The No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes traveled to Minneapolis to take on the No. 5 Minnesota Golden Gophers in one of the most anticipated wrestling duals of the season so far, and it did not disappoint. The Buckeyes were coming off a 26-10 loss to Iowa on Friday. There’s no shame in that, though, as Iowa is far and away the No. 1 team in the country right now. The Buckeyes showed in Minneapolis on Sunday night that they are not far behind, though.
The dual meet started at 157 pounds, because the 141- and 149-pound matches were expected to be the two best of the night–a decision that obviously turned out to be the correct one. Elijah Clearly of Ohio State couldn’t find a way past the defenses of Ryan Thomas, and lost a very close match. Cleary definitely has potential at 157, though his lack of positive results so far has to be a bit concerning as the season moves on.
Following that, Ethan Smith picked up a Major Decision and a team bonus point with a late takedown, while Kaleb Romero picked up a 2-1 win over Devin Skatzka with a late takedown of his own. The Buckeye came out with an important win in a Top 10 battle, something that will definitely be a big boost to his ranking and eventual NCAA seeding.
184 pounds looked like the potential weak spot in the lineup for Ohio State early in the season, but Rocky Jordan seems to have found his place in the lineup. He lost a very tight battle to No. 18 Owen Webster of Minnesota–getting turned for two back points early in the match was just barely too much to overcome–but the way he fought against a strong ranked wrestler shows that he should be fine for Ohio State in that slot when the NCAA tournament rolls around.
Kollin Moore earned a seemingly-routine Tech Fall to give Ohio State a 12-6 team score lead, and “Gas Tank” Gary Traub managed to keep his heavyweight match against prohibitive No. 1 Gable Steveson to just a Major Decision. At the time, that was big in the team score, though later matches would show it wasn’t quite necessary.
Minnesota took the team lead after Patrick McKee defeated Malik Heinselman at 125 pounds, but the Buckeyes wouldn’t lose another match from there. Jordan Decatur picked up some much-needed momentum with a strong Major Decision victory. Decatur had lost four matches in a row–and while all four were close matches against Top 10 wrestlers, consistently losing is never good for an athlete’s psyche.
No. 1 (141 pounds) Luke Pletcher gave up an early takedown to No. 5 Mitch McKee, but the Buckeye controlled the match from there for a solid victory. And, finally, Sammy Sasso followed his Friday upset of No. 1 Pat Lugo with a victory over No. 4 Brayton Lee, capped by a late takedown for the win.
Next… Season Outlook
With under two months remaining until the NCAA tournament, the Buckeyes are right back where they have been for the past four years–a strong contender for No. 2, but they’ll need some help to take No. 1. The Buckeyes have improved their lineup all season, and are a very clear No. 3 right behind Iowa and Penn State right now. Ohio State will travel to face Penn State to close the regular season two weeks from Saturday, while Iowa and Penn State will have a blockbuster dual meet this Friday night.
(Yes, Ohio State did lose a dual to undefeated Virginia Tech early in the season. But the Ohio State lineup is much better now than it was then those two schools met.)
The Buckeyes have serious National Championship contenders at three weight classes right now. Kollin Moore is a strong favorite at 197 pounds, while Luke Pletcher is the favorite at 141 pounds, though close trailed by Penn State’s Nick Lee. Sammy Sasso, after his two Top 5 wins this weekend, should move up to No. 1 or No. 2 at 149 pounds and will be a serious contender in March.
After that, Ohio State has potential contenders to go deep in five more weight classes. Kaleb Romero can beat almost anyone at 174 pounds, and should be favored to earn a Top 8 finish and All-American status. Ethan Smith has lost a lot of tight battles to top wrestlers at 165 pounds, but with the right draw at the NCAAs, he could put up some serious team points. The same is true for Jordan Decatur at 133 pounds. Decatur just burned his redshirt and clearly needs a bit of work–as almost all freshmen do–but he can hang with the best already, and he has two months to improve. Similarly, Rocky Jordan and Gary Traub can both compete well, and they should be able to earn the Buckeyes some team points at the NCAAs.
That just leaves 125 and 157 pounds as the potential problems for Ohio State. Malik Heinselman qualified for the NCAAs last year, and he’s clearly talented. He has had a lot of trouble winning matches this year, as he just does not seem to have the strength to finish his shots and earn points. Elijah Cleary is in a little bit of a better stead at 157 pounds, but he’s not a top-level wrestler like the eight Buckeye starters above. Quinn Kinner is moving up to that weight class, though, and Cleary is a talented competitor. Ke-Shawn Hayes will also likely return from injury at some point. The Buckeyes have options at 157 and definite possibility for improvement, but for now it’s one of the weaker two weight classes.
