Two major roster changes are coming for the Buckeyes with the new year, one eagerly anticipated and the other... not so much.
First, the bad news: Redshirt sophomore Chase Singletary, the ninth-ranked heavyweight in the country according to FloWrestling, will likely miss the remainder of the season. The big man wrestled just three matches in the 2019 portion of the season before sustaining an injury at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, having missed early-season meets while representing Team USA at the U23 World Freestyle Championships in Budapest.
"It's bigger than we thought," Ryan told reporters at the Jennings Wrestling Facility Friday afternoon. "...so we're leaning toward medicalling Chase [sic]. It's that bad. He's missed enough training and it looks like it's going to linger on another 4-6 weeks."
Gary Traub has become something of a fan favorite filling in for Singletary this season. The redshirt junior from Cincinnati's Sycamore High School seemed destined to be a career backup, having sat behind Kyle Snyder and then Singletary, and now has his opportunity to make a name for himself in the starting lineup.
"'Gas Tank Gary' has really been a lightning rod for the team from an energy standpoint," Ryan said. "Hat's off to Gary. Gary's ready, excited. He's been chomping at the bit to be in the starting lineup for a few years now, so now is his opportunity."
Ryan said if Singletary does indeed miss the rest of the season that the staff will seek a sixth year of eligibility for him.
The plan for the team prior to the season was for Singletary to take an Olympic redshirt and then drop down to 197 next season after Kollin Moore graduates. The precipitous departure of Greg Kerkvliet just days before the season opened appeared to throw a wrench in those plans, but newly-arrived Greco-Roman standout Nick Boykin gives Ryan options next season.
Boykin and Moore each earned entries to the Olympic Trials in April by finishing as runners-up in their respective 97 kg brackets at the U.S. Senior Nationals last month in Fort Worth: Boykin in Greco-Roman, Moore in freestyle.
Jordan Decatur: It's Time
Now for some (potentially) good news: Highly touted recruit Jordan Decatur saw his name on the "probable matchups" list for the first time this season. The true freshman from Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy is a three-time Fargo National champion, two-time Ohio high school champion, and 2018 Cadet World freestyle team member.
Decatur is listed as an "OR" on the lineup along with Dylan Koontz. Koontz wrestled for Ohio State at the Cliff Keen last month and acquitted himself rather well, going 3-0 to the semifinals as an unseeded entrant. He upended the No. 5 and No. 4 seeds along the way, including Arizona State's Josh Kramer.
Koontz, like Boykin, is considered something of a Greco-Roman specialist. While he looked solid on the first day of the Cliff Keen, Decatur's entry to the lineup would bring some much-needed spark at 133 since it became clear that Quinn Kinner wasn't handling the cut as well as he had originally anticipated (in an interesting twist, Ryan said Kinner is actually working on going up to 157).
Decatur will wrestle at 133 Saturday at the F&M Open hosted by Franklin & Marshall University in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to start building his record against D1 opponents.
"One of the reasons he's going to go to F&M is to get four matches at the weight class; he's competed at 141, but he's not competed yet at '33," Ryan said. "So on our schedule we looked at a couple of events where he could meet that threshold of 15 matches to earn the right for a spot at the Big Ten to qualify for the NCAAs."
If he does get the call Monday night his first dual meet match in scarlet and gray will be a big one, facing off against Kramer, currently ranked No. 15 in the country. Koontz won their match in December in sudden victory, and Kramer is no slouch.
