OSU hopes for more March magic
Two years ago, the Ohio State wrestling team struggled at times in the regular season but then produced the greatest March in the program’s history.
The Buckeyes finished the 2015 regular season 13-4 with their four losses by a total of nine points before rallying to win their first Big Ten championship (splitting it with Iowa) since 1951.
OSU capped off that March by winning its first team national championship.
The Buckeyes (11-3) enter today’s two-day Big Ten tournament at Indiana in similar position with the same lofty goals. They’re ranked No. 6 nationally after going 3-3 in their final six dual matches.
“I think this is the first time all year we’ll have all 10 starters in the lineup,” coach Tom Ryan said. “I feel great about this team. I feel as good about this team as any team I’ve coached.”
The Buckeyes have three wrestlers who have won national championships in Kyle Snyder, Nathan Tomasello and Myles Martin. Snyder is the reigning Olympic and world champion in freestyle.
OSU also has a Big Ten No. 1 seed in junior Bo Jordan (11-1). He has moved up one weight class to 174 pounds after two injury-filled seasons ended in league runner-up finishes to his cousin Isaac Jordan of Wisconsin.
And the Buckeyes have a No. 2 seed in redshirt freshman Kollin Moore (24-3) at 197 pounds.
So Ohio State, featuring no senior starters, has a strong core led by top seeds in Snyder (9-0), the defending NCAA heavyweight champion, and Tomasello, who is 16-0 this season at 133 after wrestling the previous two years at 125.
“We have a nucleus of guys we can really lean on, but it won’t be enough,” Ryan said. “We’re going to need some, not heroic performances, but some really good performances to win the Big Ten. Penn State has proven this year that they’re a notch above everybody else.”
Defending national champion Penn State easily defeated the Buckeyes 32-12 in a Feb. 3 dual match that drew an Ohio Staterecord crowd of 15,338 to Value City Arena. That loss came one week after OSU fell 21-13 at Iowa.
To reverse their fortune this weekend, the Buckeyes will be looking for strong performances from their No. 4 seeds in Martin — who is 23-6 since moving up to 184 from the 174-pound national title he won last year — and Micah Jordan (25-2) at 149 pounds.
OSU will also need contributions from No. 5 seed Luke Pletcher (23-4 at 141) and the trio of low seeds Jose Rodriguez (12-8 at 125) and Jake Ryan (10-8 at 157), as well as unseeded Cody Burcher (15-12 at 165).
“If we get a good weekend from them, it’ll be real interesting,” Ryan said. “We have guys who are certainly capable of being the difference for us.”
Tomasello, for one, believes the magic of 2015 can be rekindled by this team.
“It kind of feels like a similar road to when we won nationals,” said Tomasello, the 2015 national champion at 125. “There were high expectations on us going into the season, but now I don’t think there’s a lot of pressure on us. I feel like Penn State has a lot of pressure on them because they’ve done really well this year. We’re kind of in the underdog role, which I like.”
No. 1-ranked Mikael Torpegaard beat No. 44 Josh Hagar 6-2, 6-1 to lead No. 1 Ohio State to a 7-0 victory over visiting Notre Dame. The Buckeyes improved to 15-1 and the Fighting Irish fell to 8-4.
Men's hockey
Ohio State couldn't
Tyler Cowles hit a two- run homer to provide both of the Buckeyes' runs, and Ohio State ( 3- 6) managed only one other hit in a 7- 2 loss to Campbell ( 5- 3) in Buies Creek, North Carolina.