Ohio State and controversial decisions in national title scenarios seem to go hand-in-hand. Buckeye wrestler and No. 1 NCAA seed Sammy Sasso wrestled for the individual national title Saturday against No. 2 seed Austin O’Connor from North Carolina.
Sasso displayed his skills in close quarters and seemed to have control with one point apiece (both on an escape) and riding time in his favor late in the third period, but O’Connor scored a takedown to take the lead with about one minute left. Sasso then countered with a shot of his own after an escape and appeared to get a takedown just before time expired, but it was not called by either official.
Ohio State head coach Tom Ryan challenged the call, but after review, the call that was made held, and Sasso was relegated to national runner-up as opposed to national champion. Had the call been overturned, Sasso would have been the 4-3 victor.
With the loss, the OSU sophomore finishes the season with a 16-1 record and joins Ethan Smith and Tate Orndorff as All-Americans.
Sammy Sasso finishes his season with an overall record of 16-1, Big Ten Champion, All-American, and NCAA Runner-up.
The Savage of Nazareth, Pa. had a monumental season at 149 and will undoubtedly be back for more next year.#GoBuckeyes pic.twitter.com/YDYXQk7CmG
— Ohio State Wrestling (@wrestlingbucks) March 21, 2021
But boy, what could have been. Despite the loss, Sasso has had an unbelievable season and will most likely be the preseason No. 1 for next season when he’ll surely give it another run.
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