Kyle Snyder, Myles Martin Advance to NCAA Finals As Team Race Slips Away In Devastating Blood Round

When Iowa's Spencer Lee put four-time All American and four-time Big Ten champion Nathan Tomasello on his back, killing Tomasello's hopes for a second national title, it was a harbinger of things to come for the Buckeyes in what became a long night for Tom Ryan and the Ohio State faithful.

While the team still has a mathematical shot at winning the title, the number of dominoes that need to fall for them to do so is... significant.

With six semifinalists and a 13.5-point lead coming into Friday night's session, the team had an excellent shot at the ultimate prize. Unfortunately, their slate of semifinal matchups was a tall order from the outset, and when NaTo, Luke Pletcher and Joey McKenna lost in three consecutive bouts, the odds quickly shifted in Penn State's favor.

Tomasello's loss was the most surprising, but Micah Jordan's, at 157, was the most devastating. With a chance to knock one of Penn State's fearsome five defending national champions out of the finals, Jordan instead found himself out of position and on his back several times in the match, and Jason Nolf walked away with the tech fall and a bundle of points for his team.

Myles Martin and Kyle Snyder held serve in their final matches, but it was too little, too late to close the gulf that had suddenly opened between the Buckeyes and their wrestling rivals.

Martin, who faces his rival Bo Nickal in Saturday night's championship match, put things plainly as the night drew to a close.

"It sucks, but we've just got to keep wrestling," he said. "We're here to compete, and we love the sport, so I mean, it sucks for the coaches, but for me, I'm worried about myself as far as competing, and then obviously that does well for the team, as well."

The Buckeyes it! Myles Martin is returning to the big stage! #NCAAwrestling pic.twitter.com/lD3vn9Z6x2

— NCAA Wrestling (@ncaawrestling) March 17, 2018

Martin had the most favorable draw of the night, and handled his opponent with relative ease in an 8-4 decision. Kyle Snyder, a match later, banked a decision over No. 4 Jacob Kasper to advance to his fourth consecutive NCAA final. He'll face Adam Coon for the third time this season.

"I'm happy with all my teammates," Snyder said of the team's tough night. "I love them. They're doing everything they can do, you know. But it just stinks that we're losing right now."

Making History

With his first of two consolation-bracket victories of the night, Bo Jordan became the team's third four-time All American. He, Tomasello and Snyder are the only trio in NCAA history to finish as All Americans four years running.

Buckeye fans may be tempted to focus on the harsh reality of going 2-4 in semifinal matches, but the careers the three seniors have had at Ohio State is worth noting, regardless of how the team race concludes.

Jordan won both of his consolation matches, so he and Tomasello are still in contention for the third-place match in their respective weight classes. Consolation round action begins Saturday morning at 11 a.m., and the Buckeyes' waning title hopes count on both of them placing as high as possible.

The same goes for Kollin Moore, who also won both of his consolation round matches. Ke-Shawn Hayes was the only Buckeye who didn't advance in the consolation matches Friday night, coming up short to No. 2 seed Brandon Sorensen of Iowa.

Snyder, for his part, isn't giving up hope on the team title just yet.

"We still have a lot of wrestling left," he said. "If I knew that the tournament was over and we couldn't win, then I would be a little more disappointed. But I don't think that's the case."

Updated brackets are available here.