No. 4 Ohio State wins six bouts on way to 22-13 win over No. 14 Minnesota in Minneapolis
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by Ohio State Athletics and Minnesota Athletics
Results graphic courtesy of @WrestlingBucks Twitter.
OHIO STATE PRESS RELEASE by Kyle Kuhlman
Marquee Bouts Captured by Buckeyes in 22-13 Team Victory
Ohio State hands Golden Gophers a home defeat
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Ohio State University wrestling team marched into the Maturi Pavilion and pillaged a 22-13 win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Three bouts featured a pair of top-10 competitors squaring off, all of which went in favor of the Scarlet & Gray.
According to the FloWrestling individual rankings utilized by the Big Ten Network, Minnesota was expected to win six of 10 bouts. Ohio State flipped the script, however, with a half dozen victors. The fourth-ranked (in the NWCA Coaches Poll) Buckeyes improve to 8-2, 4-1 B1G while No. 14 Minnesota drops to 7-5, 2-2 B1G despite a top-5 standing in FloWrestling’s tournament-based predictions.
Luke Pletcher, Kaleb Romero and Sammy Sasso were responsible for the top-10 triumphs while Ethan Smith, Jordan Decatur and Kollin Moore all accumulated bonus points over their unranked opposition.
The evening began at 157 pounds where No. 21 Ryan Thomas snuck past Elijah Cleary, 3-2. Smith immediately snagged the lead at 165 pounds though, fighting for bonus points from start to finish. He recorded takedown #1 right off the whistle to jumpstart the bout before rattling off three third-period takedowns for a 12-4 major decision.
Romero’s decision for a neutral start versus No. 7 Devin Skatzka out in Vegas last month didn’t pay off in a 1-0 setback. He came away without a takedown Sunday night after making the same decision in Period 2. Scoreless heading to the third period with Skatzka’s chance to start on bottom once again, the Twitter trolls emerged questioning Romero’s decision. The Mechanicsburg, Ohio native muted them in the end though, finishing off his patented blast double late in the period for the bout-winning takedown.
Minnesota then secured another one-point decision at 184 pounds, cutting the dual deficit to 7-6.
Moore did what Moore does at 197 pounds, banking more bonus points for his Buckeyes. He tech’d Hunter Ritter, 19-3, for his 16th bonus-point performance as a 20-0 senior.
Gopher wins in the next two bouts shifted the lead to Minnesota momentarily, 13-12. Ohio State then scored 10 unanswered to leave no doubt with three wins in a row. Decatur ignited the flurry by putting on a takedown clinic and disposing of Jake Gliva, 16-6.
Pletcher kept it coming at 141 pounds, moving his season record to 20-0. More than half (11) of those wins have come against top-25 adversaries, including Sunday’s 12-6 decision over No. 5 Mitch McKee. Pletcher fell behind 2-0 before securing 12 of the bout’s next 16 points.
Sasso provided an exclamation point, putting on quite an encore to his unseating of No. 1 Pat Lugo Friday night in Iowa City. Sasso once again flashed elite defensive prowess, fending off fourth-ranked Brayton Lee’s offensive advances. The pair of freshman phenoms are quite familiar with each other, splitting two previous collegiate folkstyle meetings (both 6-4 decisions) and clashing several times on the freestyle circuit. Sasso starred in the latest chapter, recording a dramatic 4-2 winner to close out the dual.
Two more conference clashes await next week, one at home and one on the road. Ohio State hots Maryland Friday (Jan. 31) night at 7 p.m. ET before venturing to Lincoln, Neb., to face the Cornhuskers Sunday (Feb. 2) at 1 p.m. ET.
No. 4 Ohio State 22, No. 14 Minnesota 13
157 lbs | No. 21 Ryan Thomas (MINN) def. Elijah Cleary (OSU) | D, 3-2; Team Score: 0-3
165 lbs | No. 12 Ethan Smith (OSU) def. Bailee O’Reilly (MINN) | MD, 12-4; TS: 4-3
174 lbs | No. 8 Kaleb Romero (OSU) def. No. 7 Devin Skatzka (MINN) | D, 2-1; TS: 7-3
184 lbs | No. 18 Owen Webster (MINN) def. No. 23 Rocky Jordan (OSU) | D, 5-4; TS: 7-6
197 lbs | No. 1 Kollin Moore (OSU) def. Hunter Ritter (MINN) | TF, 19-3; TS: 12-6
285 lbs | No. 1 Gable Steveson (MINN) def. Gary Traub (OSU) | MD, 13-2; TS: 12-10
125 lbs | No. 13 Patrick McKee (MINN) def. Malik Heinselman (OSU) | D, 5-1; TS: 12-13
133 lbs | No. 20 Jordan Decatur (OSU) def. Jake Gliva (MINN) | MD, 16-6; TS: 16-13
141 lbs | No. 1 Luke Pletcher (OSU) def. No. 5 Mitch McKee (MINN) | D, 12-6; TS: 19-13
149 lbs | No. 6 Sammy Sasso (OSU) def. No. 4 Brayton Lee (MINN) | D, 4-2; TS: 22-13
MINNESOTA PRESS RELEASE by Joshua Schmidt
Gophers Fall 22-13 to Buckeyes
● The Minnesota Wrestling program fell 22-13 to the Ohio State Buckeyes on Sunday night in Dinkytown.
