The #10 Buckeyes welcomed Wisconsin to St. John Arena on Friday night for Senior Night to wrap up Ohio State’s Big Ten schedule, and the Buckeyes were less than gracious hosts. Ohio State won 8 of 10 matches and cruised to a 34-6 victory.
Kenny Courts, Mark Martin, and Johnni DiJulius all won on Senior Night, while Hunter Stieber lost a tough overtime bout.
The match started with the most anticipated bout of the dual as cousins Bo and Isaac Jordan met for the second time in St. John Arena. Like the first time, Isaac won a tough decision, this time by the score of 6-4. The loss was Bo’s first of the season and just the third in his first two seasons as a Buckeye. The win gave Wisconsin a 3-0 lead, but that would be the last time the Badgers held the lead.
At 174, Myles Martin implemented his relentless offense against Ricky Robertson. Martin scored early and often, rolling to a 12-1 major decision. The major gave the Buckeyes a 4-3 lead that they would only continue to increase as the match progressed.
At 184, Kenny Courts was the first Buckeye senior to hit the mat, and he did so in typical Kenny Courts fashion. Courts, who has been known to wrestle to his competition’s level, defeated Ryan Christensen with a takedown in overtime to seal the deal.
Not to be outdone, Mark Martin earned a win on Senior Night with a 6-3 victory over Eric Peissig. Martin has missed a number of matches in the past month due to a number of minor injuries, but he was able to heal up enough to score one more victory for the Buckeyes at St. John Arena. Martin gave the Buckeyes a 10-3 lead heading into the heavyweight bout.
Kyle Snyder continued his reign of terror against Brock Horwath, taking the Badger big man down seemingly at will. Snyder was able to roll to a 26-11 technical fall, which is almost unheard of for the heavyweight division. Snyder’s presence in the lineup has been impressive, but he has yet to face an opponent with much of a shot at placing at the NCAA tournament. With that said, Snyder did his job and gave the Buckeyes five more team points and a team score of 15-3 at the midway point in the dual.
Nathan Tomasello earned the second consecutive tech fall of the match, dominating Johnny Jiminez from the opening whistle. Tomasello remained undefeated on the season and earned his fourth tech fall of the season. The Buckeyes improved to a 20-3 lead heading into the match at 133.
Johnni DiJulius earned a 10-2 victory over Jens Lentz at 133 lbs. Lentz stepped in for #7 Ryan Taylor and was promptly outmatched against DiJulius. Taylor and DiJulius would have been a far more competitive match, but there is still a possibility that the two will cross paths at the Big Ten tournament in March. Ohio State held a 24-3 lead with just three matches remaining, so DiJulius’ win sealed the match for the Buckeyes.
At 141 lbs, Micah Jordan smothered Gabe Grahek, earning a 10-1 major decision. Jordan scored a late reversal to give him the major decision, which gave the Buckeyes a 28-3 advantage. The victory kept Micah’s record against Big Ten opponents unblemished and improved his overall record to 18-1 on the season.
Hunter Stieber took the mat on Senior Night, but suffered a tough loss in sudden victory to an upset-minded Andrew Crone. Crone had previously defeated Jake Short of Minnesota in an upset, but knocking off Stieber with a takedown in overtime was a significantly bigger win. Stieber came into the match with a pair of surgically-repaired elbows, but he appeared to hurt his leg late in the match, which is not what any Buckeye fan wanted to see.
Jake Ryan closed out the match with a second period pin over a tough TJ Ruschell, giving Ryan his first pin of the season. The pin drew the match to a close, giving the Buckeyes a 34-6 victory in their final conference dual of the season.
The Buckeyes will have more than a week to rest and prepare for their next action, which will be in the NWCA Championship Dual Series on February 21. The Buckeyes opponent has yet to be determined, but will be announced later this weekend.
Check back with Eleven Warriors for more information on the NWCA Championship Dual Series as information becomes available.
Match Results
- 165: # 3 Isaac Jordan (UW) decision over # 2 Bo Jordan (OSU) 6-4. UW leads 3-0.
- 174: #14 Myles Martin (OSU) major decision over Ricky Robertson (UW) 12-1. OSU leads 4-3.
- 184: #16 Kenny Courts (OSU) decision over Ryan Christensen (UW) 6-4 SV. OSU leads 7-3.
- 197: Mark Martin (OSU) decision over Eric Peissig (UW) 6-3. OSU leads 10-3.
- HWT: #2 Kyle Snyder (OSU) technical fall over Brock Horwath (UW) 26-11. OSU leads 15-3.
- 125: #1 Nathan Tomasello (OSU) technical fall over Johnny Jiminez (UW) 20-5. OSU leads 20-3.
- 133: #10 Johnni DiJulius (OSU) major decision over Jens Lentz (UW) 10-2. OSU leads 24-3.
- 141: #4 Micah Jordan (OSU) major decision over Gabe Grahek (UW) 10-1. OSU leads 28-3.
- 149: Andrew Crone (UW) decision over Hunter Stieber (OSU) 6-4 SV. OSU leads 28-6.
- 157: #11 Jake Ryan (OSU) wins by fall over TJ Ruschell (UW). OSU wins 34-6.
