Wrestling: No. 8 Ohio State loses battle against No. 1 Penn State 32-7

Ben Rosenfeld
Sat, 05 Feb 2022 16:54:38 +0000
Sports, Wrestling, AJ Crews, Alex Flerlage, All-American, Andre Donzales, Anthony Echemendia, Big Ten, Brady Koontz, Bryce Hepner, Bryer Hall, Buckeyes, buckeyes wrestling, Cade Hepner, Carson Kharchla, Chase Liardi, Dylan D'Emilio, Dylan Koontz, Ethan Smith, Fritz Schierl, Gavin Bell, Gavin Hoffman, heavyweights, Hogan Swenski, Isaac Wilcox, J Jaggers, Jashon Hubbard, Jordan Decatur, Kaleb Romero, Kevon Freeman, Klay Reeves, Malik Heinselman [and 22 more]

Ohio State redshirt senior Ethan Smith wrestles against sophomore Thomas Schmitt during the Ohio State-Notre Dame College match Nov. 23, 2021. Ohio State won 51-0. Credit: Casey Smith | Assistant LTV Sports Producer

No. 8 Ohio State wrestling traveled to Penn State to take on the No. 1 Nittany Lions, falling 32-7 Friday.

Starting the night was No. 10? senior 125-pounder Malik Heinselman against Penn State’s No. 6 senior Drew Hildebrandt. Hildebrandt scored off an escape in the second period, giving him the 1-0 lead. In the third period, Hildebrandt secured riding time, leading to a 2-0 victory by way of decision.

Following the close match between Heinselman and Hildebrandt, redshirt junior Brady Koontz wrestled against the reigning 2021 NCAA champion, No. 1 senior Roman Bravo-Young. Bravo-Young scored multiple takedowns in the first period, giving him the 6-2 lead entering the second period. Early in the third period, Bravo-Young won by fall.

No. 20 redshirt sophomore 141-pounder Dylan D’Emilio also faced the reigning NCAA champion in his weight class, No. 1 senior Nick Lee. Lee pulled away in the third period, winning by way of Major Decision with a final score of 13-3.

No. 2 redshirt junior Sammy Sasso faced off against No. 18 sophomore Beau Bartlett in the 149-pound weight class. With an escape early in the second period, Sasso jumped in front. With a minute left in the third period, Bartlett scored a takedown off a reversal, making him lead 2-1. After an escape by Sasso, he also scored a takedown with only 7 seconds remaining, propelling him to a thrilling win by decision, 4-2.

After a last-second win by Sasso, sophomore 157-pounder Isaac Wilcox made his Big Ten debut, squaring off against sophomore Terrell Barraclough of Penn State in a match that went to sudden victory. With little time remaining in sudden victory, Barraclough scored a takedown, giving him the win with a final score of 4-2.

In the 165-pound weight class, redshirt junior Kevon Freeman also fell 2-0 in sudden victory, after a scoreless first three periods against junior Creighton Edsall.?

No. 7 redshirt senior Ethan Smith got the Buckeyes back in the win column with a 15-5 victory over junior Mason Manville in the 174-pound weight class.?

The Buckeyes couldn’t sustain that success for long, as redshirt junior 184-pounder Rocky Jordan fell 4-1 by fall to reigning NCAA champion junior Aaron Brooks.?

The losing continued as redshirt junior Gavin Hoffman couldn’t unseat No. 2 junior Max Dean in sudden victory in the 197-pound weight class. Dean took the win with a takedown to push the score to 5-3.?

The final match of the day saw No. 13 redshirt senior heavyweight Tate Orndorff fall 10-2 to No. 5 sophomore Greg Kervliet.?

The Buckeyes are now sitting at 6-3 with another dual meet at Rutgers scheduled for Sunday. The meet will be streamed on Big Ten Network Plus.?