Ohio State kicked off its 100th season of wrestling in high style, winning five of 10 weight classes at the Michigan State Open Saturday in East Lansing. Carson Kharchla, Kollin Moore, Luke Pletcher, Kaleb Romero and Sammy Sasso each won their respective brackets; Pletcher defeated the No. 1 wrestler in the country, Sasso won by pin or technical fall in every match and Kharchla upended a pair of top-20 opponents along the way.
While the offseason's final month gave fans more than a little heartburn with the news of highly touted heavyweight Greg Kerkvliet's defection, the first actual wrestling of the season offered a reminder that – as head coach Tom Ryan puts it – “Buckeye wrestling marches forward.”
Redshirt freshman Sammy Sasso offered the most explosive tournament of anyone in the field, posting five bonus-point victories, each one a pin or technical fall. FloWrestling's Christian Pyle went so far as to launch Sasso's campaign for the Hodge Trophy (sometimes known as wrestling's Heisman):
Sammy Sasso just teched Kanen Storr, 19-4.
— Christian Pyles (@CPyles8) November 3, 2019
On the day he went
Pinfall - 4:31 Luke Raczkowski
Tech - 24-6 Trevor Chumbley
Pinfall - 4:41 #25 Nate Limmex
Pinfall - 1:56 Ben Lamantia
Tech - 19-4 Kanen Storr#Sasso4Hodge
It was an impressive outing for the 149-pounder with a win over a top-25 opponent and finishing against Michigan's Storr, an NCAA qualifier last year at 141 pounds.
Storr defeated Ohio State's Ke-Shawn Hayes en route to his matchup with Sasso. Sasso's blistering bonus pace seems likely to close the door on the thought of Hayes challenging Sasso for the starting spot, so Hayes will have to go back up to 157 for a second season.
Senior captain Luke Pletcher had the biggest single victory of the weekend, knocking off No. 1 Dom Demas of Oklahoma in the championship match. Pletcher earned the win over the Columbus native with an impressive rideout in the tiebreakers at 141 pounds.
Pletcher came into the tournament ranked No. 3 in the country, but his win over the highest-returning placer from last year's NCAA Championships should adjust the pecking order in the class moving forward.
— Christian Pyles (@CPyles8) November 3, 2019
2 days into the season and we're going to have a new #1 at 141!
Luke Pletcher WBD Dom Demas 2-1 TB1
Fellow captain Kollin Moore also left East Lansing with a title after he outlasted No. 16 Jake Woodley of Oklahoma in a surprisingly close match at 197. The top-ranked wrestler in the class, Moore trailed Woodley 3-1 in the third period, but tied the score at the end of regulation and won the match in sudden victory.
Carson Kharchla, the true freshman who upended Ethan Smith in the team's wrestle-offs, walked into his first collegiate tournament and went five-for-five at 165 pounds.
He defeated two ranked opponents in the process, including shutting out No. 21 Emil Soehnlen of Purdue, 6-0, in the finals bout. He also dominated No. 20 Troy Keller of Buffalo with a 19-2 tech fall in the quarterfinals, finishing the tournament with two tech falls and a pin.
As with Sasso and Hayes, Kharchla likely closed the door on any chance Smith had of taking the starting spot at 165 after Smith lost his first match of the tournament and had to battle back to a third-place finish in the consolation bracket. Although Smith was ranked No. 12 in the country heading into October's wrestle-offs, Kharchla won their head-to-head in a narrow decision and bolstered his argument with an impressive tournament performance.
Kaleb Romero, on the other hand, may have offset his wrestle-off loss to Rocky Jordan by winning the 174-pound bracket Saturday. While Jordan was upset by Oklahoma's Anthony Mantanona 17-7 in the semifinals, Romero cruised ahead to take the championship with three straight wins over Big Ten opponents.
Romero finished last year with an 11-6 season record at 165 pounds, posting two major decisions, two pins and a tech fall in an up-and-down debut year. With Kharchla's win at 165, the question is if Smith will be back in the mix for the starting spot at 174 if Jordan isn't quite ready for primetime yet.
In any case, it's clear that Ryan and staff have options at a few weight classes this season. With a solid tournament overall and some exciting performances from a couple of young Bucks, the team returns to Columbus to prepare for its home opener next Sunday versus Stanford.
finish for the Buckeyes in East Lansing tonight.
— Ohio State Wrestling (@wrestlingbucks) November 3, 2019
Catch Ohio State in the Covelli Center opener NEXT Sunday (Nov. 10).
https://t.co/OxtIN3Ptjc
#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/BLrAb7GcKf
