Ohio State Wrestling hosted Rutgers Sunday afternoon at the Covelli Center for their home opener. Rutgers came into the match ranked No. 17 with a 0-1 record. Rutgers lost to Michigan by a team score of 26-10 on January 8th. Ohio State came into the match ranked No. 11 with a 1-1 record. Ohio State won 6/10 matches on their way to a 19-14 team victory improving their season record to 2-1. For match by match details please read below.
125 Pounds: No. 16 Malik Heinselman (2-0) versus No. 22 Nicolas Aguilar (0-1)
- Heinselman came into this match looking to avenge a previous loss. Last season, Aguilar defeated Heinselman by a 14-1 major decision. Heinselman started the match with two quick takedowns followed by two escapes from Aguilar making the score 4-2 at the end of the first period. Aguilar chose to go down to start the second period and was able to escape making the score 4-3 Heinselman. Both wrestlers traded shot attempts until the end of the period when Heinselman scored a takedown at the edge of the mat as time expired. The call was reviewed but the takedown was upheld making the score 6-3 to end the second period. Heinselman chose to go down to start the third period quickly escaping which increased his lead to 7-3. Heinselman was able to score one more takedown before the end of the third period making the final score a 10-4 decision with riding time for Heinselman. Heinselman’s decision made the team score 3-0 Ohio State.
133 Pounds: Jordan Decatur (1-1) versus No. 6 Sammy Alvarez (0-0)
- Decatur started the match aggressive scoring the first takedown of the match. Alvarez was able to put himself in a good position from the bottom scoring a reversal, tying the match 2-2 to end the first period. Alvarez chose to go down to start the second period and was able to escape from Decatur making the score 3-2 Alvarez. Both wrestlers got into a scramble but Alvarez was able to get the better of Decatur scoring a danger zone takedown. A danger zone takedown is when a wrestler is in a neutral position and a wrestler exposes their shoulders to the mat at any angle less than 90 degrees for a 3 count from the referee. Decatur remained in this position which then led to 4 near fall points for Alvarez making the score 9-2 Alvarez to end the second period. Decatur chose to go neutral to start the third period. Alvarez was able to get back to his offense taking Decatur down making the score 11-2. Alvarez rode Decatur out for the rest of the match but was called for a penalty point for an illegal return making the score 11-3. Alvarez was unfazed by this because he then got two near fall points making the final score a 14-3 major decision. Alvarez’s major decision made the team score 4-3 Rutgers.
141 Pounds: Dylan D’Emilio (0-1) versus No. 1 Sebastian Rivera (1-0)
- The first period belonged solely to Rivera, scoring two takedowns and over 1 minute of riding time making the score 4-1 at the end of the first period. D’Emilio chose to go down to start the second period and was able to escape making the score 4-2. Rivera scored one more takedown this period and accrued 3 minutes of riding time making the score 6-2 to end the second period. Rivera chose to go down to start the third period, quickly escaping increasing his lead to 7-2. D’Emilio was hit with two consecutive stalling calls resulting in a penalty point for Rivera. Rivera was able to end the match with one more takedown and ride out to make the final score an 11-2 major decision for Rivera. Rivera’s major decision made the team score 8-3 Rutgers.
149 Pounds: No. 2 Sammy Sasso (2-0) versus Michael Van Brill (0-1)
- Van Brill started the match out quickly getting to Sasso’s legs for a takedown. Van Brill was able to accrue over one minute of riding time but Sasso was working himself into position for a reversal tying the match at 2-2. Sasso rode Van Brill long enough to erase some of Van Brill’s riding time but ultimately Van Brill escaped making the score 3-2 Van Brill to end the first period. Van Brill started the second period on bottom and was able to escape increasing his lead to 4-2. Sasso got back to his offense scoring a takedown and two near fall points making the score 6-4 to end the second period. Sasso chose to go down to start the third period and scored a reversal increasing his lead to 8-4. Van Brill escaped but Sasso was able to score one final takedown making the final score an 11-5 decision for Sasso with riding time. Sasso’s decision made the team score 8-6 Rutgers.
