Wrestling: No. 2 Ohio State faces No. 5 Michigan in undefeated matchup

Mike Welker
Fri, 25 Jan 2019 03:30:14 +0000
Sports, Wrestling, Alec Pantaleo, All-American, Big Ten, Bo Jordan, Buckeyes, buckeyes wrestling, heavyweights, joey mckenna, Kanen Storr, Ke-shawn Hayes, Kollin Moore, Kyle Snyder, Luke Pletcher, Micah Jordan, michigan, Michigan Wolverines, Myles Martin, Nathan Tomasello, ohio state, Ohio State wrestling, Ohio State wrestling roster, Ohio State wrestling schedule, Ohio State wrestling tickets, Olympic Gold Medalist, osu, OSU wrestling, Stevan Micic, te'shan campbell, Tom Ryan, wrestlers [and 1 more]

No. 2 Joey McKenna attempts to finish a single leg takedown on North Carolina State University’s Jamal Morris in the 141-pound bout of the Ohio State vs. NCSU dual meet at St. John Arena. McKenna won the bout by major decision, 10-2. Credit: Sal Marandino | For The Lantern

The No. 2 Ohio State wrestling team (7-0, 3-0 Big Ten) will take on No. 5 Michigan at home on Friday.

The Wolverines (8-0, 4-0 Big Ten) won their last duel against then-No. 18 Purdue 23-9, which helped them remain undefeated on the season.

Ohio State head coach Tom Ryan said this duel is one that the wrestlers have been looking forward to on the schedule.

“This is a big one. We want to continue to beat that team up north,” Ryan said. “We want to win tomorrow night, and there is going to be a lot of people there that are not coming to watch us lose.”

The Buckeyes are coming off a 37-4 victory against Michigan State on Jan. 13, winning nine of their past 10 bouts.

Ohio State junior Luke Pletcher, the No. 6 wrestler in the country at 133 pounds, will face undefeated No. 1 redshirt junior Stevan Micic, who has defeated Pletcher three times in a row.

“Micic is a really good technician, that’s why he is ranked No. 1 in the country,” Ryan said. “The biggest thing is just believing, and Luke believes, he has a lot of ways to win wrestling matches.”

Ohio State senior Joey McKenna, who is No. 2 in the country at 141 pounds and remains undefeated, has Michigan No. 5 redshirt sophomore Kanen Storr who is 17-2 on the season.

Storr is a three-time Michigan state champion who has wins at 145 pounds, 135 pounds and 103 pounds.

Redshirt junior Ke-Shawn Hayes, No. 7 in the country at 157 pounds, has a big matchup against redshirt senior Alec Pantaleo, who is No. 11 in the country.

“I would say him being a No. 11 is a little low for him because he took a couple weird losses recently,” Hayes said. “I’m going to have to wrestle well, and I think I’m capable, and plan to get the win.”

Ohio State senior Myles Martin and redshirt junior Kollin Moore, No. 1 and No. 2 at 184 pounds and 197 pounds, respectively, will try to remain undefeated against two unranked foes.

No. 2 Ohio State will take on No. 5 Michigan at 7 p.m. on Friday at the Schottenstein Center.