Wrestling: No. 6 Ohio State no match against undefeated No. 1 Penn State, losing 28-9

Mike Welker
Sat, 09 Feb 2019 05:55:11 +0000
News, Sports, Wrestling, All-American, Big Ten, Buckeyes, buckeyes wrestling, Ethan Smith, heavyweights, Hunter Lucas, joey mckenna, Ke-shawn Hayes, Keshawn Hayes, Kollin Moore, Luke Pletcher, Micah Jordan, Myles Martin, ohio state, Ohio State wrestling, Ohio State wrestling roster, Ohio State wrestling schedule, Ohio State wrestling tickets, osu, OSU wrestling, Penn State, penn state ohio state, Penn state wrestling, te'shan campbell, Tom Ryan, wrestlers, wrestling

#1 Myles Martin defeats #3 Nick Reenan of North Carolina State University by decision in the 184-pound bout, 12-5. Credit: Sal Marandino | For The Lantern

A record electric crowd of 13,276 at St. John Arena was not enough for No. 6 Ohio State when it faced undefeated No. 1 Penn State.

The No. 6 Ohio State wrestling team (9-2, 5-2 Big Ten) lost to No. 1 Penn State (11-0, 7-0 Big Ten) 28-9 on Friday.

Ohio State senior Myles Martin, the No. 1 wrestler in the country at 184 pounds, remained undefeated with one of three wins on the night for Ohio State in 10 bouts.

Ohio State head coach Tom Ryan said that it was a rough night for the Buckeyes in front of a record crowd.

“We got out worked in a lot of positions. That is a really good team ,” Ryan said. “It was great to see a packed house like this. We know Buckeye nation loves this sport.”

Martin gave the Buckeyes their only bonus points on the night by a major decision 18-6 over Penn State redshirt freshman Mason Manville.

After the Buckeyes fell to a 5-0 deficit, Ohio State redshirt senior Micah Jordan, the No. 3 wrestler in the country at 149 pounds, put the Buckeyes on the board. Jordan won by decision 10-8 over Penn State redshirt freshman Jarod Verkleeren.

Despite Jordan winning his match, he was not happy with his performance on the mat.

“I’m sorry for the Ohio State fans because I should have done more,” Jordan said. “I knew every point mattered in that match, and I kind of came out slow.”

Ohio State senior Joey McKenna, the No. 2 wrestler in the country at 141 pounds, suffered his first loss of the season, losing by decision 7-6 to Penn State sixth-ranked sophomore Nick Lee.

McKenna missed the last two duels for Ohio State due to an undisclosed injury, and Ryan said that was a factor in his stamina in tonight’s match.

“Joey had been out for a while, he was injured so he has not wrestled live. So that was a little bit of an issue,” Ryan said. “We saw Joey as the match went on that he broke down.”

The Nittany Lions three two-time defending NCAA champions proved why they are a force to be reckoned with on the mat.

Ohio State redshirt junior Kollin Moore, the No. 2 wrestler in the country at 197 pounds, lost his first match of the season via pin by Penn State first-ranked redshirt senior Bo Nickal.

“That guy [Nickal] is a pinner and I think he is one of the top pinners that program [Penn State] has ever had,” Ryan said. “Would I sound silly to say that I think that Kollin Moore can win that match four or five or six weeks from now? I don’t think that is silly at all.”

Penn State redshirt senior Jason Nolf, the No. 1 wrestler in the country at 157 pounds, remained undefeated and won by technical fall 21-6 against Ohio State eighth-ranked redshirt junior Ke-Shawn Hayes.

Ohio State senior Te-Shan Campbell, lost by major decision 11-2 to Penn State redshirt junior Vincenzo Joseph, No. 1 wrestler in the country at 165 pounds, improving his record to 18-0.

Ohio State true freshman Malik Heinselman, defeated Penn State redshirt sophomore Devin Schnupp by decision 7-4 in the 125-pound match.

Heinselman said he was ready to get back on the mat after not participating in the past two duels.

“It felt good, and it was just learning experience this isn’t the final meet,” said Heinselman. “We have the Big Ten and nationals [tournament] ahead, and this was just a learning experience.” ?

No. 6 Ohio State will take on No. 20 Purdue at 7 p.m. on Friday in West Lafayette, Indiana.