● The Gophers won four bouts on the evening, including ranked victories by No.18 Owen Webster and No.1 Gable Steveson
● Minnesota natives Pat McKee (St. Michael), Owen Webster (Shakopee), and Gable Steveson (Apple Valley) all recorded key victories for the Gophers
MINNEAPOLIS - The Minnesota Wrestling program fell 22-13 to the Ohio State Buckeyes on Sunday night in Dinkytown. The Gophers got their hand raised in four bouts on the evening, including a pair of times against ranked opponents.
Ryan Thomas got the Gophers on the board to start the dual at 157-pounds in his Maturi Pavilion debut. Thomas needed only one takedown of Ohio State’s Elijah Cleary to get Minnesota on the board with an early three team points.
In a battle of ranked wrestlers No.18 Owen Webster took care of No.23 Rocky Jordan by 5-4 decision. Webster got on the board first with a takedown and turn for the early 4-0 lead. The Shakopee natives escape to begin the second period proved to be the difference as he earned team points for the Gophers.
Heavyweight Gable Steveson got the Gophers going straight out of the intermission with a dominant 13-2 major decision victory over No.23 Gary Traub. Steveson got a takedown less than ten seconds into the dual before pouring it on with takedowns and turns towards a bonus point victory.
Pat McKee followed Steveson’s victory with another of his own as he defeated Malik Heinselman 5-1 to give the Gophers their first lead since Thomas’ bout.
In the penultimate match of the night, No.1 Luke Pletcher and No.5 Mitch McKee put on a show for the fans. While McKee got the first takedown of the night, Pletcher stormed back with five more to confirm his top-ranking.
Of McKee’s three losses this season, two have come to Pletcher.
The final match of the evening featured No.4 Brayton Lee and No.6 Sammy Sasso meeting for the sixth time in the calendar year. With a late takedown, Sasso snapped Lee’s three-bout winning streak and took home the 4-2 victory.
Quotable
“It was a great dual, and one where we came up just short a few too many times,” head coach Brandon Eggum said. “We had a lot of great chances against a great team but couldn’t get it done tonight.”
Next Up
Minnesota hits the road next weekend to the Hooseir state where they will take on Purdue before preparing for a dual against the Indiana Hoosiers.
The Maroon and Gold return home for a February 9 dual against the Penn State Nittany Lions.
OHIO STATE PRESS RELEASE by Kyle Kuhlman
Marquee Bouts Captured by Buckeyes in 22-13 Team Victory
Ohio State hands Golden Gophers a home defeat
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Ohio State University wrestling team marched into the Maturi Pavilion and pillaged a 22-13 win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Three bouts featured a pair of top-10 competitors squaring off, all of which went in favor of the Scarlet & Gray.
According to the FloWrestling individual rankings utilized by the Big Ten Network, Minnesota was expected to win six of 10 bouts. Ohio State flipped the script, however, with a half dozen victors. The fourth-ranked (in the NWCA Coaches Poll) Buckeyes improve to 8-2, 4-1 B1G while No. 14 Minnesota drops to 7-5, 2-2 B1G despite a top-5 standing in FloWrestling’s tournament-based predictions.
Luke Pletcher, Kaleb Romero and Sammy Sasso were responsible for the top-10 triumphs while Ethan Smith, Jordan Decatur and Kollin Moore all accumulated bonus points over their unranked opposition.
The evening began at 157 pounds where No. 21 Ryan Thomas snuck past Elijah Cleary, 3-2. Smith immediately snagged the lead at 165 pounds though, fighting for bonus points from start to finish. He recorded takedown #1 right off the whistle to jumpstart the bout before rattling off three third-period takedowns for a 12-4 major decision.
Romero’s decision for a neutral start versus No. 7 Devin Skatzka out in Vegas last month didn’t pay off in a 1-0 setback. He came away without a takedown Sunday night after making the same decision in Period 2. Scoreless heading to the third period with Skatzka’s chance to start on bottom once again, the Twitter trolls emerged questioning Romero’s decision. The Mechanicsburg, Ohio native muted them in the end though, finishing off his patented blast double late in the period for the bout-winning takedown.
Minnesota then secured another one-point decision at 184 pounds, cutting the dual deficit to 7-6.
Moore did what Moore does at 197 pounds, banking more bonus points for his Buckeyes. He tech’d Hunter Ritter, 19-3, for his 16th bonus-point performance as a 20-0 senior.
Gopher wins in the next two bouts shifted the lead to Minnesota momentarily, 13-12. Ohio State then scored 10 unanswered to leave no doubt with three wins in a row. Decatur ignited the flurry by putting on a takedown clinic and disposing of Jake Gliva, 16-6.
