It was a clean sweep for the Buckeyes in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, as all 10 wrestlers won their first match of the day and advance to Friday night's Round of 16.
Senior Nathan Tomasello, in front of a hometown crowd, got the team off to a strong start with a first-period pin. Announced attendance at Quicken Loans Arena for the session was 18,660, and NaTo had them on their feet with an impressive opening bout.
Joey McKenna nearly followed suit, settling for a tech fall loaded with back points, and Myles Martin went full tilt, scoring 24 points in a tech fall of his own.
| Team | Points | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | IOWA | 18.5 |
| 2 | OHIO STATE | 17.0 |
| 3 | PENN STATE | 16.0 |
| 4 | MICHIGAN | 13.0 |
| 5 | NC STATE | 12.0 |
Kyle Snyder and Micah Jordan each added bonus points with their major decisions.
Of the team's five wins by decision, Luke Pletcher wrestled a prototypical Luke Pletcher match, winning 2-1. Bo Jordan and Ke-Shawn Hayes both took extra periods to seal their victories, and Kollin Moore seemed to be on the verge of an upset late in the third period before ultimately putting his opponent on the mat with a fifth takedown.
Te'Shan Campbell showed as much fight as he's shown in recent months, picking up a decision and advancement points that the Buckeyes wanted badly.
In the team race, Iowa exploded with a boatload of bonus points, and lead the standings by a 1.5 point margin. Penn State saw its first two wrestlers pinned, potentially upending their plans for the team race, but their defending champions held serve and poured on their own bonus points to trail the Buckeyes by a single point after the first round.
| Wt | Result | Team Points |
|---|---|---|
| 125 | No. 2 Nathan Tomasello, victory by FALL over Gabe Townsell (Stanford), 2:19 | 3.0 |
| 133 | No. 3 Luke Pletcher, decision over Mason Pengilly (Stanford), 2-1 | 1.0 |
| 141 | No. 4 Joey McKenna, victory by TECH FALL over Alex Madrigal (Old Dominion), 16-1 | 2.5 |
| 149 | No. 5 Ke-Shawn Hayes, decision over Malik Amine (Michigan), TB-1 6-5 | 1.0 |
| 157 | No. 7 Micah Jordan, major decision over Luke Weiland (Army), 14-5 | 2.0 |
| 165 | No. 13 Te'Shan Campbell, decision over Dwaylon Barnes (Oklahoma), 4-2 | 1.0 |
| 174 | No. 6 Bo Jordan, decision over Brandon Womack (Cornell), SV-1 4-2 | 1.0 |
| 184 | No. 2 Myles Martin, victory by TECH FALL over Bryce Gorman (Northern Illinois), 24-9 | 2.5 |
| 197 | No. 1 Kollin Moore, decision over Tanner Orndorff (Utah Valley), 12-8 | 1.0 |
| HWT | No. 1 Kyle Snyder, major decision over Ryan Soloman (Pitt), 15-5 | 2.0 |
All 10 Buckeyes will be in action during Session II, which kicks off at 7 p.m.
