Things went almost as well as they could have gone for the Buckeyes in the second session of the Big Ten tournament, as seven wrestlers won their semifinal matches and will wrestle for Big Ten championships Sunday afternoon.
Led by a pin from Micah Jordan over top-seeded Michael Kemerer of Iowa, the Buckeyes opened up a 13.5-point lead over Penn State. With defending NCAA champion Jason Nolf medically-defaulting the remainder of the tournament, things set up nicely for the Buckeyes to win their second-consecutive conference crown, and their third title in the past four years.
| Team | Points | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | OHIO STATE | 137.5 |
| 2 | PENN STATE | 124.0 |
| 3 | MICHIGAN | 100.0 |
| 4 | IOWA | 78.0 |
| 5 | MINNESOTA | 57.0 |
If Jordan's pin of Kemerer was the highlight of the round, his brother's loss by pin to No. 3 Myles Amine of Michigan was the lowlight. Jordan, who is one of the strongest wrestlers in the 174-pound class, got caught out of position late in the match and Amine capitalized.
Ke-Shawn Hayes, in a not unexpected result, lost to No. 1 Zain Retherford, the defending NCAA champion and Hodge Trophy winner. Hayes did his part to help the team, however, holding Retherford to a major decision; Retherford has failed to score a pin yet in the tournament.
The semifinals were full of fireworks from top to bottom. Nathan Tomasello got action started off on a high note, avenging his only loss of the season in a 2-1 decision over No. 2 Spencer Lee of Iowa.
With Nick Suriano's medical forfeiture in the top half of the bracket (something he's done two years in a row), Tomasello will face Ethan Lizak for his shot at a fourth Big Ten title.
Luke Pletcher, known for his one-point decisions, looked like he was going to grind out another narrow decision over Mitch McKee of Minnesota... or perhaps get burned when McKee took the lead. Instead, Pletcher notched a monster takedown to even the score and force Sudden Victory, where he went aggressive from the outset and earned the victory.
Joey McKenna continued to impress, dominating Purdue's Nate Limmex in a 6-0 decision. Though only a decision, McKenna controlled the match from the outset, accumulating buckets of riding time in the process.
Myles Martin and Kollin Moore each earned decisions over Michigan wrestlers, punching their tickets into the Big Ten finals.
In the final match of the evening for the Buckeyes, heavyweight Kyle Snyder squared off against Penn State's Nick Nevills. Much like the last time the two met, Nevills started strong and took his shots, but Snyder was too much, and he cruised to the 14-5 major decision.
On the other mat, Michigan's Adam Coon pinned Iowa heavyweight Sam Stoll, setting up the rematch of Snyder's only NCAA loss of the past three seasons.
In the team race, Ohio State appears to be in the drivers seat, holding a 13.5-point lead over Penn State. With Jason Nolf out of action, Penn State has five combatants in the finals to Ohio State's seven. The Nittany Lions have wrestlers in the consolation brackets yet, so bonus points could still play a factor in how the teams finish.
| Wt | Result | Team Points |
|---|---|---|
| 125 | No. 3 Nathan Tomasello, decision over No. 2 Spencer Lee (Iowa), 2-1 | 1.0 |
| 133 | No. 2 Luke Pletcher, decision over No. 3 Mitch McKee (Minnesota), 6-4 in SV-1 | 1.0 |
| 141 | No. 1 Joey McKenna, decision over No. 5 Nate Limmex (Purdue), 6-0 | 1.0 |
| 149 | No. 1 Zain Retherford (Penn State), major decision over No. 5 Ke-Shawn Hayes, 10-0 | 0.0 |
| 157 | No. 4 Micah Jordan, victory by FALL over No. 1 Michael Kemerer (Iowa), 5:48 | 3.0 |
| 174 | No. 3 Myles Amine (Michigan), victory by FALL over No. 2 Bo Jordan, 5:30 | 0.0 |
| 184 | No. 2 Myles Martin, decision over No. 3 Domenic Abounader (Michigan), 7-3 | 1.0 |
| 197 | No. 1 Kollin Moore, decision over No. 4 Kevin Beazley (Michigan), 5-3 | 1.0 |
| HWT | No. 2 Kyle Snyder, major decision over No. 3 Nick Nevills (Penn State), 14-5 | 2.0 |
Session 3 of the Big Ten Tournament gets underway at noon Sunday, featuring consolation round matches for Ke-Shawn Hayes and Bo Jordan. Championship-round matches will air live on Big Ten Network at 3 p.m.