Pletcher kept it coming at 141 pounds, moving his season record to 20-0. More than half (11) of those wins have come against top-25 adversaries, including Sunday’s 12-6 decision over No. 5 Mitch McKee. Pletcher fell behind 2-0 before securing 12 of the bout’s next 16 points.
Sasso provided an exclamation point, putting on quite an encore to his unseating of No. 1 Pat Lugo Friday night in Iowa City. Sasso once again flashed elite defensive prowess, fending off fourth-ranked Brayton Lee’s offensive advances. The pair of freshman phenoms are quite familiar with each other, splitting two previous collegiate folkstyle meetings (both 6-4 decisions) and clashing several times on the freestyle circuit. Sasso starred in the latest chapter, recording a dramatic 4-2 winner to close out the dual.
Two more conference clashes await next week, one at home and one on the road. Ohio State hots Maryland Friday (Jan. 31) night at 7 p.m. ET before venturing to Lincoln, Neb., to face the Cornhuskers Sunday (Feb. 2) at 1 p.m. ET.
No. 4 Ohio State 22, No. 14 Minnesota 13
157 lbs | No. 21 Ryan Thomas (MINN) def. Elijah Cleary (OSU) | D, 3-2; Team Score: 0-3
165 lbs | No. 12 Ethan Smith (OSU) def. Bailee O’Reilly (MINN) | MD, 12-4; TS: 4-3
174 lbs | No. 8 Kaleb Romero (OSU) def. No. 7 Devin Skatzka (MINN) | D, 2-1; TS: 7-3
184 lbs | No. 18 Owen Webster (MINN) def. No. 23 Rocky Jordan (OSU) | D, 5-4; TS: 7-6
197 lbs | No. 1 Kollin Moore (OSU) def. Hunter Ritter (MINN) | TF, 19-3; TS: 12-6
285 lbs | No. 1 Gable Steveson (MINN) def. Gary Traub (OSU) | MD, 13-2; TS: 12-10
125 lbs | No. 13 Patrick McKee (MINN) def. Malik Heinselman (OSU) | D, 5-1; TS: 12-13
133 lbs | No. 20 Jordan Decatur (OSU) def. Jake Gliva (MINN) | MD, 16-6; TS: 16-13
141 lbs | No. 1 Luke Pletcher (OSU) def. No. 5 Mitch McKee (MINN) | D, 12-6; TS: 19-13
149 lbs | No. 6 Sammy Sasso (OSU) def. No. 4 Brayton Lee (MINN) | D, 4-2; TS: 22-13
MINNESOTA PRESS RELEASE by Joshua Schmidt
Gophers Fall 22-13 to Buckeyes
● The Minnesota Wrestling program fell 22-13 to the Ohio State Buckeyes on Sunday night in Dinkytown.
● The Gophers won four bouts on the evening, including ranked victories by No.18 Owen Webster and No.1 Gable Steveson
● Minnesota natives Pat McKee (St. Michael), Owen Webster (Shakopee), and Gable Steveson (Apple Valley) all recorded key victories for the Gophers
MINNEAPOLIS - The Minnesota Wrestling program fell 22-13 to the Ohio State Buckeyes on Sunday night in Dinkytown. The Gophers got their hand raised in four bouts on the evening, including a pair of times against ranked opponents.
Ryan Thomas got the Gophers on the board to start the dual at 157-pounds in his Maturi Pavilion debut. Thomas needed only one takedown of Ohio State’s Elijah Cleary to get Minnesota on the board with an early three team points.
In a battle of ranked wrestlers No.18 Owen Webster took care of No.23 Rocky Jordan by 5-4 decision. Webster got on the board first with a takedown and turn for the early 4-0 lead. The Shakopee natives escape to begin the second period proved to be the difference as he earned team points for the Gophers.
Heavyweight Gable Steveson got the Gophers going straight out of the intermission with a dominant 13-2 major decision victory over No.23 Gary Traub. Steveson got a takedown less than ten seconds into the dual before pouring it on with takedowns and turns towards a bonus point victory.
Pat McKee followed Steveson’s victory with another of his own as he defeated Malik Heinselman 5-1 to give the Gophers their first lead since Thomas’ bout.
In the penultimate match of the night, No.1 Luke Pletcher and No.5 Mitch McKee put on a show for the fans. While McKee got the first takedown of the night, Pletcher stormed back with five more to confirm his top-ranking.
Of McKee’s three losses this season, two have come to Pletcher.
The final match of the evening featured No.4 Brayton Lee and No.6 Sammy Sasso meeting for the sixth time in the calendar year. With a late takedown, Sasso snapped Lee’s three-bout winning streak and took home the 4-2 victory.
Quotable
“It was a great dual, and one where we came up just short a few too many times,” head coach Brandon Eggum said. “We had a lot of great chances against a great team but couldn’t get it done tonight.”
Next Up
Minnesota hits the road next weekend to the Hooseir state where they will take on Purdue before preparing for a dual against the Indiana Hoosiers.
The Maroon and Gold return home for a February 9 dual against the Penn State Nittany Lions.
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