Preview: No. 2 Ohio State Faces the Navy Midshipmen in Season Opener

Seven months after finishing No. 2 in the country at the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Cleveland, Ohio State opens its season as the second-ranked team in the country. The Buckeyes face the Navy Midshipmen in the first dual of the season at McDonogh School in Owings Mills, Md., the alma mater of senior captain and former NCAA champion Myles Martin.

NAVY MIDSHIPMEN

Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association ROSTER / SCHEDULE

7 P.M. – SATURDAY, NOV. 3 MCDONOGH SCHOOL OWINGS MILLS, MD.

STREAMING: FloWrestling ($)

The Buckeyes and Midshipmen last met in January 1996; Saturday's season opener marks the fourth times the two teams have met in dual-meet action, and the Buckeyes hold a 3-1 record over the Academy.

With five returning All-Americans from last season's star-studded roster, the Buckeyes are the unanimous No. 2 in the national rankings and the NWCA Coaches Poll, trailing a Penn State team on a three-year streak of NCAA titles. Seven of Ohio State's starters are ranked among the Top 15 nationally, including Martin, who is the No. 1 in the country at 184 lbs.

Without four-time All Americans Kyle Snyder, Bo Jordan and Nathan Tomasello in the mix, however, the Buckeyes have plenty of questions about who will step up in their place, and which of the talented young guns in the room are ready for primetime.

The United States Naval Academy Midshipmen

Head Coach: Joel Sharratt

Navy opens its 111th season of wrestling with a tough task, wrestling against one of the most-talented teams in the country. Fifth-year head coach Joel Sharratt will field one of the program's youngest teams in recent memory, featuring just four starters off last year's squad that posted an 8-3 record, placed fifth at the EIWA Championship and 36th at the NCAA Championship.

A 1995 graduate of the University of Iowa, Sharratt was a three-time All-American, earning three trips to the NCAA Finals, winning the championship in 1994. Training under the tutelage of legendary coach Dan Gable and a teammate of Buckeye head man Tom Ryan during his college career, Sharratt was a four-year letterwinner for the Hawkeyes, and was twice selected as the team captain.

Sharratt led his team to the 1995 Big Ten Championship and NCAA Championship, winning the Big Ten individual championship that season. He also competed as a member of the 1993 and 1994 Big Ten Championship teams, as well as the 1992 and 1994 NCAA Championship teams.

Buckeye Breakdown

Joey McKenna: Road Warrior

Although the 99th season of Buckeye wrestling kicks off officially Saturday night, one Ohio State standout has already recorded his first victory of the season. Senior captain and reigning Big Ten champion Joey McKenna won a Top-5 showdown Friday night in Denver, upending Oklahoma State's No. 4 Kaid Brock at the NWCA All-Star Classic.

After a tight first period in the 141-pound exhibition, McKenna was ahead by a single point over the two-time All American, leading 5-4. He reeled off 8 unanswered points over the final four minutes of the match, including four near-fall points off a turn from the top position to start the second period.

With an escape in the third and the riding time bonus he finished the bout with an 11-4 victory. McKenna, ranked No. 2 in the country at 141, earned the 11th win by a Buckeye in All-Star Classic history.

McKenna and coach Tom Ryan were on the first flight out of Denver Saturday morning, winging their way back to the East Coast so the title contender could make his official season debut versus the Midshipmen.

Where is Kollin Moore?

The Mountain Man won't be starting Saturday night, despite being the No. 3 wrestler in the country at 197 pounds. Along with Myles Martin, Moore will represent Team USA at the Under-23 World Freestyle Championships Nov. 12-18 in Bucharest, Romania.

Because of the weight difference between his freestyle class – 97 kg. vs. 197 lbs. – Moore will miss the Navy dual rather than trying to cut 15 pounds for an early-season dual and then get back up to weight for international competition. Martin wrestles at 86 kg. internationally, so the weight difference for him is minimal, and he will look to put on a show for his friends and family back home in his high school gym versus Navy.

Moore and Martin will both miss the dual meets at Cal Baptist on Nov. 16 and at Arizona State on Nov. 18, but could potentially be back in action at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational tournament the first weekend in December.

What to Expect Saturday

Ohio State will field six ranked wrestlers Saturday; the Midshipmen feature just one. The talent advantage is clearly on the side of the scarlet and gray, and the final result should bear that out.

What Buckeye backers should watch is how the roster looks with some new faces in the lineup, and familiar faces in new roles.

Micah Jordan moved down to 149 after beating training partner Ke-Shawn Hayes in the wrestle-offs, and Hayes will move up to 157. Jordan was slightly undersized at 157, and immediately jumped to No. 2 in the rankings at the lighter weight.

Hayes, likewise, will be a little undersized at 157, though his speed and ability have him marked just outside the Top 5 in the class heading into the season. How he looks at the larger weight is important, because redshirt sophomore Elijah Cleary is waiting in the wings as a creditable challenger to crack the lineup.

Speaking of young Bucks cracking the lineup, redshirt freshman Kaleb Romero, a four-time Ohio High School champion, makes his debut Saturday night at 165 pounds. Romero was one of the most highly-touted recruits in his class, and fans should be excited to see how he looks in his first dual-meet action as a Buckeye.

True sophomore Brakan Mead will start for the Buckeyes at 125, despite losing the wrestle-off to true freshman Malik Heinselman. Buckeye head coach Tom Ryan told members of the media earlier this week that the battle between the two lightweights was simply too close to justify burning Heinselman's redshirt at this point in the season; he will compete at the Michigan State Open tournament, where coaches will look to "gather more information" about his readiness to potentially start for the team later in the season.

Likewise, redshirt sophomore Gary Traub will start at heavyweight after holding off redshirt freshman Chase Singletary, the one-time heir apparent to Kyle Snyder's spot in the starting lineup. Singletary failed to finish shots against the larger Traub, and so the younger wrestler will compete unattached in East Lansing instead of on the roster in Maryland.