Around The Oval: Jesse Mendez Continues Success at the U.S. Olympic Trials, Men’s Golf Finishes Runner-Up at the Robert Kepler Invitational and Kami Kortokrax is Resilient

By Chase Brown on April 22, 2024 at 1:05 pm
Jesse Mendez
Ohio State Dept. of Athletics
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Another week, another Around the Oval.

In this week's edition of ATO, Eleven Warriors’ one-stop shop for coverage of Ohio State’s Olympic sports, we look at how current and former wrestlers performed at the U.S. Olympic Trials, how the golf teams finished at their recent tournaments and how softball standout Kami Kortokrax overcame adversity to lead the Buckeyes to a win.

Over the weekend, we also covered the men's tennis team's 18th consecutive Big Ten championship and the men's volleyball team's 19th MIVA Tournament title.

Let’s dive in.

Wrestling

At the 2024 United States Olympic Trials, Kyle Snyder did what Kyle Snyder does, as the former Ohio State national champion and two-time Olympic medalist qualified for his third consecutive Summer Games in the 97kg weight class.

In addition to Snyder, eight other Buckeyes competed at the Olympic Trials in State College, Pennsylvania: Brady Koontz, Gary Traub, Joey McKenna, Jesse Mendez, Fritz Schierl, Nicholas Boykin, Tate Orndorff and Kollin Moore. 

Those current and former Ohio State wrestlers had different levels of success at the event. McKenna and Mendez – the reigning NCAA champion at 141 pounds and the only returning Buckeye who competed in the Trials –took third and fourth place in the Challenge MFS 65kg weight class, Schierl took fourth place in the Challenge GR 87kg, Boykin and Orndorff took second and third in the Challenge GR 97kg and Moore took second in the Challenge MFS 97kg. Koontz and Traub failed to place in the Challenge GR 60kg and Challenge MFS 125kg.

Here is a complete breakdown of all their matches:

Brady Koontz, Challenge GR 60kg

  • Phillip Moomey defeats Koontz, 4-2
  • Taylor Lamont defeats Koontz, 5-2

Gary Traub, Challenge MFS 125kg

  • Jaron Smith defeats Traub, 6-2
  • Traub defeats Demetrius Thomas, 8-3
  • Wyatt Hendrickson defeats Traub, 16-5

Joey McKenna, Third Place at Challenge MFS 65kg

  • Mendez defeats McKenna, 8-2
  • McKenna defeats Beau Bartlett, 3-2
  • McKenna defeats Matthew Kolodzik, 12-2
  • McKenna defeats Yianni Diakomihalis, FF
  • McKenna defeats Mendez, 4-4

Jesse Mendez, Fourth Place at Challenge MFS 65kg

  • Mendez defeats McKenna, 8-2
  • Mendez defeats James Green, 6-3
  • Mendez defeats Diakomihalis, 12-7
  • Zain Retherford defeats Mendez, 3-2
  • Mendez defeats Nahshon Garrett, 11-0
  • McKenna defeats Mendez, 4-4

Fritz Schierl, Fourth Place at Challenge GR 87kg

  • Ryan Epps defeats Schierl, 5-3
  • Schierl defeats Richard Carlson, FF
  • Schierl defeats Ben Provisor, Fall 5:18
  • Schierl defeats Mahmoud Sebie, FF
  • Zach Braunagel defeats Schierl, 4-0

Nicholas Boykin, Second Place at Challenge GR 97kg

  • Boykin defeats George Sikes, 3-2
  • Boykin defeats Diante Cooper, Fall 1:24
  • Josef Rau defeats Boykin, 5-3
  • Boykin defeats Orndorff, 4-3

Tate Orndorff, Third Place at Challenge GR 97kg

  • Orndorff defeats Michael Altomer, 6-0
  • Rau defeats Orndorff, 5-1
  • Orndorff defeats Sikes, FF
  • Orndorff defeats Brandon Marshall, 9-0
  • Boykin defeats Orndorff, 4-3

Kollin Moore, Second Place at Challenge MFS 97kg

  • Moore defeats Nate Jackson, 16-6
  • Moore defeats J’den Cox, 2-2
  • Isaac Trimble defeats Moore, 11-1
  • Moore defeats Jackson, FF

Kyle Snyder, First Place at Finals MFS 97kg

  • Snyder defeats Trumble, 5-0
  • Snyder defeats Trumble, 4-0

Golf

The Ohio State men’s and women’s golf teams competed this past weekend with the men placing second at the Robert Kepler Invitational and the women placing sixth at the Big Ten Championships.

