Wrestling Recap: No. 4 Buckeyes Down No. 12 Gophers 24-20 in Back and Forth Big Ten Finale

The fourth-ranked Buckeye wrestlers put a cap on their conference dual schedule with a 24-20 road victory over No. 12 Minnesota on Sunday afternoon. The Buckeyes won five of the 10 matches, but Ohio State scored bonus point victories in four of the five victories to provide the margin of victory.

Nathan Tomasello and Bo Jordan gave the Buckeyes a spark with pins, while Micah Jordan's tech fall and Myles Martin's major decision contributed to the victory. The match saw five lead changes, but the Buckeyes finished strong and earned the win. 

The match began at 197 as Ohio State's No. 4 Kollin Moore looked to avenge one of his two losses on the season, but No. 2 Brett Pfarr wasn't to be denied in his last home match at Minnesota, taking a 7-5 decision. The first bout was very one-sided in favor of Pfarr, but Moore held his own in the rematch and nearly scored the takedown at the end of regulation, but was unable to keep Pfarr on the mat. Though it goes as a loss on his record, Moore should not hang his head after this loss to Pfarr because he knows that he is able to get to Pfarr's legs and finish shots against the All-American. 

Kyle Snyder was out of the lineup at heavyweight as the Iranian ban on American wrestlers was lifted and Snyder will compete in the upcoming World Cup. Josh Fox took the mat at heavyweight, but was unable to stop — or even slow — No. 8 Michael Kroells down, giving up a 20-5 technical fall. The Gophers led 8-0 after two matches. 

No. 18 Jose Rodriguez started the season strong but struggled of late against Big Ten competition. The Buckeye freshman trailed No. 6 Ethan Lizak early, but kept fighting back and managed to tie the bout at the very end of regulation to send the bout to overtime. Once the match went to overtime, Rodriguez scored a takedown almost immediately to win, 12-10. The broadcasters mentioned Lizak had been fighting illness leading up to the match, but after slumping since December, Rodriguez has to feel good about sticking with his attacks and earning the upset. 

Top-ranked Nathan Tomasello made short work of No. 17 Mitch McKee, capitalizing on McKee's defense of a shot attempt to take the Gopher straight to his back. Once on the mat, Tomasello used just about every pinning combination he could think of before sinking in the double grapevines and pinning McKee late in the first period. The pin, paired with Rodriguez' decision, gave the Buckeyes a 9-8 lead in the dual. The win was Tomasello's 95th in his Ohio State career. 

Luke Pletcher faced yet another tough opponent in No. 12 Tommy Thorn, but Pletcher was unable to earn the minor upset as Thorn was just a step ahead of the Buckeye freshman and earned a 7-2 decision. Thorn earned the better of the scrambles and put Minnesota back in the lead, 11-9. 

Micah Jordan gave the Buckeyes a 14-11 lead with a technical fall over Brandon Kingsley at 149. Kingsley joined Brett Pfarr and Michael Kroells as seniors in the lineup, but Kingsley was outmatched from the get-go and Jordan earned the tech fall. Micah locked up a late cradle and clinched the tech fall with a set of late back points to give the Buckeyes another lead. 

Anthony DeCarlo took the mat for the Buckeyes at 157 but had no answer for No. 8 Jake Short. Short pinned DeCarlo midway through the first period to again put Minnesota back in the lead, 17-14. 

Minnesota won a second-straight match to push its lead to 20-14 as No. 18 Nick Wanzek controlled Cody Burcher for a 5-2 decision. Burcher is just 2-6 since the beginning of 2017, which has to be a concern for the Buckeye staff heading into the postseason. 

Bo Jordan knotted the match at 20 apiece with a quick pin over Chris Pfarr at 174. Jordan has been hobbled by injuries of late but looked to be at least halfway decent against Pfarr. Jordan scored a quick takedown and worked his trademark power half to stick Pfarr late in the first period. The pin tied the match heading into the final bout of the day at 184. 

With the win hanging in the balance, Myles Martin scored early and often against Bobby Steveson to ice the win for the Buckeyes. Martin put on a takedown clinic and led 4-1 just seconds into the match. The major decision improved Martin's record to 23-5 and was his seventh major decision of the season. Martin gave the Buckeyes a 24-20 victory to wrap up their Big Ten dual meet season, finishing with a 7-2 conference record and an 11-2 mark overall. 

Ohio State will get back to action in the NWCA Dual Championship Series against a non-Big Ten team to be named later, though it is looking like the Buckeyes may face the Missouri Tigers. Eleven Warriors will have all the details of the NWCA Dual Championship Series as they become available. The Big Ten Championships will take place on March 4 and 5 in Bloomington, Indiana.