The Buckeye wrestling team has spent the first month of the 2016-17 season on the road, but will finally make a triumphant return to Columbus on Thursday night when they play host to No. 3 Missouri Tigers at St. John Arena.
The Tigers come to town on a night when Buckeye fans will be celebrating, as the team will be raising banners commemorating NCAA champions Myles Martin and Kyle Snyder.
The match could feature four individual bouts between wrestlers ranked in the top ten of their respective weight classes, and both teams are ranked in the top five of InterMat’s dual meet rankings (Ohio State sits at No. 5, while Missouri is currently No. 3). If you’re still not convinced that this meet will be truly impressive, two recent Olympic medalists will be in action and a third Olympian will be coaching in the meet. Gold medalist Kyle Snyder and bronze medalist J’Den Cox will each take the mat for Ohio State and Missouri, respectively, while Olympic heavyweight Tervel Dlagnev will make his coaching debut as one of Tom Ryan’s assistants.
The Buckeyes will also be wrestling with some extra incentive as they will be keeping teammate Alex Sepeda and his family in their thoughts. Sepeda’s father recently began chemotherapy treatments, and the tightly-knit Buckeyes will want to put on a good showing for the Sepeda family in this tough time.
Let’s take a look at what to expect when the No. 3 Missouri Tigers come to Columbus.
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| No. 3 Missouri Tigers |
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2-0 ROSTER | SCHEDULE |
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7:00 PM - Thursday, December 8 St. John Arena COLUMBUS, OHIO |
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| MUTigers.com |
The no. 3 Missouri Tigers
Head Coach: Brian Smith
Smith is entering his 18th year as head coach at Missouri, and his hard work is finally paying off with the Tigers becoming one of the top teams in the country over the past few seasons. He has been the MAC Coach of the Year every year since 2013 and was the Big 12 Coach of the Year in 2012, so Smith knows a thing or two about success. Smith has coached five wrestlers to seven NCAA championships, including current Tiger J’Den Cox, who will be looking for his third career title this March. Smith has amassed a record of 239-92-3 while at the helm of the Missouri program. Joe Johnston (Iowa), Alex Clemsen (Edinboro), and Devin Mellon (Missouri) round out Smith’s coaching staff.
Ohioans on the Missouri Roster
Aaron Assad (RS Jr, 125)
Assad was a four-time state placer for Brecksville-Broadview Heights, winning a state title as a senior at 113. Aaron’s younger brother Austin is the current starter at 125 for Michigan.
Notable Tiger Wrestlers
No. 1 J’Den Cox (Sr, 197)
J’Den Cox is one of those guys that you just have to cheer for, unless he’s wrestling a Buckeye. He’s the ultimate team player, often bumping up to heavyweight to secure vital team points in close duals. He won an Olympic bronze medal while still in college (and I think he got shafted in the semifinals and should have been wrestling for gold). J’Den may just step in and sing the national anthem if the regular singer is unavailable.
No. 4 Daniel Lewis (Rs So, 165)
Lewis made his presence known in his redshirt freshman year, finishing fourth at the NCAA tournament in a stacked weight class. In matches against Bo Jordan and Alex Dieringer, Lewis proved that he is an absolute monster from the top position and put a scare into Jordan and the three-time NCAA champion alike. Lewis has been largely untested to this point in the season, though his lone loss was to the outstanding two-time NCAA champ IMar at the UNI Open, which Lewis managed to keep to a respectable 7-4 decision.
No. 4 Lavion Mayes (Rs Sr, 149)
Mayes has a knack for slowing matches down and making every shot attempt count, which he finds a way to do much of the time. Mayes avenged a loss to Anthony Collica in the quarterfinals of last year’s NCAA tournament with a 3-2 victory over Collica in the third place match. Mayes is able to finish takedowns from all angles and just finds a way to get his hand raised, though it may not be the most flashy.
| no. 5 Ohio State | WT | no. 3 missouri |
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| #10 JOSE RODRIGUEZ | 125 | NO. 4 BARLOW MCGHEE/ AARON ASSAD |
| #3 NATHAN TOMASELLO | 133 | #9 JAYDIN EIERMAN |
| LUKE PLETCHER | 141 | ZACH SYNON |
| NO. 5 MICAH JORDAN | 149 | NO. 4 LAVION MAYES |
| JAKE RYAN | 157 | NO. 6 JOEY LAVALLEE |
| CODY BURCHER | 165 | NO. 4 DANIEL LEWIS |
| NO. 1 BO JORDAN | 174 | DYLAN WISMAN |
| NO. 5 MYLES MARTIN | 184 | MATT LEMANOWICZ/ NO. 9 WILLIE MIKLUS |
| NO. 6 KOLLIN MOORE | 197 | NO. 1 J'DEN COX |
| NO. 1 KYLE SNYDER | HWT | AUSTIN MYERS |
Key Matchups
197- No. 6 Kollin Moore vs No. 1 J’Den Cox
Moore has opened some eyes with his aggressive, attacking style early on this season. Cox has been doing the same for the past three seasons, both on NCAA and international mats. This will be yet another elite test for Kollin and will be a great litmus test to see if he’s a possibility for an All-American this season.
149- No. 5 Micah Jordan vs No. 4 Lavion Mayes
Mayes hasn’t wrestled much this season, but he’s a returning All-American. Micah fell a match short of finishing on the podium at last year’s tournament, but he looks stronger and better conditioned at 149 without having to cut so much weight. If this great match comes down to a late takedown, I feel more confident in Micah this season with a better gas tank and more strength than I did last season.
133- No. 3 Nathan Tomasello vs No. 9 Jaydin Eierman
It’s hard to believe that Tomasello is already an upperclassman, but he’s got an NCAA title and a third place finish to his credit in his first two years in the lineup. Eierman is an upstart and is making noise all across the NCAA in his freshman season with several decent wins coming during his redshirt season. Tomasello is a bit rusty after an injury layoff, but with an extra few days to get back into shape, Eierman could be in for a rude awakening.
Match Outlook
Ohio State has had some bumps in the road due to injuries, but Bo Jordan and Nathan Tomasello are back in the lineup, which can only mean good things. Ke-Shawn Hayes was injured in training and will miss the remainder of the season. The silver lining to that black cloud is that touted recruit Luke Pletcher will debut in the lineup at 141 for the Buckeyes tonight.
The Buckeyes will need to be ready for the visiting Tigers from the opening whistle as Missouri has a stacked lineup from top to bottom. Ohio State should be favored at 133, 174, 184, and HWT for certain. Missouri will have the edge at 197, 165, and 157. Depending on who the Tigers wrestle at 125, either team could be favored (Rodriguez will have the edge against Assad, but No. 4 Barlow McGhee will be favored should he get the nod) and the match at 149 is a true toss-up. In his first match as a starter, Pletcher isn’t being handed an easy match as he takes on senior Zach Synon, but I’m not really certain what to expect in that match.
As always, the match will depend on bonus points and what team can score and prevent ceding them. Bo Jordan and Kyle Snyder are the most likely candidates to score some big points for the Buckeyes, but we may also see Daniel Lewis and Joey LaVallee trying to keep Missouri in the thick of things in the middle of the match.
The match will air live on BTN tonight at 7 PM, with a full recap to follow.
