Two Ohio State wrestlers will have a shot to capture their sport's ultimate collegiate prize on Saturday.
Sophomore Jesse Mendez, the top seed at 141 pounds, will square off with No. 2 Beau Bartlett of Penn State. Sixth-seeded freshman Rocco Welsh will take on Penn State's No. 9 Carter Starocci at 174 pounds.
TWO FINALISTS HOW WE FEELIN' BUCKEYE NATION????
— Ohio State Wrestling (@wrestlingbucks) March 23, 2024
It will be the third time this season Mendez has taken on Bartlett, who finished in third place at the 2023 NCAA Championships. Bartlett bested Mendez in sudden victory 4-3 during Ohio State and Penn State's dual meet earlier this season, but Mendez knocked off the top-seeded Bartlett in the Big Ten Championship match at 141 pounds, keeping a relentless pace for all seven minutes in a 4-1 victory to earn his first Big Ten title and Ohio State's only conference crown this season.
Mendez's road to a rubber match for all the marbles with Bartlett included a couple of dominant performances. Mendez tech-falled No. 32 Todd Carter, 19-4, then pinned No. 17 Isaiah Powe.
SPLADLE TO LOCK UP ALL-AMERICAN STATUS?? JESSE MENDEZ IS A DOG. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/H5QP6sPsUF
— Ohio State Wrestling (@wrestlingbucks) March 22, 2024
A 6-2 decision over No. 9 Brock Hardy placed Mendez in the semifinals, where he clung to an early lead for a 6-4 win over No. 5 Anthony Echemendia, a former Buckeye who now wrestles for Iowa State.
Welsh gets a familiar foe of his own in Starocci, who beat the Buckeye 4-2 at the Ohio State/Penn State dual mentioned above, which the Nittany Lions won 28-9. PSU has six total wrestlers in the finals on Saturday with 148 points toward a national title. Second-place Michigan has 64.5.
It will likely be the third consecutive national championship for Penn State's dynasty, its seventh out of the past eight championships and 11th of the last 13. Ohio State won its lone national title in one of those off years, 2015.
Welsh's road to the finals as a six seed has been much more winding than Mendez's. He skated by No. 27 Danny Wask in the first round 4-2 and required sudden victory to beat No. 11 Austin Murphy.
Then Welsh provided the biggest upheaval seen from Ohio State in the tournament, beating No. 3 Edmund Ruth, Illinois' Big Ten Champion, 4-1 in sudden victory.
Another B1G loss avenged True Freshman Rocco Welsh is heading to the semifinals #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/mD7nEkkOhO
— Ohio State Wrestling (@wrestlingbucks) March 22, 2024
That momentum bled through to yet another 4-1 sudden-victory win over No. 7 Lennox Wolak in the semifinals.
Ohio State enters Saturday seventh in the team standings with 57 points. Ohio State freshman Nick Feldman is in contention for third place at heavyweight after starting the tournament as the No. 9 seed. He'll wrestle Air Force's No. 3 Wyatt Hendrickson for a spot in the bronze match.
Championship matches get underway at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
