Things didn’t look so great for the young Ohio State wrestling team at times on Friday night vs. No. 11 Michigan. Twice, the Buckeyes, who were without three of their starters, fell down by ten points. Twice, the scarlet and gray got up off the mat literally and figuratively to reel the Wolverines back in.
Michigan jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead by winning its first two matches at 125 and 133 lbs., but then OSU got on the board thanks to a forfeit at 141 pounds that gave No. 3 ranked Jesse Mendez a 6-0 victory. The Wolverines would bounce back however by winning the next two matches, a 17-6 decision at 149 lbs. and a 5-2 victory at 157 lbs., and just like that the Buckeyes were down 16-6.
Bryce Hepner would close the gap with a 12-10 decision at 165 lbs. to make it 16-9, but then Michigan would almost put things away by winning the 174 lb. matchup 2-1 to again go up by ten with a score of 19-9. From there, Ohio State would have to pull off some magic with two of the last three matches being against higher ranked and favored matchups.
Ohio State got it done though, first at 184 lbs. when Ryder Rogotzge defeated No. 15 Jaden Bullock by technical fall to cut the score to 19-14. That was followed by OSU’s Luke Geog holding serve at 197 lbs. to tighten things up at a 19-17 Michigan advantage with just the heavyweights to go.
No. 16 Luke Feldman was a heavy underdog against No. 4 Lucas Davison, but he found a way with a late takedown to pull off the shocking 4-3 decision to give the Buckeyes a 20-19 dual-meet win.
The Young Bucks got so❌e bite. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/qZJxo3LYMO
— Ohio State Wrestling (@wrestlingbucks) January 27, 2024
The win keeps Ohio State undefeated in the conference at 4-0 and improves its overall record to 12-1. The Buckeyes have the daunting task of taking on No. 1 Penn State next weekend.
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