Things went as expected in the Buckeyes' first business trip of the wrestling season. It was almost complete dominance from Ohio State, as its highly-ranked starters worked their way through an almost entirely unranked field at the Princeton Open, winning 7 weight classes out of 9 entered.
Six of 10 Buckeye starters competed, with Nathan Tomasello out until December, Joey McKenna focused on the U23 World Championships, Kollin Moore nursing a minor leg injury and all-world phenom Kyle Snyder letting his heavyweight teammates get some valuable experience on the mats.
Ohio State fielded 18 wrestlers in the Open, including a handful of unattached wrestlers who acquitted themselves admirably alongside the starters.
A Buckeye champion in 7 of 10 weight classes. Also, a runner-up and 2 third-place finishes. Complete domination.#GoBucks #positiveinfinity
— Ohio State Wrestling (@wrestlingbucks) November 4, 2017
First Blood For the Freshman
Perhaps the only real hiccup on the day was the 125-pound class, in which freshman Brakan Mead got his first collegiate experience standing in for Tomasello. Mead finished third on the day, falling into the consolation bracket after a disappointing 3-2 quarterfinal loss in the Sudden Victory round.
The loss came on a stalling call that had head coach Tom Ryan exchanging words with the official after the match. He fell 7-1 in the 3rd-place match.
At 133, Luke Pletcher had some tight matches early, but ultimately earned the first of seven first-place finished on the day. He earned decisions of 11-5, 3-2, and then 10-4 in Sudden Victory to put him in the finals, where he edged out Anthony Cefolo of Rider University, 10-7. His SV-1 win in the semis showcased his best wrestling of the day:
Pletcher is moving down to 133 this year, where he is a more natural fit and will be a key to Ohio State's goals of upsetting the Penn State juggernaut in the postseason. He didn't notch any bonus-point victories on the day, but he got the job done nonetheless.
Joey McKenna will start for the Buckeyes at 141 pounds, but the offseason Stanford transfer didn't compete at Princeton. He will compete for Team USA at the Under-23 World Championships in Poland later this month.
Clay Ragon lost early in the tournament, and ultimately came up short in the wrestlebacks. He finished 2-2 on the day, though he did come up with a pinfall in his first consolation match.
Firepower Aplenty In the Meat of the Lineup
At 149, Ke-Shawn Hayes looked as good as advertised coming off an injury shortened 2016-17 season, winning the class with multiple bonus-point victories. He opened his tournament with a pinfall early in the second round, and then notched three straight tech falls without surrendering a point. A 7-6 decision over Maryland's twelfth-ranked Alfred Bannister capped a solid day for Hayes.
What can you say about the Jordan brothers? All-Americans who are always in the hunt for the podium, both Micah and Bo plowed through their respective classes like they had something to prove.
Micah, at 157, had one of the fastest pins of the tournament, pinning his first opponent in 41 seconds. He added another pinfall in the semifinal after a quarterfinal 13-9 decision, and wrapped up the win with a 14-7 decision over Princeton's Mike D'angelo.
Bo, at 174, went one better than his younger brother, winning by fall in three of his four matches, and sealing the win in the final match by tech fall. The elder Jordan's three straight pins came in 1:47, 2:00 and 3:46; he won the class 15-0 in the last match of the afternoon.
Bo-nana Split!! pic.twitter.com/j3estBpvfb
— Steelwood Radio (@SteelwoodRadio) November 4, 2017
Another interesting storyline for the Buckeyes this season is how offseason transfer Te'Shan Campbell adds some much-needed firepower in the middle of the lineup. His first tilt in scarlet and gray had to please Tom Ryan, as the Pitt transfer and 2017 ACC Champion tallied three tech falls and a major decision en route to the victory.
Campbell is perhaps the most underrated member of the lineup, due in part because he's moving from the ACC to the Big Ten, with a much tougher schedule ahead of him than what he faced last season. At Princeton, he gave no indication that he's anything other than up to the challenge, going 16-0, 12-2, 18-0 and then 18-3 over teammate Fritz Schierl in the finals.
Schierl, a redshirt freshman from Stevens Point, Wisc., had a decent day himself, with a tech fall and decisions of 10-5 and 12-5 to set up the all-Buckeye final. He acquitted himself pretty well until he ran into Campbell, including a nice flurry in the semis:
All Hail the Champ
Myles Martin, the former freshman NCAA champion at 174, is one of the most electric wrestlers in the country. He has some lofty goals in his second season at 184, and he looked ready to rumble, with a pair of tech falls to start the day.
Martin earned a major decision in the quarterfinals, another tech fall in the semis, and a solid 12-3 major to win the final match.
Kollin Moore, Ohio State's highly-touted 197-pounder, was slated to wrestle Sunday in the NWCA All-Star Classic, but withdrew after an injury Tom Ryan described as a "minor leg injury" in practice last week. Ryan said Moore will be fine for the team's home opener against Arizona State.
Several Buckeye heavyweights not named Kyle Snyder took to the field Saturday. Redshirt freshman Gary Traub earned a pair of decisions and then a pinfall in the quarterfinals, but came up short in the semifinals. He ended up on the wrong side of a fall in the consolation bracket to end his tournament.
Snyder's younger brother Kevin earned a pair of decisions himself, but ran into true freshman teammate Chase Singletary, wrestling as "unattached" in this tournament in what will ultimately become his redshirt season.
Singletary, the top-ranked heavyweight in his recruiting class and a Top 5 recruit overall, gave Buckeye fans a glimpse of the future as the heir apparent to Kyle Snyder at 285. The young Buck earned a 16-0 tech in his opening frame, a narrow 3-1 decision in the quarterfinals, and then the 8-2 decision over the younger Snyder in the semis.
He picked up the seventh first-place finish by a Buckeye on the day, with an 18-6 major decision over Princeton's Christian Araneo in the finals.
What We Learned
So what can you say? The Buckeyes largely performed as expected. The team's superstars performed as expected, plowing their way through the field and scoring pretty much at will. Newcomer Campbell looked like he was as good an addition to the lineup as one could hope, and Hayes was sharp coming off injury.
Good start to what should be a fun season. Lots of "hungry" men in the world. Preparing for those battles ahead. #PositiveInfinity
— Thomas Ryan (@Buckeye158) November 4, 2017
Mead had an up-and-down day, but for a freshman who was expected to redshirt this season, he got some live-fire experience that will give the coaching staff some teachable moments.
Pletcher, likewise, had more of a grind-it-out type of tournament than did his fellow starters, and his progression in the coming weeks will tell the staff quite a lot about what he'll bring to the table in the meat of the Big Ten schedule.
Ohio State opens its season at home next Sunday, Nov. 12, hosting the No. 11 Arizona State Sun Devils at St. John Arena. Action gets underway at 1 p.m.
