Anytime the colors of scarlet and gray match up with maize and blue, it’s worth fans’ of both schools’ attention. In that case, with Ohio State and Michigan getting on the mat to face off in wrestling on Friday night, it is noteworthy. And … if you are an OSU fan, it’s even more noteworthy because the Buckeyes took down the Wolverines in a top-ten matchup up in Ann Arbor by a total score of 23-15.
Ohio State started out hot, winning the first four matches all by razor-thin margins. Malik Heinselman (125 lbs.), Jesse Mendez (133 lbs.), and Dylan D’Emilio (141 lbs.) all won close matches by scoring at key times in the match to secure three points each to put the Buckeyes up early 9-0.
Sammy Sasso followed that up at 149 lbs. with a tech fall to score a big five points to extend Ohio State’s lead to 14-0. And while that didn’t seal the deal, it made Michigan face an uphill climb to get back into it. The Wolverines got exactly what they needed at 157 lbs. when Will Lewan was able to get a pin on OSU’s Pady Gallagher in extra time to pull things back to 14-6. That was followed up with a decision by Cameron Amine over Ohio State’s Carson Kharchia to make things interesting at 14-9.
It seemed like match on all of a sudden.
But then, OSU had two of its top wrestlers taking the mat and they both were able to score decisions to add six more points on the board with a decision each to put things out of reach at 20-9. Both Ethan Smith (174 lbs.) and Kaleb Romero (184 lbs.) were able to notch a win to make it 20-9 right before Gavin Hoffman added three more points for the Buckeyes in a decision over Rylan Rogers to up the score to 23-9.
W. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/jrIpGynENL
— Ohio State Wrestling (@wrestlingbucks) January 28, 2023
It was all academic after that and it was a good thing because the No. 1 ranked heavyweight, Michigan’s Mason Parris, was able to secure six points for the Wolverines with his eleventh pin in 20 matches to finish up the scoring at 23-15.
With the win, Ohio State runs its dual meet record to 10-1 overall and 4-0 in the Big Ten. It was the Buckeyes’ fifth-straight win as they try to position themselves to factor into the Big Ten regular season race. OSU doesn’t face No. 2 Iowa but will gear up to play No. 1 Penn State on February 3 after it holds a dual meet vs. Michigan State on Sunday.
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