Wrestling: No. 8 Ohio State holds onto 24-14 win at No. 14 Minnesota

Ben Rosenfeld
Sat, 12 Feb 2022 16:37:09 +0000
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Ohio State Senior Malik Heinselman wrestles against sophomore Jake Arnold during the Ohio State-Notre Dame College match Nov. 23, 2021. Ohio State won 51-0. Credit: Casey Smith | Assistant LTV Sports Producer

The No. 8 Buckeyes battled at No. 14 Minnesota Friday, winning the dual meet 24-14.

No. 11 senior Malik Heinselman started the night for the Buckeyes, facing No. 9 redshirt junior Patrick McKee in the 125-pound weight class. The match led off by a takedown from Heinselman, quickly followed by a McKee escape, giving Heinselman the 2-1 lead entering the second period.

An escape and takedown by Heinselman in the second period was accompanied by an escape by McKee, putting the bout at a score of 5-2 into the third period. Another escape by McKee moved the score to 5-3, which Heinselman quickly responded to with a takedown.

McKee earned an escape and a takedown himself, bringing the match to a score of 7-6. Heinselman wasn’t done, though, as he tacked on another takedown and escape, giving him the 10-6 victory by decision.

Wrestling next was redshirt junior 133-pounder Brady Koontz versus No. 29 redshirt junior Jake Gliva. Scoreless through the first period, Gliva got on the board early in the second with an escape followed by a penalty point and a takedown, giving him the 4-0 lead into the third period. Koontz earned an escape in the third period, but it wasn’t enough as Gliva won 4-1 by decision.

In an exciting matchup in the 141-pound weight class, No. 20 redshirt sophomore Dylan D’Emilio faced off against No. 15 redshirt senior Jake Bergeland. D’Emilio got on the board quickly with a takedown in the first period.

Late in the first period, Bergeland earned an escape to bring the score to 2-1 entering the second period. D’Emilio earned the sole escape, extending his lead to 3-1 into the third period. D’Emilio won by fall with a pin in the third.

Following D’Emilio‘s performance, No. 2 redshirt junior Sammy Sasso squared off against No. 30 redshirt junior Michael Blockhus in the 149-pound weight class. Sasso struck first with a takedown, giving him the 2-0 edge early in the first period.

Blockhus earned an escape, making the score 2-1. Sasso earned another takedown, followed by a near fall, extending his lead to 8-1 entering the second period. An escape and a takedown by Blockhus narrowed the score to 8-4, and was followed by an escape by Sasso to move the score to 9-4 into the third period.

Sasso added another escape in the third period, giving him the 10-4 win by decision. With that win, Sasso has 31-consecutive dual meet victories.

In the 157-pound weight class, Sophomore Isaac Wilcox won by injury default early in the first period against No. 4 redshirt junior Brayton Lee.

After the halftime break, No. 4 redshirt sophomore Carson Kharchla faced redshirt sophomore Cael Carlson in the 165-pound weight class. Kharchla took the early lead with three takedowns in the first, giving him the 6-3 lead entering the second period.

The score narrowed to 6-4 before entering the third period. With just a few seconds left in the bout, Carlson earned a takedown, bringing the match to a 7-6 score. Kharchla held onto his lead, earning one more point from an escape and won the bout by decision 8-6.

No. 7 redshirt senior 174-pounder Ethan Smith squared off against No. 18 redshirt senior Bailee O’Reilly. A handful of takedowns from both Smith and O’Reilly brought the score to 6-4 after the first period.

Another Smith takedown gave him the 8-4 lead into the third period. O’Reilly earned a late takedown in the third period but Smith held on to win 11-8 by decision.

Redshirt junior Rocky Jordan and No. 20 sophomore Isaiah Salazar duked it out in the 184-pound weight class. A pair of takedowns by Salazar gave him the early 7-2 lead through the first period.

Jordan earned another takedown in the second period, followed by an escape from Salazar, giving the latter the 9-5 lead entering the third period. A late takedown by Jordan brought the bout close, but was not enough as Salazar won 10-8 by decision.

Redshirt junior 197-pounder Gavin Hoffman wrestled against fifth-year Michial Foy. After a scoreless first period, Hoffman took the early lead in the second period with a reversal followed by a quick escape by Foy, giving Hoffman the 2-1 lead entering the third period.

Hoffman was penalized for clasping his hands early in the third period, followed by a takedown by Foy to propel him to a 5-2 victory by decision.

No. 13 redshirt senior Tate Orndorff took on No. 1 Olympic gold medalist and reigning NCAA champion senior Gable Steveson in the heavyweight class. Steveson started fast and early, not letting up. Steveson won in dominant fashion with a score of 19-4 by way of technical fall in the second period.

The Buckeyes will celebrate Senior Day and host their final home match of the season Sunday versus Indiana at 1 p.m. The match will stream on BTN+.