Jackson Chandler led the Ohio State men’s team at the Robert Kepler Invitational, an annual tournament the Buckeyes host on their Scarlet Course. A Dublin, Ohio, native, Chandler capped his collegiate career with a top-10 performance at the event, shooting 68-71-75 and finishing runner-up at 1-over. Adam Wallin (T9, 5-over), Patrick Schmuecking (T9, 5-over) and Maxwell Moldovan (T12, 6-over) accompanied Chandler in the top 15.

Ohio State also had seven other golfers compete at the Robert Kepler, including Topher Reed (T21, 6-over), Drew Mulcahy (T38, 11-over), Tyler Groomes (T47, 12-over), Jack Vojtko (T57, 13-over), Tyler Sabo (T57, 13-over), Neal Shipley (T64, 14-over) and Jacob Tarkany (T78, 16-over).

Indiana won the tournament with a team score of 19-over. Ohio State’s golfers combined to shoot 22-over, which placed them ahead of Purdue, Kent State, South Dakota State, Dayton, Northern Illinois, Colorado State and 10 other teams.

On the women’s side, Kary Hollenbaugh was the team’s best finisher at the conference championship, shooting 75-68-71 to finish in 10th place at 1-under. Faith Choi also performed well in the tournament, recording a 54-hole score of 2-over and placing 20th. Jillian Bourdage (T31, 5-over), Caley McGinty (T37, 7-over), Emily Hummer (T55, 13-over) and Kailie Vongsaga (T67, 16-over) rounded out the Buckeyes’ scores at the event.

Ohio State carded a team score of 8-over to finish sixth behind Indiana, Michigan State, Northwestern, Purdue and Michigan.

The Buckeyes’ performance in the Big Ten Tournament and the regular season qualified the program for the NCAA Regionals in two weeks. A selection show for the NCAA Regionals will occur Wednesday at 2 p.m. on the Golf Channel, and the various tournaments will occur from May 6 to May 8.

Softball

Ohio State infielder Kami Kortokrax is resilient.

In Ohio State’s 6-3 win over Maryland on Saturday, Kortokrax suffered multiple injuries after a foul ball struck her in the face. The Buckeyes’ medical staff acted swiftly and applied stitches to a wound that formed on Kortokrax’s nose. They also tested Kortokrax for a concussion and later took her to the Wexner Medical Center for a CAT scan. Both tests came back negative.

Cleared to perform in Ohio State’s Sunday game against Maryland, Kortokrax assumed her usual role as the Buckeyes’ shortstop. In her first at-bat of the afternoon, Kortokrax crushed a fastball over the right field fence, bringing a sell-out crowd of 1,641 to their feet.

Her home run provided two of Ohio State’s three runs on Sunday. The Buckeyes defeated the Terrapins, 3-2, to complete a series sweep and improve to 27-17 overall in 2024. Ohio State has an 8-9 record in Big Ten competition, which ranks ninth in the conference behind Northwestern, Michigan, Penn State, Indiana, Rutgers, Nebraska, Minnesota and Purdue.

Kortokrax and Ohio State return to action this weekend against Illinois. The Buckeyes will host the Illini from Friday to Sunday in their final regular-season home series of the season. The first two games of the series will be streamed on BTN+, and the series finale will be televised on BTN.

Other Results

  • Ohio State women's tennis team celebrated Senior Day with a 4-2 win over Illinois on Sunday. The Buckeyes closed the regular season 17-6 overall and ranked second in the Big Ten with a 10-1 record in conference competition. It was the fourth straight year Ohio State has lost one or fewer games in the league.
  • Ohio State women's lacrosse defeated Temple, 10-9, in Philadelphia on Sunday. The win helped the Buckeyes end the regular season 8-8 overall under first-year head coach Amanda Moore, who replaced Amy Bokker after the team went 5-12 in 2023.
  • Ohio State baseball dropped two of three games to Michigan over the weekend. It's one win made for a special Saturday afternoon, as the Buckeyes crushed the Wolverines 16-1 in Ann Arbor. Gavin Bruni was Ohio State's winning pitcher in the contest, while Zach Fjelstad, Henry Kaczmar, Josh Stevenson, Ryan Miller and Hunter Rosson all recorded multiple RBIs at the plate.
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