Junior World medalist Michail Ivanov of Russia, 6-1, but fell 5-1 to home-crowd favorite Andrey Bekrenev in the championship bout.
USA Wrestling's Gary Abbot described the final match as "an active bout," with both wrestlers taking an aggressive approach: "Bekrenev took a 3-0 lead into the second period. When Tomasello pressed the action, Bekrenev scored a counter spin-behind takedown for a 5-0 lead. Tomasello forced a step out late to score his point."
.@_NA_T0 wins silver medal, @TGwrestling1, @WRESTLINGwFAITH place fifth at Medved International in Belarus https://t.co/uEHZFuFuWt pic.twitter.com/q2ugCdigig
— USA Wrestling (@USAWrestling) September 16, 2017
Tomasello is a member of the U.S. National Team, earning his first national team spot with a second-place showing at the World Team Trials in Lincoln, Neb., in June. He's making the most of that roster spot so far, with Saturday's silver following on a gold medal performance at Romania's Ion Cornianu & Ladislau Simon 2017 Tournament in late July.
In addition to the 57kg standout known as NaTo, other Buckeyes making waves around the globe include phenom Kyle Snyder, four-time NCAA champ Logan Stieber, and fast-rising star Kollin Moore. Snyder won his third World or Olympic gold medal in as many years a few weeks back, along with a gold at the Pan-American Championships in May.
Snyder also took gold, as did fellow World Team member Logan Stieber, at the Grand Prix of Spain in mid-July. Rising sophomore Kollin Moore is another Buckeye representing Team USA abroad; he took bronze at the Junior World Championships in Finland at the beginning of August, marking his second-consecutive Junior World appearance.
Moore is making quite a name for himself in the early years of his wrestling career. A Big Ten champion and third-place NCAA finisher as a redshirt freshman last season, Moore won a team-best 33 matches last season, including 18 of his final 20. Future Buckeye Gavin Hoffman, a 2018 commit, will feel right at home among international contenders when he arrives in Columbus, having won a bronze medal himself at the Cadet World Championships in Athens, Greece earlier this month.
Ohio State returns six All-Americans to the lineup this season, led by a trio of three-time All-Americans: Snyder, Tomasello and fellow senior Bo Jordan. If all three earn All-American status again this season, they will represent the only team in NCAA history to feature three four-time All-Americans at the same time.
