Ohio State Goes 3-3 In Placement Matches; Retakes Lead in Team Race

The Buckeyes went .500 in placement-round matches, with Nathan Tomasello and Joey McKenna each finishing the tournament in 3rd place. Bo Jordan finished his career as a Buckeye in fifth place, his fourth consecutive year with an All America finish. 

Luke Pletcher and Kollin Moore lost their third-place matches to unseeded Ohio natives Tariq Wilson and Kyle Conel, respectively. Conel of Kent State went 2-0 against Moore on the weekend, having pinned top-seeded Moore in the quarterfinal round Friday.

Action started Saturday morning with the consolation-round semifinals. Ohio State had six wrestlers still active in the tournament and wrestling toward the placement round and additional team points.

Hometown hero Nathan Tomasello got things started for the Buckeyes with a bang with a first-period pin of Sebastian Rivera. Tomasello electrified the crowd with a big move to put Rivera on his back and punch his ticket to a third-consecutive third-place match in the NCAA Tournament. 

With his third win of the season over Minnesota standout Ethan "The Backpack" Lizak, Tomasello finished his career as a four-time All American who never placed below third in the NCAA tournament.

Asked how he wanted to be remembered by Buckeye fans, Tomasello answered simply: "A Warrior."

Joey McKenna finished his first season as a Buckeye on a high note, ripping off consecutive victories over top-five opponents on the final day of competition. His only stumble throughout the postseason was a 1-point loss to top-seeded Bryce Meredith in the semifinals.

In the third-place match versus No. 2 Jaydin Eierman of Missouri, McKenna showed again why he was such an important addition to the Buckeye roster, winning with a combination of solid offense and stingy defense - most notably a willingness to ride his opponents and control them on top, something many of his teammates show little interest in doing.

Things aren't over for the Buckeyes in the team race, but Penn State has to stumble in Saturday night's finals for the Buckeyes to hold the lead. With just six points separating the two teams and Penn State holding the numbers advantage in the finals – five finalists to just two for Ohio State – Myles Martin and Kyle Snyder each have to win their matches and then hope for help from Hayden Hidlay, Isaiah Martinez and Zahid Valencia.

Each win in the final round adds four placement points to the team score, plus any bonus points earned. So Ohio State could add 12 more points if Martin and Snyder each win by fall, something that seems far-fetched. A pair of decisions, worth eight placement points, is more likely, penciling out to a 138.5-point finish, far surpassing last year's second-place tally of 110 points.

For Penn State, five wins would yield a final score of 144.5 without bonus (their max possible is 154.5 including bonus). If the Buckeyes win out, they need at least two more Nittany Lions to lose; in other words, they need the Nittany Lions to go no better than 2-3 in the championship round.

Here's the clearest path to a title for the Scarlet & Gray:

Ohio State up 6 on Penn State heading into finals. No matter what else happens, if the following list happens, Buckeyes win.

1. Imar over Joseph
2. Valencia over Hall
3. Martin over Nickal
4. Snyder over Coon

— Richard Immel (@Richard_Immel) March 17, 2018

You could swap Hidlay over Nolf for either of the first two above, but IMar and Valencia are stronger possibilities, as both are top seeds and extremely good wrestlers. Martin has to win, regardless of the scenario, but beyond that there are a number of scenarios where three of the four things on Immel's list happens, and bonus points become a deciding factor.

Interestingly, the NCAA has no rule regarding tiebreakers in the Division I team race, so there is a slim possibility that Ohio State and Penn State finish in a tie for first, and share the trophy. Remember the 2015 Big Ten title? So just like that, but a lot more awkward.

How would such a tie happen?

Immel says the most probably scenario leading to a team tie is Zain Retherford pinning 15-seeded Ronald Perry of Lehigh, Nolf and Hall each win by decision, Isaiah Martinez beats Vincenzo Joseph, and Martin and Snyder each win by decision. In other words, all things that could conceivably happen.

The Buckeyes went 4-2 in the consolation semifinals to set the slate in the placement round matches. Tomasello's pin of Rivera added bonus points to the team tally as well.

Championship matches get underway Saturday night at 8 p.m. from Quicken Loans Arena. The final round of the NCAA Wrestling Championship airs on ESPN2. Action will start with the 125-pound match and finish with the rubber match between Kyle Snyder and Adam Coon.