Wrestling: Sammy Sasso Wins Second Top-5 Bout of the Weekend As No. 4 Ohio State Manhandles No. 14 Minnesota, 22-13

Ohio State didn't have quite the horsepower it needed to upset No. 1 Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena Friday night, but the Buckeyes had more than enough talent and drive to wallop the Golden Gophers in Minneapolis on Sunday. The visitors finished their weekend road trip by winning six of 10 matches in a 22-13 romp against Minnesota, including major decisions by Ethan Smith and Jordan Decatur and a tech fall by Kollin Moore.

Sammy Sasso was the story of the weekend, as he followed up his impressive upset of No. 1 Pat Lugo at Iowa with an equally impressive 4-2 decision in a slugfest with No. 4 Brayton Lee that went right down to the wire.

@sammysasso has ice in his veins... pic.twitter.com/cFjibPa2qR

— Ohio State Wrestling (@wrestlingbucks) January 27, 2020

Sasso has a solid argument to be the new No. 1 in the 149 rankings next week, as he's defeated opponents currently ranked #1, #4, and #7, while no one ahead of him has wins over more than one man ranked in the Top 10.

Sammy Sasso's weekend:
Beat No. 1 Pat Lugo
Beat No. 5 Brayton Lee
Win the dual against Minnesota for the Buckeyes
This 149-pound freshman is making some noise! : @wrestlingbucks pic.twitter.com/AtYwJftIhs

— NCAA Wrestling (@ncaawrestling) January 27, 2020

No. 8 Kaleb Romero is another Buckeye who should move up a peg or two, as he unseated No. 7 Devin Skatzka in a 2-1 decision that was almost a repeat of their 1-0 dance-off in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Romero kept an aggressive pace throughout the match, and finished the go-ahead shot to seal the victor; he looks more and more like an All American every night.

No. 12 Ethan Smith added another bonus-point victory to his resume at 165 pounds, pouring on the points late knowing that the meet could hinge on bonus points. No. 20 Jordan Decatur did likewise at 133, bouncing back in a big way from a disheartening loss to No. 2 Austin DeSanto Friday night at Iowa.

Decatur's match was the perfect tonic for fans who asked some pointed questions after a four-match losing streak (to highly ranked opponents) about why the staff allowed Decatur to peel his redshirt. His strength, skill and technique aren't the issue – the issue is how well he manages his weight throughout the week and handles the one-hour weigh-in. Friday night, he was clearly gassed after the first period against DeSanto, while against Minnesota he looked like he could shoot and score all night long.

And now the 's carry. Decatur starting to put it on. pic.twitter.com/tfPkC1flBq

— Ohio State Wrestling (@wrestlingbucks) January 27, 2020

To some extent it feels like a broken record to say this, but Luke Pletcher's evolution from workhorse to war horse has been nothing short of incredible. He has wins over five of the 10 guys ranked in the top 10, and would likely have six if Iowa hadn't opted to sit Max Murin on Friday night.

He picked up win No. 20 on the season in Minneapolis, his 11th win over a ranked opponent this year, and he is now hitting the bonus in 60% of his matches – more than double his career average. He's always been difficult to score on, but he's picked up an extra gear this season after moving up to 141, and his aggressive style of offense has overwhelmed pretty much everyone he's faced since a tight match against Stanford's Real Woods in the early dual-meet schedule.

Kollin Moore also picked up his 20th win of the season, a 19-3 tech fall that didn't make it to the five-minute mark. Moore scored takedowns early, as usual, but late in the first period he locked up a cradle that would have ended the match if the period had lasted another five seconds. Instead, he found that cradle again midway through the second, and the back points came in bunches.

Misses out on the fall, but still posts 5 team points for his Buckeyes.

Kollin Moore's 6th tech fall this season and 16th bonus point performance during his 20-0 start.#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/bhp5PNDOiz

— Ohio State Wrestling (@wrestlingbucks) January 27, 2020

One Step at a Time

Paced by top-ranked senior captains Pletcher and Moore, freshman phenom Sasso, and a pair of much-improved sophomores in Smith and Romero, Ohio State appears to be rounding into form down the stretch in search of another team trophy come March.

If Decatur can continue to improve his conditioning and handle his nutrition, he'll be a force that can score some team points in the tournament, too.

Ohio State needs more production at 157, and Elijah Cleary appears to be right on the cusp of taking that next step. He dropped close decisions at Iowa and Minnesota, wrestling well defensively to stay in the match, but failing to score the points needed to win those matches.

His bout against No. 21 Ryan Thomas on Sunday was emblematic of the struggle to score: he seemed to wait until the pressure of the final 40 seconds of the match kicked in to mount an attack, and by then it was too late. Thomas was able to fend off some shots near the edge of the mat and grind out the clock to seal the victory.

Rocky Jordan dropped his second low-scoring decision of the weekend to a ranked opponent, and both were matches he could win, too. He wrestled an excellent second period Sunday, keeping No. 18 Owen Webster in check, but couldn't muster enough offense late to overcome a 4-1 first period for Webster. He'll be really good for the Buckeyes as he continues to scrap and improve.

Gary Traub did his job against No. 1 Gable Steveson, not finding himself on his back or giving up the tech fall. He had tough duty against a monster who just squashes all but the upper echelon in the heavyweight division.

Malik Heinselman dropped a match he could have won against No. 13 Patrick McKee. As one commenter put it, Heinselman lived on McKee's legs all night, but wasn't strong enough to finish one of about six really nice shot attempts.

All in all, it was a great weekend for the Buckeyes. They return to Columbus to host Maryland on Friday at 7 p.m. in the Covelli Center.