Iowa wins final four bouts to top Ohio State 18-14 in Columbus

Iowa's Mike Evans defeated Ohio State's Mark Martin 5-2 at 174 pounds on Sunday.

The top-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes (7-0, 3-0) survived a scare in Columbus, winning the final four bouts of the dual to defeat Ohio State (4-3, 0-1) 18-14 in front of 6,558 fans at a raucous St. John Arena Sunday afternoon.


With several key starters returning to the lineup and Ohio State head football coach Urban Meyer on the bench as an honorary coach fresh after his team secured a spot in the College Football National Championship game, the Buckeyes appeared primed as ever to take on the undefeated Hawkeyes.


The dual opened with a thrilling 125-pound bout between No. 4 Thomas Gilman and No. 8 Nathan Tomasello that went into overtime. After scoring an escape, Gilman would ride out Tomasello in the first tiebreaker to take the bout 2-1, opening up a 3-0 lead for Iowa.


No. 9 Johnni DiJulius got the hometown crowd going, scoring an impressive upset win at 133 pounds over talented Hawkeye sophomore, No. 4 Cory Clark, 7-5. DiJulius lead 6-1 heading into the third period of the match.


Three-time NCAA Champion and top-ranked wrestler at 141 pounds Logan Stieber continued his dominating senior campaign with a 15-0 technical fall victory over No. 6 Josh Dziewa to put Ohio State in front 8-3.


The upset train kept rolling as redshirt freshman No. 10 Brandon Sorensen took out two-time All-American No. 5 Hunter Stieber in a wild 9-7 match at 149 pounds.


Ohio State would increase its lead to 14-6 winning the next two bouts, with No. 6 Josh Demas defeating Michael Kelly 5-2 at 157 pounds and No. 8 Bo Jordan taking out No. 7 Nick Moore 9-2 at 165 pounds.


The remainder of the dual would be all Iowa.


No. 2 Mike Evans, No. 7 Sammy Brooks, No. 6 Nathan Burak and No. 3 Bobby Telford all secured decision wins over ranked Buckeye opponents to complete the comeback and keep Iowa’s undefeated season intact.


"It came down to the wire and it came down to us or them," said Iowa head coach Tom Brands. "We won six, but they had a guy score big bonus points. We want to score points the entire match. We want to put points on the board."


The win gives Iowa its third big victory this week as The Hawkeyes won the 52nd Ken Kraft Midlands Championship last Tuesday followed by defeating No. 23 Rutgers 27-9 on Friday.


The loss marks Ohio State’s second consecutive and third overall defeat on the season after previous criteria losses to Virginia Tech and Missouri.


Buckeye head coach Tom Ryan is still optimistic about the Buckeye’s ability to overcome these early season struggles.


“We need to stick together and lean on each other, hold each other accountable, work harder. Most problems in life can be fixed with working harder. Every man has the same demons; those who conquer them go on to big things, those who don't lose by a point. Overall I'm happy though,” Ryan said.


Both teams are slated to compete on Jan. 11 in premier duals with Iowa taking on No. 8 Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla. and Ohio State facing the four-time defending NCAA Champions, No. 4 Penn State in Columbus, Ohio.

No. 1 Iowa 18 - No. 7 Ohio State 14

Sunday, Jan. 4, 2015 in Columbus, Ohio


125: No. 4 Thomas Gilman (Iowa) dec No. 8 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State), 2-1 SV1

133: No. 9 Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State) dec No. 4 Cory Clark (Iowa), 7-5

141: No. 1 Logan Stieber (Ohio State) tech No. 6 Josh Dziewa (Iowa), 15-0

149: No. 10 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) dec No. 5 Hunter Stieber (Ohio State), 9-7

157: No. 6 Josh Demas (Ohio State) dec Michael Kelly (Iowa), 5-2

165: No. 8 Bo Jordan (Ohio State) dec No. 7 Nick Moore (Iowa), 9-2

174: No. 2 Mike Evans (Iowa) dec No. 11 Mark Martin (Ohio State), 5-2

184: No. 7 Sammy Brooks (Iowa) dec No. 14 Kenny Courts (Ohio State), 3-2

197: No. 6 Nathan Burak (Iowa) dec No. 7 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State), 2-1

285: No. 3 Bobby Telford (Iowa) dec No. 13 Nick Tavanello (Ohio State), 4-0