Ohio State won nine of 10 matches – eight with bonus points attached – as the No. 3 Buckeyes steamrolled the Maryland Terrapins in a 43-3 rout at Covelli Center. Luke Pletcher and Kollin Moore each recorded first-period pins while four of their teammates earned victories via tech fall.
Malik Heinselman put the first points on the board for the home team, winning a nice 7-2 decision over Brandon Cray at 125. Heinselman looked good on his feet and managed to finish several shots, along with picking up a nice reversal from the bottom position.
After King Sandoval hit a slick 6-point move in the first period against No. 21 Jordan Decatur, the young Buckeye couldn't quite dig out of the hole despite a flurry of offensive activity late in the third. He dropped a 10-8 decision for the only Ohio State loss of the night.
From there, it was all bonus points for the Buckeyes, showcasing the huge talent gap between the two programs:
- Luke Pletcher: first-period pin
- Sammy Sasso: 23-8 tech
- Quinn Kinner: 16-1 tech
- Ethan Smith: 20-7 major
- Kaleb Romero: 13-4 major
- Rocky Jordan: 18-2 tech
- Kollin Moore: first-period pin
- Gary Traub: 24-9 tech
It was utter domination, with eight-consecutive wins with bonus attached, and six of those matches didn't go the full seven minutes. Sasso, Kinner and Jordan all were able to earn buckets of back points in their victories, while Traub put on a Snyder-like catch-and-release clinic in the final match of the night.
The meet was a good respite after the Buckeyes had a pair of tough opponents last weekend on the road, and ahead of a trip to Lincoln Sunday to face the No. 6 Nebraska Cornhuskers.
With the Columbus debut of Quinn Kinner at 157, it will be interesting to see if he wrestles again Sunday or if Elijah Cleary gets the nod. Cleary has been the man at that spot all season, but both wrestlers were listed as possibilities in both of this week's meets. Kinner certainly looked the part, albeit against competition he should expect to beat.
As the team rounds into form with less than 50 days until the NCAA Wrestling Championships, Sunday's meet will go a long way to giving fans an idea of what this team can do against a team that also wants to win a team trophy in March.
| Wt | Results | OSU | MD |
|---|---|---|---|
| 125 | Malik Heinselman, decision over Brandon Cray (7-2) | 3 | 0 |
| 133 | King Sandoval, decision over No. 21 Jordan Decatur (10-8) | 3 | 3 |
| 141 | No. 1 Luke Pletcher, victory by FALL over Hunter Baxter (1:57) | 9 | 3 |
| 149 | No. 2 Sammy Sasso, victory by TECH FALL over Ryan Garlitz (23-8) | 14 | 3 |
| 157 | Quinn Kinner, victory by TECH FALL over Lucas Cordio (16-1) | 19 | 3 |
| 165 | No. 13 Ethan Smith, major decision over Kyle Cochran (20-7) | 23 | 3 |
| 174 | No. 7 Kaleb Romero, major decision over No. 24 Philip Spadafora (13-4) | 27 | 3 |
| 184 | No. 24 Rocky Jordan, victory by TECH FALL over Kyle Jasenki (18-2) | 32 | 3 |
| 197 | No. 1 Kollin Moore, victory by FALL over Niko Cappello (2:36) | 38 | 3 |
| HWT | No. 23 Gary Traub, victory by TECH FALL over Parker Robinson (24-9) | 43 | 3 |
Action from Lincoln gets under way at 1 p.m. Sunday, and will stream live on BTN+.