157 Pounds: Elijah Cleary (1-1) versus Robert Kanniard (0-1)
- There was very little action in the first period but Cleary was able to break through Kanniard’s defense scoring a takedown. Cleary was unable to ride Kanniard for long making the score 2-1 Cleary at the end of the first period. Cleary chose to go down to start the second period. Cleary quickly escaped increasing his lead to 3-1. Kanniard was able to score a takedown of his own tying the match 3-3 but Cleary was quickly able to score a reversal taking the lead 5-3. Kanniard scored an escape with only seconds left in the second period making the score 5-4 Cleary. Kanniard chose to go down to start the third period. Kanniard quickly escaped tying the match at 5-5. Neither wrestler was able to score the rest of the period so the match headed to sudden victory where the first score wins. In the first sudden victory both wrestlers start on their feet in a neutral position. Within second of sudden victory starting Kanniard got to Cleary’s legs scoring the deciding takedown. Kanniard’s 7-5 decision over Cleary made the team score 11-6 Rutgers.
165 Pounds: No. 20 Ethan Smith (1-1) versus Brett Donner (0-1)
- The match started out with a quick stall for Donner for failing to circle to the center of the mat. Smith quickly got to his offense scoring a takedown. Smith allowed Donner to escape making the score 2-1 Smith. Donner was then hit with his second stalling making the score 3-1. Smith score another takedown and rideout making the score 5-1 to end the first period. Donner started the second period on bottom. Donner was able to quickly escape but Smith scored another takedown making the score 7-3 after Donner escaped. Donner was then hit with another stalling making the score 8-3 to end the second period. Smith chose to go down to start the third period. Smith escaped increasing his lead to 9-3. Smith went back to his offense looking for a major but was unable to score making the final score 10-3 with riding time. Smith’s decision made the team score 11-9 Rutgers.
174 Pounds: No. 3 Kaleb Romero (2-0) versus No. 24 Joe Grello (0-1)
- The first period was all Kaleb Romero with 3 takedowns making the score 6-2 to end the first period. Grello chose to go down to start the second period and Romero was able to accrue over 1 minute of riding time before Grello escaped making the score 6-3. Romero was able to score one more takedown before time expired making the score 8-3 to end the second period. Romero chose to go neutral to start the third period and was able to quickly take Grello down. Grello was able to escape but Romero was right back to his offense scoring another takedown making the score 12-4 Romero. Romero allowed Grello to escape one final time but quickly took him back down making the final score a 15-5 major decision with riding time. Romero’s major decision made the team score 13-11 Ohio State.
184 Pounds: No. 11 Rocky Jordan (1-1) versus John Poznanski (1-0)
- The two wrestlers traded takedowns and escapes in the first period making the score 3-3 after the first period. Jordan chose to go down to start the second period. Jordan was able to escape but Poznanski was able to get back to Jordan’s legs for another takedown. This time Jordan was unable to escape making the score 5-4 Poznanski to end the second period. Poznanski chose to go down to start the third period. Poznanski quickly escaped making the score 6-4. Jordan quickly got to his offense tying the match at 6-6 with a takedown. Poznanski was able to escape making the score 7-6 in his favor. Jordan shot for Poznanski’s legs but missed leading to an easy takedown for Poznanski. This made the final score a 9-6 decision for Poznanski. This made the team score 14-13 Rutgers.
197 Pounds: Gavin Hoffman(1-1) versus No. 14 Billy Janzer
- Both wrestlers had multiple deep shots in the first period but neither was able to score a takedown ending the first period 0-0. Janzer chose to go down to start the second period. Janzer was able to quickly escape making the score 1-0 in his favor. Hoffman was able to score a takedown but Janzer quickly escaped tying the match at 2-2 to end the second period. Hoffman chose to go down to start the third period. Hoffman was able to escape and this ended up being the deciding point in the match making the final score a 3-2 decision for Hoffman. Hoffman’s big win made the team score 16-14 Ohio State going into the final and deciding match.
HWT: No. 8 Tate Orndorff (0-2) versus Christian Colucci (0-1)
- There was very little actions as both wrestlers battled for upper body control. The first period ended 0-0. Colucci chose to go down to start the second period. Colucci was able to escape taking the lead 1-0. Colucci was then hit with a stalling warning for fleeing. There was no more action in the second period ended 1-0. Orndorff chose to go down to start the third period. Orndorff was able to escape tying the match at 1-1. Colucci was then hit with his second stalling making the score 2-1 Orndorff. Orndorff was able to get to his offense scoring the only takedown in the match but Colucci quickly escaped making the final score 4-2 Orndorff. Orndorff’s decision made the final team score 19-14 Ohio State.
Ohio State came away with a ranked win today but can this team overcome the challenge of having a shortened offseason along with multiple new faces in the lineup? I believe so but there may be some growing pains along the way.
Written By: Brandon Dodson
Follow me @RecruitingBucks
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